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Well, isn't it just the shoreway that will be downgraded? Once the westside shoreway links up with I-90, the boulevard will hug 90 until it reaches Gordon Park. Am I wrong? I don't think that 90 will be touched by this plan.

Seems ridiculous that residential would be excluded from this brownfield statute.

Are they importing the materials from Mars?

self edit.

For such stores to come to Cleveland, I think that there would have to be some sort of large scale development that will bring other similar stores in at the same time. I don't see any major retailer taking a chance on Euclid until they have some sort of assurance that others will come as well. That is why this Crocker Park developer guy is a good thing. It will take a visionary like him and some sort of divine intervention to get Forest City on board in order to get a large scale project downtown.

I wish that I was supporting her. With what doctors make, I would be doing quite nicely.

Locutus, If you only care about your wallet and nothing else, then good luck with life. By the way, TN, which has the 3rd lowest tax burden, sends 75% of its medical students out of state for residencies. My wife, who is one of them, will be heading to Ohio for her residency.

The types of infrastructure necessary for growth are changing. Canals, roads, etc were very important and to an extent, they still are. However, intellectual infrastructure is more important and will continue to be. That is why education is so important. From pre-k through grad school. Studies show that for every dollar invested in pre-K eductation, a state sees a 17fold return. I agree that we need to retain more of our youth--the question is how do we do that? Kids don't run off to New York because of the high or low taxes. They go there because of the city's mystique and because they can find a job. Job growth (if ever) will come to Ohio because of diverse grouping a factors. Not just one. If you lowered taxes, you would see a greater amount of poverty in this state and a worsening of the public school system. Public schools are often equated with quality of life. Quality of life is a major factor in bringing and retaining business. Locutus, it is not as easy as you think. I am sick of selfish minded folk who only worry about their paycheck. They hate to see taxes go up because it means less for them. They often disguise their selfishness to their own selves and others by adopting the small-minded view that lowering taxes is the one and only way to economic success. If it were, then I would be all for it.

Locutus, Business is very diverse. Tennessee has very low taxes and there is much industry locating here. Why? Because they don't have to pay large wages to the workers. It is not all about the corporate tax as you suggest. You argue as if all states are on a level playing field. States such as Ohio are not and in order to attract businesses, it has to be innovative and create an environment where the most promising businesses will succeed. So, you are telling me that government has no clue whatsoever which types of businesses will thrive. C'mon, I know you don't really believe that. In the end, government should not be short sighted. Unfortunately, politicians are not looking long term. If the state really wanted to thrive, it would have to invest heavily in education. Lower taxes as much as you can, but throw tons of money at a good education system. There would be some lean years, but it would eventually pay off. However, no one really has the guts to try that.

Locutus, Here you go again, looking at the world through tax-free glasses. It is much more complicated than you make it out to be. You are against taxes and you will shape any situation to support your view. I would love to have 0% taxes, but you need to look at reality and the peculiarities that each situation presents. A rigid, black and white view will do a lot of damage. I agree that you can't support industry that is dying. I have no clue why Bush chose to prop up the steel industry ove the past few years. That was a mistake. However, investing in the latest technology will give our state an advantage and help create jobs and an environment that attract other similar companies. It is already being to work in Cleveland. We need to keep it up.

I am glad that he is trying again. It is sad how this state is dragged down by ignorant voting trends.

Not exactly the news I wanted to hear..

If this happens, it seems like Alsenas is the one who made it happen. We would have to at least buy him a gift certificate or something :).

Litt talks about how ugly the present bridge is. I really don't think it is that bad. Its not a landmark or anything, but its not as bad as the 490 bridge. I wouldn't worry about density. With all that land opening up, I assume that it would start out under govt. control. The city would surely zone it for high density mixed use and hopefully leave space for train to go through the middle of it. They, they would sell it off to developers who will have a ready made plan and time table for construction. I can see how one would say that it would dilute the housing market if we built there. But, the problem is not lack of demand. If we built there and put more people close to downtown, it would help the entire downtown. I see vibrant downtowns in cities with half the size of Cleveland. We need to market our downtown better and make it easier to live there.

Getting back to the bridge.. I am more excited about the new allignment than I am about a new design. I am really not that enthralled by some of the new bridge designs. The Boston bridge looks quite ugly to me (but then again, ugly is the new pretty). But, it would give Tremonters another beautiful view if designed well. We shall see. Good to read that things are looking better..

