Lower Big Creek Valley Study

Photo Lower Big Creek Valley About the Study
This project is a comprehensive planning effort in the Lower Big Creek Valley area in the City of Cleveland east of Ridge Road and south of the I-71 Corridor to the Cuyahoga River focusing on the valley east of Pearl Road and the upland neighborhoods of Old Brooklyn and Brooklyn Center. It includes environmental, land use, transportation, and recreational and economic development elements.

Latest News
NOACA has completed work on the Lower Big Creek Study Phase 2 Report available in pdf (9,651 KB - February 2006).

The Lower Big Creek Planning Initiatives Summer 2005 Update is available in pdf (2,321 KB). Contact us for more information.

Phase I Report
NOACA has released the final report for the first phase of the Lower Big Creek Study. You can view an updated report (33,196KB). Also available (in pdf format):

Hillside Subsidence Brochure (1,834 KB - June 2004)

Introductory Materials 1,031 KB

Executive Summary 5531KB

Introduction 586 KB

Assessment 13,148 KB

Public Engagement 1,893 KB

Transportation Issues 4,202 KB

Land Use Policy Investigation 111 KB

Concept for Future Planning of the Valley 6,651

Phase Two Strategy 631 KB

Appendices 885 KB

Study Location

Study Goals
The recent opening of the Canal Towpath Trailhead at Harvard Avenue presents an opportunity for trail connections to the Old Brooklyn neighborhoods and to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. It also presents a chance to rethink how the Lower Big Creek Valley works for the neighborhood and the city. The goal of this effort is to develop a plan to stabilize and improve environmentally degraded, and largely inaccessible, urban stream through river recovery, streamside land use improvement, and transportation planning elements coordinated with retail and neighborhood revitalization efforts ongoing in the city, as a foundation for redevelopment of the valley floor area.

Study Issues

Valley Floor Land Uses	Construction & Demolition Debris Land Fills
Strategies for Recovery	Water Quality Issues
Steep Slope areas	Lower Big Creek Riparian Zone
Biological Recovery Possibilities	Hillside Subsidence
Transportation Issues	Lower Big Creek Flood Plain
Lower Big Creek Topography Circa 1953	Established Open Space
Lower Big Creek Industrial Site Occupancy	Lower Big Creek Historic/Cultural Resources

Timetable
Phase 1: Problem Assessment and Issues Report –December 2002
Phase 2: Restoration Planning – 2003-2004
Phase 3: Implementation – 2004 to 2005.

Project Participants and Sources of Funding
NOACA is partnering with the City of Cleveland's Planning Commission and the

Department of Community Development

and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission on this study which was initiated at the request of Cleveland Councilwoman Merle Gordon. A project advisory team includes

Cleveland Metroparks,

Old Brooklyn CDC, National Park Service,

Ohio Canal Corridor

, NEORSD, Ohio EPAand

ODNR

, among others.

Funding sources for the $178,000 Phase I study include:

City of Cleveland CDBG Grant
Cleveland Neighborhood Equity Fund
Ohio and Erie Canal Association
Ohio Coastal Management Grant Program
NOACA

For additional information and on-going efforts, visit the Friends of Big Creek web page.