BYWAY DESIGNATION Promoters want tour to run close to Lake Erie

Officials would like an Ohio Scenic Byway along the water.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- It would seem a scenic drive along Lake Erie should feature views of the water.
Travel promoters say some tourists have complained that they followed signs directing them along the 14-year-old Lake Erie Circle Tour, on state and federal highways, but didn't get close enough to the lake.
So promoters want to replace the tour with an Ohio Scenic Byway designation that sends drivers along downtown streets and byways hugging the shore.
Mayor Thomas Brown of Port Clinton, where the tour skirts his lakefront downtown, welcomed the suggestion. "I have heard much talk about this; now let's get it," Brown said in a letter of support.
The Lake Erie Circle Tour was created as part of the Great Lakes Circle Tour, which was led by the Great Lakes Commission and dedicated in 1990. The closest federal and state highways were picked, which in Ohio meant primarily U.S. 6 and state Route 2.
The byway designation is the goal of the more recent Lake Erie Coastal Ohio, a nonprofit group promoting historical and natural sites. A committee has almost completed its paperwork for the Ohio Department of Transportation, which reviews all applications.
Going scenic
Ohio now has 17 scenic byways. Four are also National Scenic Byways, a designation Lake Erie officials plan to seek as well.
Frank Lichtkoppler, chairman of the Lake Erie byway committee, said the designation also will bring visitors closer to lakeside treasures other than the view, such as lighthouses, wineries and nature preserves.
He said a recent study by Ohio State University Extension determined the byway designation would draw tourists.
About three-fourths of the 304 respondents said they drive for pleasure at least occasionally, that they are likely to take a scenic drive while at a destination and are willing to change travel plans if they have specific information about a byway's attractions.