So, we should know in the fall. Geez, we have had so many decisions pushed back. County headquarters, convention center. i am sure they are pushed back in order to gather more info, which is fine. But, I wanna know.. Also, I am pretty nervous about the governmental decisions coming in the next month. They could be a big blow to Cleveland.

One question on the dream scenario: I read somewhere that the new bridge would be lower than the old one. Would the highway be sunk as intersects with Prospect/Broadway?

Here is a nice pic:

While we are on the topic of transit.. I have two things: First, as I read this latest blurb on the innerbelt reconstruction, I got to thinking. While this is probably not feasible, What if we took out the inner belt bridge? Yes, and not replace it. 490 could be widened and let that serve as the main connector to downtown and 77. I realize that this would add some time on to the daily commute, but it would help connect Tremont back to Ohio City, open up a lot of space south of Gateway and in the Flats. I don't think it would work, but what if? Also, here is the latest on the innerbelt bridge.. ODOT studying a new Innerbelt Bridge Consultants for the Ohio Department of Transportation are studying ways to build an entirely new Innerbelt bridge as part of its massive Innerbelt reconstruction project. At a project meeting in February, the ODOT consultants dismissed the idea, saying that a new span couldn't be built without taking down Tremont's iconic Greek Orthodox church (a political non-starter). But community groups and County officials pressed for a more detailed study, citing a wide variety of concerns about ODOT's desire to add additional traffic lanes to the existing bridge. Consultants are now privately showing an engineering diagram that shifts the bridge slightly to the south, and reconfigures ramps to create new development opportunities south of Jacobs Field. We're told that the design would also drop the road deck of the bridge significantly, improving views across the valley from both Tremont and downtown, and helping to improve street networks in the Gateway and Quadrangle districts. As we reported in January, proponents of a new Innerbelt bridge have called for world-class architectural design. Just as importantly, they've urged ODOT to realign the bridge and highway south toward the river bluff, which would create enormous development opportunities near the $1.5 billion Gateway complex. To that end, KSU's Urban Design Center, Cleveland Public Art and EcoCity Cleveland are considering a "Gateway Challenge" design competition similar to last year's successful Lakefront Challenge, seeking development visions for 30-50 acres just south of Carnegie Avenue. The competition would help raise community awareness about the land's potential, and also encourage ODOT to take a closer look at realignment possibilities.

"who says public demand for the road can change the position of highway officials in those two states. Residents of Ohio and Michigan are frequent visitors to the S.C. coast, and they probably will pressure their officials to complete the road to the north when it appears definite that the southern part of the route will be built." Would 73 really be that convenient for Ohioans travelling to South Carolina? It seems that I-77 does a good enough job of that. I doubt that there will be a public demand by Ohio vacationers to chop an hour or two off travel time to Myrtle Beach.

wow, what a site. this will give us stuff to look at every two weeks or so. Looks like the Chicle site will undergo a huge improvement.

I find these cranes fascinating and look forward to the time when they are reconstructed in the Flats. In the meanwhile, here is a fundraising site with an opportunity for a cool mug: http://www.citizensvision.org/home-hm/indexFHM.html

Calabrese lives in Westlake? Seems a bit contradictory for a transit head to live out there.

I can't find the topic, but I remember reading that the port authority was looking into buying up WHD lots to squeeze out other lot owners. Looks like Cleveland has had this idea going for a while. Below is an excerpt from Bruce Blog in late 2003 Plans are in the works for the development of a new city park in the Flats known as Canal Basin Park, located just west of where Forest City wanted to build a convention center. First, the Cleveland Waterfront Coalition, the nonprofit that fought to save two of the giant Hulett ore unloaders, is conducting an engineering study to see if a parcel of land at the river’s edge is suitable to support the Huletts. The land, just west of the Carter Road Bridge, is owned by businessman Mike Miller, who tore down an old B&O railroad station and paved it over for parking. The city really wants a park there and an achievable green space initiative that it can get a win on (one that is easier or more achievable than Whiskey Island) and that Campbell administration can take credit for. So, the city surrounded Miller with parking and lowered their rates to effectively squeeze his parking operation out—which seems to be working—he can’t fill his lot even charging $1 a day.The CWC is spending some considerable money to test the soil to see if the riverbank land could support the tonnage of the Huletts and to assess the market value of the land in order to make Miller a competitive offer.

My favorite tax scheme is one attempted by Davidson County (Nashville) state senators to pay for a new minor league park. They tried to raise the state-wide sales tax for construction costs. The sales tax would be raised in every county except Davidson. Somehow, the state legislature didn't pass it. :-o :roll: