The Commons Community: Tina Boyes & Family
Akron Civic Commons is highlighting the neighbors and partners that make our work in downtown Akron, Ohio & Erie Canal Park, and Summit Lake possible. This week, we’re highlighting Tina Boyes and her amazing family—proud community advocates, lovers of all things Kenmore, and just a super fun group of people!
Tell us a little about you and your family
I am the executive director of the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance, the organization working to revitalize the Kenmore neighborhood on the west side of Summit Lake. I am a fifth-generation resident of Kenmore.
My husband Ryan is a maintenance utility worker for Summit County Metro Parks. He has served there 15 years and has worked on many special projects, including the Summit Lake Nature Center, the new Himelright Lodge at the former Valley View Golf Course north of downtown, and other park facilities all over Summit County.
Naomi is a sophomore at Archbishop Hoban High School and Drew is a 6th grader at the National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM Middle School.
Ryan and I have been married for 20 years. We bought our first house in Highland Square. We loved the walkability, proximity to downtown, parks, shopping, and nightlife. But when our daughter was old enough to go to school, we, like so many other people, moved to the suburbs.
My kids spent the early school years in Wadsworth. They were both active in sports and community through Girl Scouts and our church, and our family had great friendships there. But we always loved that old close-knit neighborhood feel, and in 2015 we moved to Kenmore, where Ryan and I both grew up (though we never knew one another back then).
How did you get involved with the Akron Civic Commons?
Tina: I became involved after a Knight Foundation grant enabled me to be hired on as the first executive director of the Kenmore Neighborhood Alliance. During my time on the Akron Civic Commons Core Team, I have enjoyed getting to more deeply connect with my friends in Summit Lake while also making connections with revitalization partners in downtown Akron. I have loved brainstorming ways to improve connections—the veins, if you will—along the Towpath between my neighborhood and places like Lock 3 and the Akron Civic Theatre, the REACH Center, and Summit Lake. And in turn, I'm working to link people and organizations in those areas to what could be considered Akron's Music Row, Kenmore Boulevard.
Ryan: My first experience with Akron Civic Commons was building new play spaces at Ohio & Erie Canal Park. The kids there watched as we replaced their old playground equipment with all these natural elements, and they couldn't wait to climb all over them. It was really cool to see. We were able to take an unusable, run-down space and transform it into something kids were actually eager to play in. That felt great.
How have you seen Akron Civic Commons impact the neighborhoods along the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail?
Tina: I see the Towpath Trail as a natural highway: the fast track for hikers, cyclists, and runners like me to all the amenities downtown and northern and southern Summit County. Some of those assets may have been perceived as being out of reach for non-car travelers in the past. Or bike travel may have been seen as impossible in Akron due to lack of safety. But improvements along the Towpath have broken that perceived barrier down, and the bike lanes on Kenmore Boulevard have become a fantastic way to access that natural highway and get to where you want to go without having to own a car. For example, one of our residents rides his bike daily to GOJO in Cuyahoga Falls and another to downtown to buy ingredients for her baked goods. They both use our bike lane and the Towpath. And I can't tell you how many times I've seen bikes with carts towing groceries in the Kenmore Boulevard bike lanes. It feels like progress to see people of all economic backgrounds going in and out of our neighborhood like that.
Do you spend time at Summit Lake, Lock 3, Ohio & Erie Canal Parks, or the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail? What is your experience? What is your favorite thing to do in these areas?
Tina: We all love Summit Lake. Living up on the hill overlooking it, it feels like our backyard. My favorite thing to do down there is to run. I can just put my shoes on, run out the door and down the Kenmore Boulevard bike lane and I'm on the Towpath. I joke that running is my workout, escape and therapy rolled up into crushed limestone. I really don't know what I would have done without the Towpath over the pandemic. It feels safe and at home. I'm grateful for it.
Ryan: I like going down to Summit Lake for the wildlife (the birds and turtles). Sometimes north of the lake along the Towpath, you can see eagles. It's amazing to have that resource so close. Naomi likes just sitting and relaxing at Summit Lake, while Drew likes going to the camps at Summit Lake Community Center so he can see friends and be close to nature. He especially likes fishing.
Drew: I feel lucky because not everyone gets to live by such a great place as Summit Lake.
What is your hope for the future of these areas impacted by the work of Akron Civic Commons?
Tina: My hope is that the Akron Civic Commons work and the veins it creates bring people together in subversive, communal ways. We all need community, but we can't force people to get together. We can create spaces, connections, and opportunities that make them want to be together though. In Kenmore, we do that through music. In Summit Lake, that often happens by sharing food and recreation. If we can create unique, welcoming experiences like this all over our city, I really believe we will finally have the ticket to population growth and the glue that draws and connects people both to Akron and one another. And with glue like that, families like ours won't want to leave.
Ryan: My hope is that they do something really great for the community at the former Margaret Park Elementary School site on the northwest side of the lake. I would love to see what has been put on paper completed within my lifetime.
What do you think about the resident-led plans for these areas?
Tina: Having resident-led plans is absolutely critical to the success of the parks. It is important that voices are heard in a balanced way, particularly in neighborhoods where generations of families have built homes and lives. They have pride in their place, and rightfully so. Their views should be honored.
Can you talk a little bit about the work you and your family do in these areas?
Tina: When Naomi worked with the Summit Lake Youth Ambassadors this summer, she was able to work in some of the exact same places as her dad and me, and she was able to get paid to do it.
Naomi: It's great to be able to earn money making a difference in the area where you live.
Tina: I especially loved the grand opening of the Summit Lake Nature Center. I got to share it with my husband and my daughter, and I can't tell you how good that felt. This work can sometimes feel lonely, but that day was a sweet reminder that we're all doing this thing together, just in our own unique ways. Ryan sees his work as important because he believes a strong park system brings amenities to people where they live.
Ryan: Parks belong in the city. Kids in Akron deserve to have natural spaces to play in. Taking a kid on a hayride in a city park, seeing their face light up, there's nothing like it.