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A proposed greenway multi-use path running from the Cuyahoga Viaduct transit track bridge to the Michael Zone Recreational Center has moved a step closer to possible development with a new agreement between RTA, the Cleveland Metroparks and the Rotary Club of Cleveland. A view of the proposed right-of-way is shown as seen from the Lorain Avenue overpass.

(Steven Litt, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- RTA board members voted Tuesday to collaborate with the Cleveland Metroparks and the Rotary Club of Cleveland on a study of a proposed greenway trail that would extend from West 65th Street to downtown Cleveland.

The Red Line Greenway is a long-held dream of members of the Rotary Club of Cleveland, who have spearheaded the proposal and worked over the past several years with the nonprofit LAND Studio to shape the plan.

Besides RTA and the Rotary, the Cleveland Metroparks also has a lead role in the proposed path.

The line would run from the Michael Zone Recreation Center, cross into RTA property at about West 41st Street, continue on RTA property past the West 25th Street rapid station, and go from there to the Viaduct transit bridge above the Cuyahoga River. At that point it would connect to other regional trails on Franklin Road.

Tuesday's vote allows RTA to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Metroparks' board and the Rotary Club for a feasibility study on the trail. It also establishes the roles and responsibilities of each group.

RTA will conduct a property survey to see if there's adequate room for the trail.

Since it would run alongside an active Red Line rapid track, there needs to be fencing, 6 feet high, between the trail and the track, RTA General Manager Joe Calabrese said. And at some sections where the passage is narrow, the fence would have to be removable to allow access to maintain the tracks, Calabrese said.

During maintenance, part of the trail would probably have to be temporarily closed, he said.

The agreement also says that transitioning from shared to non-shared trails would require gates that lock.

The pact calls for the Metroparks to evaluate and provide criteria on the design, construction, maintenance, operation and patrolling of the greenway. If the trail is found to be doable, all parties will stay involved throughout the design process, "including being involved in the retention of a professional greenway designer," according to the memorandum of understanding.

The Rotary Club will continue to maintain the site during the feasibility study.

Rotary member Leonard Stover, one of the volunteers championing the idea, and other Rotarians see the greenway as analogous to New York's High Line Park, which is built on top of a disused rail line on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, the Plain Dealer reported in June.

The agreement between RTA, park commissioners and the Rotary Club said the study will examine how the Red Line Greenway "can become a safe, accessible and world-class greenway."

The parties are also to work together on identifying financing for the path. According to a "conceptual opinion of probable costs" attached to the pact, the trail would cost an estimated $5.2 million if built with aggregate and $5.5 million if the trail is asphalt.

Calabrese predicted the greenway would become a top local focus for foundation, government and private support once the $30 million

is fully funded.