Cedar Point to fill in lagoons

[Robin A. Repas]

Here's a little tidbit picked up from the Sandusky Register:

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Sandusky Register (Evening Edition)
Tuesday, August 1, 1995
pp. A-1 & A-2


Park expanding

o At least four acres of lagoons to be filled for rides, retail development

By KAREN MORK, Staff Writer

SANDUSKY - Cedar Point plans to fill in at least four acres of its
artificial lagoon system for ride and retail development, according to a
public notice published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Cedar Fair, the limited partnership which operates Cedar Point, has
applied for a permit to fill in approximately 10 acres of the lagoon over a
10-year period, according to the Corps.

If the project is approved, Cedar Point will dredge bottom silt from
about 10 acres of the lagoon system which runs through the northern portion
of the park. Clean fill will be placed in approximately four acres of the
dredged area to create dry land, and limestone rock will be placed on the
bottom of the remaining six acres to restore the existing contours. Steel
sheet piling will be placed along approximately 225 feet of existing
shoreline and the new shoreline created by the fill.

The first phase of the project, scheduled to begin in September or
October, will involve a portion of the lagoon between the Iron Dragon and
the Cedar Point and Lake Erie Railroad tracks. About one acre will be
filled to form land, and limestone rock will be placed at the bottom of a
two-acre area. A map submitted to the Corps by Cedar Fair indicates that
the area involved in Phase I is slated for ride and retail development.

Cedar Point is not ready to release details of that project at this
time, said Janice Lifke of the park's public relations department.

"This is an obvious place for growth and expansion, given the limited
area available on the peninsula," she said.

The map also indicates that a large, undeveloped island surrounded by
the lagoons will be used for park expansion, including retail, restaurant,
rides and attractions. Other portions of the lagoon area are marked for
rides, retail and a major restaurant. These are tentative, long-term ideas
for development, Lifke said.

The project will not affect any species proposed or designated by the
U.S. Department of the Interior as threatened or endangered. The primary
fish species within the lagoons is carp, which are hand-fed by park
visitors.

For every acre of wetland removed, Cedar Point has to replace two acres
of wetland at another location, preferably in the north coast area of Ohio,
Lifke said. East Harbor State Park has been suggested as a location.

Cedar Point has determined that the project does not affect any
registered historic properties or properties listed as being eligible for
inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, Lifke said.

According the the book _Cedar Point: The Queen of American Watering
Places_ by David and Diane Francis, the lagoons were excavated after the
close of the 1904 season with Cedar Point developer George Boeckling
supervising much of the dredging. Boeckling's plans to import a fleet of
Venetian gondolas never materialized, but the lagoons were soon populated
by naptha launches, rowboats and canoes. The waterway was also used for
hauling coal to the powerhouse built a season later.

Cedar Point introduced Paddlewheel Excursion boats to the lagoons in
1964, and they were rerouted in 1986 with the construction of the Iron
Dragon roller coaster. The paddlewheel boats are not affected by Phase I
of the project, Lifke said.

Currently there is no boat access to the lagoons, and they are connected
to Lake Erie through an underground pipe which regulates the lagoon water
levels.

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--
---- Robin A. Repas aa1...@freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu
------ Vermilion, Ohio bc...@cleveland.freenet.edu
---- 76407...@compuserve.com
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