Map Boy

KJP, you have a life! And your life is all about making our lives better! I love the drawings and they look sensible to me, but I don't know if an engineer from ODOT would understand all those numbers and colors...not too quick, you see... I'm joking, of course, and I'm sure all of the engineers that have worked on this project have done all the i-dotting and t-crossing that they've been asked to do. But how about compelling them, as X mentioned, to find a better solution, rather than just crossing options off. It looks like KJP's given them a good start! Another technical question: with all the sliding slopes heading into the Cuyahoga Valley that we've heard so much about recently, what are the constraints here? I understand the existing supports have been slipping for years and have been steadied to a large degree. There's the west bank, but also the peninsula in the Flats. How are the supports there? The retaining walls, or whatever they're called...

I've had the same reservations and I agree... While Ohio City is one of the more vibrant urban neihborhoods in Cleveland, it is still functioning on a delicate balance. I think that one day we'll have a contiguous corridor down West 25th into Clark/Metro/Fulton, but to concentrate so much new housing on that end of the district right now might be a mistake. I think we really need to concentrate on the gaps along West 25th between Lorain and Detroit! I wonder how active Lutheran Hospital has been in these discussions...they've got quite a few parking lots along that stretch...as do other companies.

Exciting news from today's PD! I can tell you from personal experience that the complexities of getting through rough terrain and busy areas along the Gwynns Falls Trail in Baltimore made the project LOADS more expensive, but far more inspiring! The bridges that they built were some of their most extravagant costs, but when you see them and use them, the difference it makes and the visual impact is just amazing! 2 bridges to take Towpath over traffic Friday, November 18, 2005 John C. Kuehner Plain Dealer Reporter Valley View- We're about to get a new view of Warner and Granger roads. The Cleveland Metroparks are building a pair of 800-foot-long pedestrian bridges that will whisk walkers, bikers and skaters on the Towpath Trail 17 feet over Warner and Granger roads. The bridge foundations are taking shape, and the first of four 100-foot-long concrete ramps is in place along Canal Road.

Well put X! I look forward to continuing this conversation on here tomorrow!

ps: is the planning commission meeting in that tiny little room in City Hall? That won't work! If anyone has heard otherwise, let us know here!

I spent about an hour at the pre-presentation session, chatting up ODOT and B&N reps and listening in on other conversations. There were many constant themes from these people and they presented the core issues that have to be addressed. It's hard to argue with an engineer as a lay-person. It's also hard to argue with the person who hired the engineer when they keep citing the work done by the engineer that I can't argue with. Bottom line, if there's going to be any legitimacy to Alsenas's recommendations, there's going to have to be an alternative assessment and analysis by an equally reputable engineering firm. Unfortunately, this does not yet exist and the momentum behind this one is so significant that it doesn't seem like there's much left to do discuss. We can tinker with the fine details...a shrub here, a curb height there...but that's about it. Honestly, I felt pretty helpless in this discussion. I am knowledgable about what I want, but there are so many people on either side of the table that it's tough to claim that my view is the correct one. For example, I don't think that there need to be any more exit ramps or any more mass to the bridge or the innerbelt as it runs through Downtown. However, you get one individual who is about to lose their building to a new exit ramp and they're on my side. You get another one from a half-block away and they are fighting tooth-and-nail to keep the exit ramp as close to them as possible. It's pretty ridiculous. What if I bring my "urbanist" view that we should just get rid of the freeway through downtown, cancel the bridge altogether, close all the ramps, and turn the trench into a cozy river running along the eastern edge of downtown where I can row my gondola and skip rocks? well, the reality is that if they did that, or more realistically, if they just shut down the bridge for a year or two in order to build a new one, that Downtown businesses would suffer SEVERELY. And that would leave me with not a whole lot to be proud of Downtown. Of course, I could argue that this would be better for everyone in the long-run, after Downtown caught up from a two-year purging period, but that's not really practical. That last scenario was actually the one given by Paul ___ from B&N. His response to Paul Alsenas's recommendation for a southern alignment bridge was that it would require one of two options. One would be to knock down the church...a true non-starter. The other would be to shut down or knock down the bridge for at least a year, leaving us with the effects I just described. And really, I haven't seen a proposal that tells me that he's not doing all of his homework! Enter: engineering second opinion. Another issue that permeated the discussion was the amount of takings. There are some 29 at this stage in the game and that number is subject to change either way as the study progresses, but many of these buildings are occupied and many are what some of us would consider historic. The responses varied from "well, if we save that one, we'll have to knock down this one," to "well, it comes down to a matter of cost. is the cost of losing that building more than the cost of building around it?" gee, I don't know! anyway, the turnout appeared good. the representatives were there and were getting drilled and were holding there own. was there any impact from the part I was at or the presentation I missed (thanks to my stats class!) in respect to citizens changing their mind or feeling like they understood or respected the decision any more or less? were any of the representatives from ODOT, B&N, URS, etc. swayed one way or another? Who knows? It would've been great to find that one B&N or ODOT official who said, "hey, don't tell anyone I told you this, but this is all a load of crap...this is all politics and good luck getting them to change their minds." but that didn't happen and honestly, i don't think that's the case, so what do we do next?

