Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

Kenmore Boulevard

AKRON, Ohio - Grants totaling $40,000 are helping the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance in its mission to return Kenmore Boulevard to an active business district, while restoring a sense of pride and community in the neighborhood.

The alliance received $20,000 grants from the Knight Foundation and the Akron Civic Commons project to link Kenmore Boulevard to the Towpath Trail and to improve safety for bikers of the trail.

A complete plan detailing the alliance's top priorities for Kenmore was unveiled last Saturday, during the Boulevard Bikes & Brews event.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

Alliance President Tina Boyes recently hosted a bike ride for city and community leaders to lay out a plan to connect Kenmore Boulevard and the neighborhood's business district to the Towpath.

Although the trail is used primarily for recreation, some Kenmore residents rely on it to get to work.

"This is not a typical suburban cycling crowd," she said. "To have the trail right here is like a bikers' highway, so connecting them safely to it is a high priority for us."

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Towpath Trail

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Summit County was the first county to connect the Ohio & Erie Towpath Trail from border to border. The trail cuts through downtown Akron, and has connectors to many of the city's neighborhoods.

Here, Chris Miller, communications and investment officer at Akron Community Foundation and editor of The Akronist, brings up the rear of the group as they set out on the Towpath Trail.

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Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance

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The Ohio & Erie Canalway

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Dan Rice, president and CEO of Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, is shown in the foreground with Kenmore developer Todd Ederer standing, on the Kenmore portion of the trail that borders Summit Lake, the only large lake in the Akron city limits.

The coalition won a $5 million Reimagining the Civic Commons grant in 2016 to revitalize and connect the Towpath Trail and downtown to three Akron neighborhoods, including Summit Lake.

The alliance received $20,000 from the Akron Civic Commons project to build the connectors from the Towpath to Kenmore Boulevard as part of a larger plan for Summit Lake.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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Reimagining Summit Lake

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Under the Akron Civic Commons project, Rice's group also is developing a temporary walking trail that loops Summit Lake. An established trail wraps around about half the lake.

Officials have learned through community feedback that a complete loop around the lake is the amenity residents most want, Rice said. Studying people's use of a temporary loop will clarify how a permanent trail should be built.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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The loop

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Completing the trail around the lake would be advantageous for workers who want to access Kenmore or Lakeshore boulevards from the north side of Summit Lake.

A floating section of trail, much like the section pictured, would be built to connect the land to the west side of the lake along Summit Lake Boulevard.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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Akron's role

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Akron Planning Director Jason Segedy said design issues will be worked out in areas where the lake directly meets the road.

Kenmore is one of the 10 neighborhoods targeted by the city's Great Streets initiative, which blends economic development, urban planning and engineering to improve small-business districts.

Kenmore's zoning has been revamped, the boulevard resurfaced and a new roof installed at the Kenmore Community Center. The city also has improved crosswalks and offered competitive facade grants to the boulevard's business owners.

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Protected bike lanes

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The alliance's new funding will allow for installation of bollards and artistic barriers to protect bike lanes and for improvements to visual markings at intersections along the repaved stretch.

It also will continue the connection from 2nd Street to Lakeshore Boulevard, heightening safety for bikers.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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A new kiosk and improved signage

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At one point on the Towpath Trail, bikers must take a detour on South Street to continue to the business district on Kenmore Boulevard. No signs exists to direct bicyclists to the boulevard.

Boyes is standing at the site where the alliance in conjunction with Akron Civic Commons plans next year to build a kiosk with signs.

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Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition

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Economic investment

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The goal of all the parties involved - the alliance, Akron Civic Commons, Knight Foundation and the city of Akron - is to safely link Kenmore Boulevard to the Towpath and draw into Kenmore some of the trail's 2.5 million annual visitors for food, beverages and shopping.

"You don't have canal boats any more, but you have hikers and bikers looking for some place to eat and shops to visit," Rice said.

A bed & breakfast in Kenmore along the Towpath Trail would be a future possibility, he said.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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Bike parking on the boulevard

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Businesses along Kenmore Boulevard have been creating space to welcome new foot and bike traffic since 2017, when a large community event, organized by the alliance, attracted more than 2,000 people to "reimagine" what Kenmore could become.

A mainstay on the boulevard, Pierre's Brooklyn Pizza & Deli, like other businesses, offers spaces for bike parking.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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Public gathering space

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Kenmore-based developer Todd Ederer (right) and Jason Segedy stand in a public gathering space featuring benches and gardens on Ederer's property on Kenmore Boulevard.

It's also a popular site for musicians to perform during the neighborhood's monthly Busk until Dusk event, put on by the neighborhood alliance.

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Jennifer Conn, cleveland.com

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Live Music Now!

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Ron Campbell and Chris Williams paint new bike racks for the Live Music Now!.

The alliance developed Live Music Now! to offer free live music over the past year to help residents envision a safe, revitalized Kenmore Boulevard.

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