Cuyahoga Falls celebrated the grand opening of its RiverLoop and South Front Street Transformation projects on Saturday, Oct. 24, unveiling new ways to experience downtown and the Cuyahoga River. The celebration was held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Downtown Pavilion and Plaza, marking completion of work that began in summer 2025 on the southern end of Front Street and along the riverfront.
At noon, Mayor Don Walters led a RiverLoop tour with guest speakers at stops along the route sharing the stories behind the project’s unique features. Visitors could pick up a RiverLoop map and join the guided tour or explore at their own pace, while members of the architectural and construction teams and city staff who helped bring the project to life were on hand to answer questions.
The RiverLoop combines a rebuilt lower boardwalk with a new upper walkway that connects with Front Street at Broad Boulevard and Oakwood Drive, forming a continuous loop. According to the city, the lower boardwalk had outlived its useful life after more than 40 years, and its age and harsh climate conditions required a total replacement. The new upper route is ADA-accessible, 10 feet wide and designed for pedestrians, strollers, wheelchairs, bicycles and surreys, with public art along the boardwalk.
Along the route are ten points of interest with plaques, including River History, Otter Overlook, Indigenous American History, Eagles Bluff, Prospector’s Point, Fisherman’s Pier and Heron’s Crest. A brightly lit underpass beneath the Broad Boulevard bridge connects the RiverLoop with South Front Street, so pedestrians can avoid crossing multiple lanes on Broad Boulevard, and updated lighting was added throughout.
The South Front Street Transformation complements the riverfront work and aims to connect it more closely to downtown. The city’s Phase 2 work includes a new streetscape with buried utilities, on-street metered parking, planters, tree lighting, hidden festival connections, EV charging stations, a new parking lot, a right turn lane onto Broad Boulevard to ease congestion, and a brick archway at the entrance of South Front Street. The city put its total Phase 2 investment in the two projects at $15.6 million.
The opening is the latest stage in a longer transformation. Phase 1 reopened Front Street to traffic on June 2, 2018, after a $14 million investment on the northern end of downtown, with a new streetscape, fountain, splash pad and free WiFi from Stow Avenue to Broad Boulevard. City officials described South Front Street as tying the area south of Broad Boulevard to the rest of downtown, completing the final piece of the district.
For residents and visitors, the RiverLoop is free to visit and open to the public, offering river views from Broad Boulevard to Oakwood Drive that the city says were previously harder to reach for visitors with limited mobility. With the grand opening celebration complete, visitors can now walk the full loop on their own, stopping at the overlooks and plaques or continuing into downtown businesses along Front Street.
Photo: Haaron755, CC BY-SA 3.0