Location

Sandusky, Ohio

IMPACT

The plan provides visual and physical access to the East and Back Bay of the Sandusky Bay and Lake Erie through unique experiences for passive recreation, hiking, fishing, biking, birding, and non-motorized boating, creating a regional and ecotourism destination. The design will include opportunities for improving habitat and infrastructure, including leveraging space and future uses as potential locations and managing dredge material from Sandusky Bay.

Landing Park and Sandusky Bay Pathway

Working with the City of Sandusky, and in cooperation with Erie MetroParks and Cedar Fair, the Landing Park and Sandusky Bay Pathway is a coastal trail that stretches along the waterfront from the east corporation limit to the west corporation limit with several other on-street and off-street trails—networking city roads and the city-wide park system.

Environmental Design Group’s planning and design included environmental restoration and preservation, passive recreation, connections through a 20-mile trail network, a trail and destination hub, birding tower, ADA accessible kayak launch for Ohio Veterans’ Adaptive Adventures programming, and connection to the bay through unique views and experiences. Conceptual design, plans, trail alignments, renderings, and cost opinions, as well as a final report, were produced for the clients. A robust public and stakeholder involvement process, including extensive one-on-one stakeholder interviews, was critical to the planning and conceptual design process. Given the area’s environmental sensitivity, which includes Category 3 Wetlands, floodplains and changing water levels, an extensive environmental inventory and analysis was conducted.