MayDay

They may not be the sexiest of jobs but f#ckin' ay!!! :clap:

"pretend it's a foregone conclusion, much like the "need" for a new convention center." :roll: Roldo, is that you? I know this is off-topic but I get tired of people suggesting that the current facilities are just fine and dandy. I'm not saying a new center is the answer to all of Cleveland's ills, but to suggest that what we have now is sufficient is as disingenuous as it gets. The simple fact of the matter is that the current convention center is functionally obsolete. It's not a matter of "ooh, looky - Pittsburgh and Columbus have new shiny centers, we need one too!!!". And we KNOW that convention centers have historically required hefty subsidies. It's a matter of what the industry requires - a middle-of-the-road center has around twenty loading docks in order to stage standard shows. Cleveland's convention center has TWO. That results in East 6th Street becoming a clusterf#ck of a marshalling yard - and let's not forget that the truck drivers aren't idling for free. The center's main exhibit hall is unusable for a majority of shows - the columns prevent exhibitors from displaying any kind of sizable booth, the wiring is run under carpets creating 'speedbumps', and of course the cave-like ambiance doesn't help. Is a new center the answer? I don't know, but I do know the current center is woefully inadequate for the market that Cleveland serves.

"None of what I was saying should be interpreted as any sort of concrete proposal, however. I was really just taking a stab at something I would like to see explored." It's all good - and now that I understand what portion you're talking about, I think that could be feasible. That little stretch doesn't need to be as wide as it is for vehicular traffic.

"I think that they should divert traffic from the Public Square area as much as is possible and then narrow the streets and repave them with brick or cobblestone" I like that idea, although keep in mind that Public Square currently serves as the hub for most of the major bus lines. If we divert traffic from there, that would include those bus lines. I could see reducing the streets by a lane each way, but again - the existing traffic is going to have to go somewhere else. "I would look into if we really need the "ring" road that seperates the square from the buildings fronting it. Euclid seems obviously vital. But the rest? Just to clarify, Euclid terminates at the eastern edge of the May Company building so are you proposing making Euclid a dead-end at Public Square? One idea I think could be a step in the right direction is to close Ontario at Public Square on either side but leave Superior as is. That would keep the east-west flow on Superior and prevent shifting all that traffic to side streets, but at the same time create better access for pedestrians via two halves (a north and south half) of the square.

I posted my comments in an earlier thread about Public Square http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2541.msg23948#msg23948 I said it before, I'll say it again - if you find Public Square "nearly impossible to reach by foot", you are obviously crippled and lack any sort of assistance (walker, wheelchair, etc.). It kills me that people equate 'pedestrian friendly' with 'ease of jaywalking'. Gee, sorry you can't just blindly amble into the street - guess that makes a place auto-centric! :roll: For those who suggest totally closing Public Square to auto traffic, I strongly urge you to ask the city leaders of Youngstown why that's SUCH a great idea. "We have suburbanites drive in from Westlake who feed them on the Public Square so that they keep coming back. I always want to ask them if they would do that in their neighborhood park, but I've never been cold blooded enough to do so." I'll go with you - if they want to help, they can volunteer at established food pantries, etc.

As far as a livable neighborhood, I agree that most Clevelanders aren't aware of the options in/near Chinatown. I will say though, that there's one aspect that does get a lot of publicity - the restaurants. Bo Loong, #1 Pho, and Siam Cafe are really popular with most Cleveland "foodies" - check the Food and Wine Forum over at cleveland.com which is mostly suburbanites, but they're definitely aware of the restaurant scene in Chinatown. I've seen reviews for all of the above in Scene, Free Times, Northern Ohio Live and Cleveland Magazine, so it's not like the local media is unaware of it. Remember, once Tremont's restaurant scene took off - investment started pouring in :-)

As mrnyc said - this is a great tour of an area that not many people know about, and there are still spots for the next thread - Tink Holl Market on 36th comes to mind. They were originally located in Asia Plaza but moved out to expand their operations. Excellent job! :clap:

About time! :clap:

As I said before - he had a legitimate place in Cleveland's past as a muckraker when there was an overabundance of muck. I'm not saying that everything has been cleaned up in Cleveland but now he's a muckraker to justify his blathering rants. He's a relic of Cleveland's regrettable past and it absolutely boggles my mind that the people at Cool Cleveland find his ranting diatribes worthy of distribution. Here he is, toiling away in his office (it looks like one of those places the 2 British cleaning ladies on TLC would have a field day with):

Oh. My. God. :-o

The wha??? :? :wink:

You can admire sports figures your way, and MyTwoSense and I will admire them our way! :-D

"We don't want to see a bottleneck like the one currently at the SR 83 interchange.'" Well, that's what you get when you take a formerly rural area and expect the existing infrastructure to accomodate every Suzy SoccerMom and her family's 3-4 vehicles. And of course, don't forget zoning which eliminates any chance of walkability. :roll:

From what I can see from the Shoreway, they're still doing site prep (drilling), although I'm pretty sure I saw a new piece of equipment down there (as in possibly a crane?).

Just confirmed, they're actually $60 - while it's a bit pricey, I'm pretty sure this is their big fundraiser as a non-profit. I'm not sure about the Ohio City tour, I can check though.

Err... all I know is that it's unfortunate about Edwards - he's quite a hottie and now we'll see less of him since he's on the disabled list! :-D

Just an fyi, I believe tickets for the tours start around $50ish. What's funny on that blog you cited is seeing that the writer is from my hometown, and she even explains how she always has to clarify that it's neither in Massachusetts nor off I-71! :lol:

Aw geez, haven't the poor guy's chops been busted enough?

Can't wait for it to get here - although I saw on the Hotel Bruce blog that the cars won't be in Cleveland until March, but the site says "early 2006"? Hopefully they'll clear that up and we can get rolling! :clap:

No map, but here's a list: Red light and speed cameras: Shaker Boulevard at Shaker Square Chester Avenue at Euclid Avenue West Boulevard at North Marginal Road Shaker Boulevard and East 116th Street West Boulevard at Interstate 90 ramp Chester Avenue at East 71st Street East 55th Street at Carnegie Avenue East 131st Street at Harvard Avenue Carnegie Avenue at East 30th Street Cedar Avenue at Murray Hill Road Grayton Road at Interstate 480 ramp Euclid Avenue at Mayfield Road Warren Road at Interstate 90 ramp Prospect Avenue at East 40th ramp East 116th Street at Union Avenue West 117th Street at Interstate 90 ramp Pearl Road at Biddulph Road Carnegie Avenue at East 100th Street Memphis Avenue at Fulton Road Lake Shore Boulevard at East 159th Street St. Clair Avenue at London Road Speed only cameras: Clifton Boulevard between West 110th and West 104th Chester Avenue between East 55th and East 40th Streets Woodland Avenue between Interstate 90 ramp and Madison Avenue Broadway between Harvard and Miles avenues Lee Road between Tarkington Avenue and Interstate 480 ramp

I personally wish they would put a red-light camera at Clifton and West 110th - as it is, they're only going to have a speed camera. Last year I was within one foot of being killed (I'm thinking as a pedestrian, getting hit by a minivan at 40ish mph would result in death) by some @sshole who just blew through that light.

^I saw a clip on one of the newstations that most signals will have the yellow light increased from 3 to 4 seconds to alleviate the "panic brake slam" concerns. Supposedly that helps with the issue.

The safety forces aren't immune to economic realities and downsizing, and neither should city council be.

"There is plenty of developable land in Cleveland. The city chooses to use much of it for parking lots." One, if it's used as a parking lot, it's likely that the city DOESN'T own it. Two, there may well be developable land but we're talking brownfields here. Again, the industrial landbank initiative should remedy a lot of these cases. "As it is, Cleveland is sending jobs to both Strongsville AND Mississippi." And the Heart Center at the Clinic will bring 1,500 to 2,000 jobs; the West Quad project will bring anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 jobs. I don't see the Clinic or University Hospitals opening world-class facilities in either Strongsville or Mississippi.

It depends on what constitutes "West Siders". People who live in Bay, River, Westlake and Lakewood for the most part take I-90 to Chester Avenue or MLK to reach University Circle. Now if you mean West Siders as in the Clifton/Edgewater/Cudell/Detroit-Shoreway, this boulevard won't provide much benefit. Even so, while the Shoreway becomes I-90 with an exit onto MLK which leads to University Circle, it's not at all convenient to the employment centers such as the Clinic and University Hospitals. MLK's speed limit was bumped up to 35mph but it's not designed to be a commuter route. An average trip during the workweek from say, River would be 20 minutes from River to downtown via I-90 and another 20-30 minutes from downtown taking Chester or MLK. And while I don't think that our priority should be increasing Cleveland's car-friendliness, wimwar is exactly right - there's a saying that goes "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar".