Cleveland 19 News / April 27, 2023
The fight over Horseshoe Lake, one of two of the Shaker Lakes, has heated up after the lake was drained and the Northeast Ohio Sewer District plans to turn it into a permanent wetland.…Read more here.
Cleveland Jewish News / April 26, 2023
Friends of Horseshoe Lake has issued demand letters to the cities of Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights based on their failure to follow the terms of the lease agreement for the lake and make necessary repairs to restore the dam and the lake…Read more here.
Cleveland.com / April 26, 2023
Attorneys for the Friends of Horseshoe Lake (FOHSL) have filed “taxpayer demand” letters with the cities of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights in an effort to persuade them to follow their respective long-term leases for the parkland… Read more here.
The Sewer District made their recommendation this summer to remove the Horseshoe Lake Dam and spillway. Concerns of flooding and the high costs with repairing the dam led the Sewer District to recommend removal of the dam, and converting the lake into a floodplain.
On September 27, Shaker Heights City Council voted 6-1 to move forward with the Sewer District’s recommendation. On November 22, Cleveland Heights Council followed suit with a 6-0 vote in favor of the Sewer District’s plan. We thank Cleveland Heights City Council Member Melody Hart for her amendment to the resolution urging the Sewer District to remain open to other potential solutions.
Supporters of Friends of Horseshoe Lake provided testimony at both council meetings and issued a press release after Cleveland Heights Council voted. We will keep searching for alternate options to work together with local officials to find a solution that preserves Horseshoe Lake and effectively manages stormwater.
Join the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library on Thursday, September 22 from 7-8:30pm for a forum on the history of Horseshoe Lake. Click here for more information.
Cleveland.com / August 8, 2022
I disagree with Steven Litt’s article celebrating the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s proposed destruction of Horseshoe Lake, a beautiful ecological site offering enjoyment and tranquility for almost two centuries…Read more here.
Cleveland.com / August 4, 2022
Steve Litt in his article regarding Horseshoe Lake, “Regional Sewer District is smart to focus on planning a well-designed park after removing Horseshoe Lake Dam,” failed to mention that preserving the dam and therefore the lake would cost less…Read more here..
Cleveland.com / August 3, 2022
Our Shaker Lakes should not be handed over to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District which doesn’t have our best interests at heart…Read more here..
Cleveland.com / August 2, 2022
I want to thank Steven Litt for his even-handed commentary on the Horseshoe Lake dam, acknowledging as he did the beauty of the former lake and its importance to the history of the cities around it…Read more here.
June 17, 2022
Read the letter here.
Cleveland.com | June 7, 2022
City Council heard Monday (June 6) from the independent engineer hired by the Friends of Horseshoe Lake to devise an alternative proposal for a new dam that could be built — at a reduced projected cost — in front of the old one that is in danger of failing… Read more here
Cleveland19 | June 7, 2022
The Shaker Lakes have served the community for more than two centuries. The Shakers building the lakes 200 years ago and the Van Sweringen brothers, who designed Shaker Heights 100 years ago, built the city around the lakes…. Read more here
Cleveland.com | May 3, 2022
The Friends of Horseshoe Lake want to meet with the mayors of Shaker and Cleveland Heights to further discuss their alternative plan for keeping a dam in place… Read more here
April 29, 2022
Friends of Horseshoe Lake has identified an alternative viable plan that would save Horseshoe Lake, provide flood control and a significant storm water benefit, all while costing less than the plan as estimated and presented by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District… Read more here
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District made their recommendation this summer to remove the Horseshoe Lake Dam and spillway. Concerns of flooding and the high costs with repairing the dam led the NEORSD to recommend removal of the dam, and converting the lake into a floodplain.
On September 27, Shaker Heights City Council voted 6-1 to move forward with the NEORSD’s recommendation. On November 22, Cleveland Heights Council followed suit with a 6-0 vote in favor of the NEORSD’s plan. We thank Cleveland Heights City Council Member Melody Hart for her amendment to the resolution urging NEORSD to remain open to other potential solutions.
Supporters of Friends of Horseshoe Lake provided testimony at both council meetings and issued a press release after Cleveland Heights Council voted. We will keep searching for alternate options to work together with local officials to find a solution that preserves Horseshoe Lake and effectively manages stormwater.
Ideastream Public Media, September 28, 2021
“There is a groundswell of residents in Shaker and Cleveland Heights who want to save Horseshoe Lake, and are against the sewer district’s plan. They say that removal would take away a valued aesthetic and historical asset to the community, and that the lake’s removal could negatively impact local property values.”
Citizen groups stepped up and protected the Lakes in the 1960s when government officials wanted to put a freeway through it. Friends of Horseshoe Lake is committed to upholding that legacy and finding a solution to preserve Horseshoe Lake.
Bert Stratton is the administrator of the Facebook page, “Dam it. Horseshoe Lake.” His essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. He is the leader of the band Funk A Deli, formerly known as Yiddishe Cup.
Heights Observer | September 2021
Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights are poised to lose Horseshoe Lake, a precious and beloved historical, natural and recreational landmark… Read more here