CLEVELAND, Ohio — The annual gathering of Cleveland waterfront activists, now known as Cuyahoga Connect, was held Wednesday night at Collision Bend Brewing in the Flats, with a stake in the Cuyahoga River and its neighborhoods. Various groups came together. The shores of Lake Erie.
Share the River founder Jim Ridge organized the social gathering in partnership with the Ohio Marine Trades Association. Attendees included the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force, representatives from local law enforcement, Cleveland’s waterfront businesses and various maritime and recreational interests.
Ridge helped bring in speakers such as Dave Guthrie, chief commercial officer for the Port of Cleveland; Michelle Burke, president of the Ohio Marine Trades Association; Drew Ferguson, founder and CEO of Argonaut; Eric Pease, vice president of the Lake Carriers Association; Lt. Jared Stevens of the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit in Cleveland; Lt. Chad Kazan of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources; and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
“We have this revitalized Cuyahoga River that’s undergoing a major comeback,” Ridge said at the start of the forum, “and 55 years ago, that river was left for dead.”
He later added: “Only our cities and rivers can tell you that what was once a pipeline of pollution is now a conduit for tourism and recreation.”
After covering topics such as boating safety, river commerce, and recreational activities, speakers mingled with other speakers to further discuss Cleveland’s waterfront.
