urbanlife

i can only imagine the increased number of panhandlers looking for money in downtown cleveland. i'm in favor of gambling in ohio, but not as issue 3 is currently framed. it also shouldn't be a constitutional amendment. how many other amendments list specific addresses where activities can occur? i think this sets a bad precedent for our state constitution. an interesting analysis of economic impacts: http://www.i-open.org/cleveland2/2006/09/measuring-social-costs-of-cleveland.html

it just seems like the PD should put this fact in the article. "this is cleveland's 87th murder of the year - X more/less than last year, the least/most since X, etc.). with the population apparently still declining, cleveland should expect and demand the murder rate decrease as well. i understand that murder rates are complicated and may move up and down independent of other factors, but how about sharing the information.

does anyone have the updated murder numbers for this year?

regardless of what people think of the tower, i believe that we too often just tear things down that still have much useful life. there are plenty of surface lots and smaller abandoned buildings downtown, and if the county wanted to build from scratch, they should have chosen something east of gateway or warehouse parking lots. while the empty building is not desirable, i don't think it does much harm if it sits for another 10 years before someone decides it is worth saving, or office demand picks up, or it is converted to condos or something.

is 24 from either the board of education or the old channel 3 building?

#23 - the building south of spy bar on w.6 that has a vacant storefront?

^ euclid buildings are looking for financing / waiting for progress on euclid. no timetable, as there isn't any development money yet. it's one thing to buy a building, it's an entirely different thing to get it renovated. there was some initial work inside, but i think it was more of an inventory of existing structure and problem areas.

who is financing this or is it still in the conceptual phases by the current owners? i am sure this is why you haven't seen more residential construction anywhere - it's not for lack of ideas or interest. if we could get more office space converted to residential, we might even see some new office construction downtown.

i'd start with www.progressiveurban.com on the main page, they list all of the new condos that they are marketing (which is a lot of city condos). then, do a search for specific neighborhoods and choose "all". you will get a good idea of prices and available units for Warehouse District, Gateway District, Ohio City-Tremont. once you have found a few, www.cutlerhomes.com and choose "residential" and type in the address. for some reason PURE only lists one pic with each property, and cutlerhomes often has 6 or more pics listed. if you aren't set on walking everywhere, i would consider battery park units (both condo and townhouse, http://www.batteryparkcleveland.com/) or the walker weeks building downtown (http://www.walkerweeks.com/)

what price range and amenities (minimum square feet, garage parking, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.)? there are some cheap condos downtown, but they can be small and lack parking, etc. units in ohio city might include more space, parking for same price.

another example pointing to 3 areas where cleveland is lacking: 1. transparency - updates to stakeholders and the public 2. accountability - known milestones and expectations, consequences if not met 3. leadership - to drive 1 and 2, as well as formulate longer term strategy. i have somewhat more sympathy for the city (b/c it's the city), but the link from the PD article to clevelandbikes.org shows all kinds of either outdated info (no updates on press releases re: changed ohio laws, bike station planning, the "upcoming event" is on June 30. I can't wait!), non-working links (forum).

are the bike racks mentioned below actually installed or part of the ongoing effort that is discussed on the city's website but not on the streets? i don't think there are 500 bike racks, anyone? http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1158481952226180.xml?ncounty_cuyahoga&coll=2 Cyclists eye site for urban bike station Showers, lockers, storage and more envisioned near The Q Sunday, September 17, 2006 Tom Breckenridge Most Clevelanders roll on four wheels, but urban bicyclists say a downtown haven could boost their modest, two-wheeled numbers. Cleveland Bikes, a biking-advocacy group, is pitching the idea of a bike station across from The Q. The city is listening. In places like Chicago and Long Beach, Calif., legions of commuters and tourists are using bike-station amenities, such as showers and secure storage, to anchor their pedal-pumping trips into downtowns. For more information about bike stations, go to www.clevelandbikes.org

plus, the 326 is really the combination of 2 routes - the 3 and the 26. this bus truly goes cross town and does not terminate in downtown as many of the other routes do. i'm not sure why this is the case though - do people really ride this route all the way through?

the website no longer lists the ohio city car. is it still there or were both cars moved to UC? with the guarantee on revenue for 6 months, it's not a bad move, but i would have figured at least 1 new car in the mix.

