KENT: City leaders are paddling forward with plans to build a whitewater park downtown and improve access to the Cuyahoga River for canoes and kayaks.

Kent is seeking a $1.5 million state grant to develop the Kent Cuyahoga Riveredge Park.

''The river is one of our greatest assets,'' city manager Dave Ruller said. ''We think it will be a catalyst to the economic revitalization for our downtown. On a lot of levels, it's a good fit with Kent's river heritage.''

The goal is to improve the ability for people to enjoy the river, which is in a gorge and runs through downtown. The project involves not only trying to develop a whitewater section for avid paddlers, but also making it easier for people to play and fish there.

The overall project area runs from the Crain Avenue Bridge to John Brown Tannery Park, and

also includes work at River Bend Park. It involves landscaping, new parking areas, a boat launch and installation of restrooms and a changing room.

The city also hopes to lure an enterpreneur to open a livery there, said John Idone, city parks and recreation director.

Wayne Caudill, who was walking along the river this week, said he had never really thought about the prospect of kayaking there.

But noting the racing water due to increased rain and melting snow, the 55-year-old Brady Lake resident said: ''It'd be a lot of fun going down through there.''

He also was happy that the city wants to open up the river more for people.

City leaders have been talking about the proposal for more than a year and hired Recreation Engineering and Planning, a design firm from Boulder, Colo., to see if the project was feasible and to offer recommendations.

''Everything we've heard back, whether it's from the community or local government, has been very positive,'' said David Hill of Cuyahoga Falls, a longtime proponent of the project and a volunteer with the group American Whitewater. ''The exciting thing is it's not just looking at it from a kayaker's standpoint. They want to design a park that is going to allow amultitude of users down there.''

The city is applying for the grant through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and should hear in late August whether the project will be funded.

The state has $3.6 million available for such boating projects, but receives requests totaling $13 million to $16 million each year. Typically, eight to 12 projects are funded.