The Shaker Heights Highway Fight
What has been accomplished
One effect of the battle to block construction of the Clark-Lee Highway was the creation of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes in 1966. In 1971, the center was named as a Center of National Environmental Education Landmark. According to the Nature Center's website: "Ten thousand children participate annually in more than 30,000 hours of curriculum-related school programs, including a strong early childhood program for several East Side school districts and the Cleveland Public Schools. Additionally, 10,000 walkers, runners, and bird-watchers use the trails and grounds for exercise and enjoyment of nature."
Looking out from the boardwalk at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. This is the area where the Clark-Lee Highway was proposed to be built in the 1960s.
90.3 Idea Stream article on Doan Brook
Kathleen Barber, local freeway revolt organizer, was active in establishing the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, which played a "pivotal" role in preserving the lake area from destruction by highway development. She is currently a Founding Member of the Nature Center and of WCPN 90.3 Public Radio in Cleveland. She is the former head of the Political Science Department at John Carroll University and mother of the Nature Center's President, John C. Barber.
How It All Began, By Kathleen Barber.
Martha Eakin, interviewed 21 June 2006. --Martha is the daughter of Jean Eakin, who is credited by the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes as one of the major people who saved the Shaker Lakes. This interview has Martha recall her childhood, reflections on growing up in Shaker, her mother's role in the in development of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, and the defeat of the Clark and Lee Highways.
Click here to listen to an interview Marrtha Eakin did with Cleveland State University's History Department.
The Doan Brook runs from Shaker Heights to Lake Erie, passing along Rockefeller Park and some of the gardens in the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, including the India Cultural Garden. Pollution and flooding have long been a problem in Doan Brook, and numerous attempts have been made (with some success) to prevent flooding and limit pollution.