the facade will facade? what's that mean? yes, this is great news... I was thrilled to find this out, but sad to hear that it was 100% rented at rates that are on par with some of the higher rates Downtown! talk about "emerging!" I say "sad," because it sounded so great and then went up in smoke...

I heard the whole program this morning...all 30 minutes of it. It felt like it should have been more like 2 hours, though! Also, it was marketed all-wrong. The blurb makes it sound like the issue at hand is whether or not Cleveland deserves a signature bridge. They started out with about 2-minutes of comments from some random caller on why Cleveland needs this new landmark. And within about 3 seconds of turning it over to the experts, the true issue emerged (duh!). Paul Alsenas, Steven Litt and Craig Hebebrand all agree that what is built should be a landmark with design that befits the aspirations of this city. But as well all know (on this forum, at least), the issue is not what kind of bridge should be built, but WHERE it should be built, why and what impacts the different options should have. I could type the entire dialogue, as I remember it, but I'd rather just mention my favorite part. Paul Alsenas likened this project to a major surgery. He asked which of us wouldn't want to get a second opinion before going under the knife (not exact words, but you get the picture). Would you get a major organ taken out without knowing for certain that this would be the solution that made the most sense? That it would have the least negative side effects? That it would offer you the most opportunity to remain healthy and perhaps get even healthier? And so on. All three made intelligent arguments and the thing seemed to be over before it began. I hope that there were listeners out there who hadn't thought about this subject yet. I hope that they show up en masse tomorrow at the Wolstein Center.

it had better be "just heating up!" I just got here! Seriously, though, where was the public response when the community meetings were going on? I get the feeling that there wasn't any sense of urgency at the time. It probably means that no one knew what this all meant or what the timelines were and what not. But why weren't Alsenas et al more adamant about this "forgone" option back then?

Urbanlife...good start! I was out with YSOH the other night and we took a few snaps. This is just the first block! The former Oberlin art/performance space on Euclid & E. 13th: m lang, doing it up right! The brand spanking new Idea Center, setting a fantastic precedent: I'll admit that I've stopped by these displays at ANG more than a few times: more to come...

It's HUGE! I love that they put a single barricade in front of it with some helpful "caution" tape...just in case someone didn't see it coming!

well said wimwar!

Oh no! It looks like gigantic ants have taken over the site, building their homes along the southern edge of the Battery Park property! What's next? The East Bank? The Avenue District?

Breaking news! You heard it here first! I've said this elsewhere...University Circle will be the hub of growth for Cleveland in the next 20 years. More jobs will be added there than anywhere else in the region. It is of utmost importance that the leaders of institutions in and around the Circle be highly competence and cooperative amongst each other. I think Chris Ronayne will prove to be the pinnacle of this sort of leader. Wimwar, how do you feel he'll maintain or change the direction of UCI that the prior President, Terri Hamilton Brown?

well, if Voinovich and his $85m are actually behind more research on this, that could be a source, no?

I think the methodology your talking about, KJP, is very similar to the one that the Portland Streetcar used. Although they were counting on a larger amount of new construction as well in the Hoyt Street Yards project. I began doing some research on this while living there, but never got very far. It's interesting to note, though, that the Portland Streetcar is a separate entity from Tri-Met, the Portland version of RTA. They have their own funding, etc...and it's been a huge success!

I'm sending out eight more letters today! Everyone who is able, be sure to attend the meeting this Thursday!!!

