Share the River’s evolving mission is to promote the social, recreational, and economic vibrancy of Cleveland's waterfront while helping to make Cleveland’s waterfront more vibrant, colorful and safe. We’re a member of the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force, a group of maritime, industrial, and waterfront stakeholders dedicated to ensuring the safe and shared use of the Cuyahoga River. We also serve as a stakeholder partner for the Cuyahoga River Water Trail. We collaborate with cross-sector stakeholders to promote and drive social and recreational activity to Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie shoreline. As an academic researcher kindly shared, “You’re exhibit A of grass roots urbanism with an ecological as well as a recreational agenda”.

ECO Speaks CLE podcast interview with Share the River’s founder jim ridge

  • We create and post original content via our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) and website to 1) brand Cleveland as a waterfront city and 2) remind people how a cleaner, more vibrant river and lake is an economic driver for Northeast Ohio (as Marshall McLuhan famously coined, “the medium is the message”).

  • We curate third-party content streams on our social channels that we feel provides a context for the various issues and best practices that enhance the caliber of regional and national natural resources which in turn, improve the quality of life for ALL of us!

  • We convene Cuyahoga Connects (formerly the CWIOFB (Cleveland’s Waterfront is Open for Business)) CRSTF mixer and presser, on behalf of the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force members: maritime, recreation, law enforcement, industrial and business stakeholders focusing on the positive impact Cleveland’s waterfront has on the regional economy.

  • We host the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest, an annual “bucket list, destination paddle” tradition that attracts paddlers from over 18 states to enjoy a fun morning on Cleveland’s hard-working, historic, and scenic Cuyahoga River.

Cleveland is a waterfront city and we're sharing all of the things that make for a vibrant and engaging space for residents and visitors including parks, off-road trails and greenspaces. From heavy industry and maritime shipping, from environmental stewardship to infrastructure, from recreation and tourism. to retail and residential developments, Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie stakeholders are catalysts for the region and essential parts of Cleveland's unique theater of the waterfront.

In November we were pleasantly surprised to be named by the Cuyahoga River AOC advisory committee as their 2023 Champion of the River. We were especially heartened to be told “This acknowledgement recognizes current efforts trying to make a positive impact on the river. In this way the award is an encouragement to keep doing great work, rather than a retrospective on past work.” In other words, we still have work to do! And the improved biological health of the Cuyahoga River makes so many efforts possible as the public is drawn to this revitalized natural resource coursing through an urban city.

Questions? Suggestions? Contact us at sharetheriver3 at gmail.com

About Our Founder, Jim Ridge

jim ridge and his daughters molly & cara

My fascination with waterfronts was pretty much a foregone conclusion given my upbringing as a Navy brat. Our family always lived near an ocean, and as we bounced every two to three years between port/coastal cities like Norfolk and San Diego, I gained an appreciation for the vibrancy that flows from the waterfront mix of maritime commerce, heavy industry, tourism and recreation. There was also a fair bit of foreshadowing for me given my dad's (Capt. James J. Ridge) final stint in 1977 as a Commanding Officer on an "Austin"-class, San Diego-based amphibious transport dock. The ship's name? The USS Cleveland. You can't make this stuff up, folks!

When a job required me to relocate from San Diego to the Midwest in 1994, it was natural for me to consider cities that bordered the Great Lakes, which are essentially inland oceans. I felt Cleveland provided the right mix of big-city amenities coupled with a strong sense of community, and it’s there I raised a family.

Many who have never visited Cleveland don’t realize its direct physical connection to Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River and when I joined Western Reserve Rowing Association in 2003, I experienced Cleveland from a completely different perspective - 12 inches above the Cuyahoga River in a rowing shell.

That experience led me to found Share the River, an organization that promotes the economic, social, and recreational vibrancy of Cleveland’s waterfront. When people see pictures and videos of maritime, commercial and recreational stakeholders harmoniously sharing the same body of water, it changes their perception of the Cleveland they thought they knew. Cleveland’s location on the lake and the river helped drive its growth during the gilded age as an industrial powerhouse. The Cuyahoga River that once served as a pipeline for raw materials and industrial pollution is now a conduit for recreation and tourism. It’s wonderful to see how former industrial sites along the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie are being transformed into park spaces and places where people can enjoy a drink and a meal, and increasingly, make their home. If you think you know Cleveland but haven’t spent any time here, come visit, you’ll be surprised by what you see!

Jim & Pop.jpg

USS cleveland, lpd 7

Norfolk, va/elizabeth river

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