Wendy Park Design

Although it is adjacent to downtown Cleveland, Wendy Park is currently accessible only by traveling several miles west to Edgewater Park and then backtracking. The park, owned by Cuyahoga County, preserves 22 acres at the confluence of the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie. In recent years, the park has seen soaring attendance: from 15,000 in 2006 to 35,000 in 2008. The City of Cleveland owns the landmark, vacant Coast Guard Station inside the park and has led an effort to reopen it for public use.

BCbD is partnering with the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission to complete a management and master plan for the park. (Cuyahoga County is the current owner of the park.) The plan will chart a course for protecting Wendy Park’s natural resources while increasing accessibility. Resource protection is particularly important given the County’s oft-stated desire to turn the property over to Cleveland MetroParks. MetroParks has made clear that it will consider owning and managing the park if it 1) is connected to the rest of its park system via a Towpath Trail connector (a role the Lake Link Trail will serve); and 2) remains a natural resources area that provides habitat for native plant and animal species.