B12, I wanted to show that not only the Lakewood side, but also the Cleveland side of Detroit have been looking up. There should be lots more new development around this node (Detroit & 117th) in the near future!

I don't know who that is! I thought it was very strange when this "being" rode by on his/her bike and looked like a cutout of a real person. I had to take a picture! MayDay, I thought those condos were old-ish and that that balconies/porches were recent add-ons. Was the whole thing new construction? I know the corner building is new, but I'm thinking that the ones to the east are from the 1920s. Also, I'll update the Chicle caption to reflect the appropriate #...thanks! I was kinda rushing to post this for some reason...

i'm not yawning! Just too busy to check this out! I'll have more later, but I can tell you that the new parking deck access doesn't need to be created. There's already a second entrance/exit on Chester that is never open. Shift the booth over there and you've got your problem solved without having to put a driveway through CSU's open space!

Cuddel/Edgewaterl...Just across the Cleveland border from Lakewood...Detroit Avenue from W. 103rd to W. 117th: Some rowhouses on W. 117th, just south of Detroit: Old storefronts and new old storefronts at Detroit and W. 116th (the ones on the right were being fixed up): The north side of Detroit at 116th has a couple old tenants and a couple newer ones: The north side of Detroit at W. 111th: South side of Detroit at W. 110th...some old (?), some new: Recently completed Chicle lofts, soon to be home to another 36-44 new townhomes!

Upon visiting the site, this is actually one of my favorite developments going on right now. It's in Lakewood, which kills some of the buzz for me, but it's really part of a contiguous Detroit Avenue that runs through Cleveland into Lakewood and is looking really nice! (see the photos below) Rysar has its hands in quite a few nice projects right now and I hope Cleveland can do more to capture their investment dollars. From what I hear, Ken Lurie is a Jackson backer who used to support Jane, so that should bode well for the future. As for the future of the site just east of the project that Wimwar mentioned earlier (formerly a health goods store)...it's going to be a Cleveland Clinic medical office, which will only help solidify this neighborhood's position as a great place to live and work!

Rode my bike by the site today and checked out the sales center. First off, best sales center I've ever seen! It's in an old firehouse that Rysar bought on site that still has two fire poles and lots of character. The 3-D model is, of course, the coolest part of the marketing, but the people in there really know their stuff too! And they had cookies! More of the model shots: Some real time views of the first phase of development: The Detroit townhomes: The Hopkins Avenue Townhomes: The rears, with two-car garages, patios and room for four more townhouses in the future!

The function of a BID is really up to the BID members. They can decide one year to include 50% of their program budget towards safety and 50% towards holiday decorations if they want to. Next year, they can change it to be 10% holiday decorations, 25% marketing, 15% sanitation, 25% capital improvements, and 25% safety. There's really lots of flexibility in deciding what to spend the money on from year to year. I think this is the type of thing that could be brought to them by citizens or residents of the BID area, but in the end, it's the choice of the property owners who pay fees towards the BID. That being said, depending on what kind of budget they've laid out for next year, there may be an opportunity to get some support from them. But if their whole budget is already laid out on specific programs, it might be another year before money would be available. Either way, engaging them would be a good idea!

I am 99.9% optimistic that when you move back to Cleveland in 5 years (maybe sooner!) Euclid Avenue will be a much different place. Cleveland State is going nowhere but up...their master plan (which you can find on several threads here) is very progressive and turns the cold shoulder that CSU has traditionally had around, creating retail and housing on the avenues and encouraging pedestrian traffic. Investments like those that we're already seeing on Lower Euclid (MRN's East 4th and the 515 Euclid garage with its retail and potential condo tower) will spread up Euclid and join with the investments that already shine so brightly at Playhouse Square. I agree that the section of Euclid between 9th and 12th is one of the worst, but with the County moving in sometime in the next 10 years and the Euclid Corridor finishing up in 2-4 years, the market will take care of the rest. Not to mention the effects that new housing on E. 12th and elsewhere Downtown will have on these prime addresses! Prospect is looking up as well and I think we'll have several contiguous blocks of vibrant, mixed-use, 20-24-hour urban fabric along these corridors within the next 10 years. This thread is about what we do in the meantime to enliven the empty storefronts and encourage owners to take active interest in the streets now...not just when the momentum is in full swing 5 years down the line.