Aden Manning was all smiles as he stepped off the pontoon boat that he and his family rode around Summit Lake on Sunday.
“It was fun. Now I’m going fishing. I caught a fish before, a catfish. It was this big, said Aden, 7, stretching out his arms to signify that the fish was more than two feet long.
Aden and his little sister, Bianca Hosey, 3, — accompanied by their grandmother, Shannon Rey, and uncle, Christopher Bennett — were among several hundred people who filtered in and out of Summit Lake Park on Sunday for a community day event hosted by the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, the Akron office of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and several community partners as part of their “Reimagining the Civic Commons” initiative.
The initiative aims to look for new ways to increase the use of civic common spaces along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail from downtown Akron to Summit Lake, which was once considered the city’s waterfront playground.
“This is more than a community picnic. This is an event to get people to rethink about Summit Lake as a destination,” said Daniel M. Rice, president and CEO of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition. “This used to be a million dollar playground and now people don’t think about it as a destination, but this is a great place to bring people together from all social and economic backgrounds. We saw that today — there were single people, couples, families and extended families, all enjoying the park.”
In addition to the pontoon boat rides, the event included a fishing derby, nature walks, bicycle rides, music and food. The event was also an opportunity to gather information from community members about the things they would like to see in the Summit Lake community, their biggest fears for the area, what they love about the neighborhood and the things that would make them return to the area.
The comments and suggestions will be used in Akron’s bid for a grant worth up to $5 million from the Knight Foundation, Kresge Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation. The city is among seven finalists — including Chicago; Long Beach, Calif.; Memphis, Tenn.; Columbus, Ga.; Lexington, Ky.; and Detroit — competing for the money.
If awarded the grant, the funds would be used to make the downtown area and Summit Lake neighborhood more appealing to workers, visitors and community members.
Dorcas Carr — who attended the event with her daughter, Candace Shelton — said she believes the picnic was a good first step in reminding community members that Summit Lake Park is one of Akron’s treasures.
She encourages the planning of more activities to keep people interested in coming back.
“This park is a big part of Akron’s history. My mother was down here, more than 60 years ago, on July 4, 1955, when it was Summit Beach Park. She was pregnant, carrying me and my twin,” said Carr. “We were born on July 10, so it’s great for me to see this area, this part of the inner city, regaining attention to be brought back to life.”
With or without the grant, the Reimagining partnership is committed to working toward enhancing Summit Lake Park. The partnership includes Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority, Akron Civic Theatre, city of Akron, Downtown Akron Partnership and Summit Metro Parks.
That was welcome news to Aden.
“I could come here every day to play and fish,” Aden said. “It’s really fun here!”
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.