Aug Ridership Update overall system ridership was up 2.1% in august year-over-year compared to aug 2005. there were also more than 5000 bike rides (a new system record) and 42000 trolley rides. i don't think the trolley is performing as well as it might, but all in all, good news.

the curbs have been there for awhile sitting in the middle of euclid. i'm not sure what the problem is, but this section it is taking forever to complete. the jackhammering is for the vault reconstruction next to jimmy johns. apparently the fall season starts at playhouse on friday, so they have been busting ass to get that section completed.

^i've emailed and called about the lights numerous times. there seems to be very little action or accountability for whoever is in charge of these. and there always seems to be an excuse, ie "the circuit flipped" or "it's the construction." well, ok, i'd take the circuit excuse about one time - then it better be fixed. this section is continually off at night. the empty storefronts, 14 and 15 bus lines and no street lights is not a nice walk. as for the construction excuse - this city has so many wires strung between poles above ground, that i find it hard to believe that if someone either cared or was accountable, they couldn't string some "temporary" wires for the duration of the underground construction. here is the cpp power out number. not sure it helps, but the more calls the better. 216-621-5483

some of it is size, money, etc. i don't want cleveland to be chicago, or copy everything chicago has done. i DO want cleveland to become a leader in certain areas and take pride in city services, amenities. Can and should we demand the best that our limited dollars can buy? i think so. however, at the end of the day, we need leaders and residents that want the best for cleveland. it is hard to manage a city that is losing population, has a high poverty rate, and is suffering from years of disinvestment. but, if the leaders we have now can't or won't take cleveland to the level it deserves, then 1) they should leave their posts (non profit, govt, or otherwise) or 2) we should vote them out. we can't expect to attract people to cleveland (or even maintain existing levels) with the city in a state of disarray. i'm not asking for a macys downtown, euclid in its glory days, a skyskraper on a WHD parking lot. these would all be nice, of course, and i want them to come. but, we DO have control over some things, namely the streetscape, building code enforcement, zoning and variance enforcement. we HAVE to put a line in the sand somewhere and take this city back. we seem to have set the bar so low, that any progress looks good. this DCA/DCP should be communicating regularly with it's stakeholders and we have to hold the leaders accountable. oh, and on the way home tonight, ALL of prospect ave from e9 to ontario had NO street lights again. give me a break CPP and turn the f'n lights on, or hire some people who can.

so when do the cranes show up? Dear Friends, I am pleased to announce that we are ready to release Phase II Townhomes for pre-sale. I also want to announce that we have just met our pre-sale requirement for Phase I of The Avenue District and are still at pre-construction pricing for the time being. Although, those prices won't last long, so if you were thinking about making Downtown Cleveland and The Avenue District the place were you will live and play; don't let the opportunity to purchase pass you by. Every townhome buyer receives a 15-year tax abatement, a one-year membership to The Cleveland Athletic Club, and a preferred membership rate to the House of Blues Foundation Room. Qualified buyers are also eligible for discounted interest rates of up to 1.5% below market.

hopefully if it exits at ground level from the GLSC, it will actually be above ground, as the back of the center falls off towards the lake. as long as it was elevated to some extent on the way to the mather and a very light/airy footprint, then this sounds interesting.

i saw the boring truck digging holes on the north side of the valley by the mess of ramps where 77/90 intersect. i'd like to see what this data is actually showing on the suitability of different build options.

they are also installing a new trash compactor and recycle container area behind the market. should include some new landscaping as well.

there was an audit done of all of the signage at the airport. there should be some changes forthcoming, but it could be a while. as is, the signs often point in conflicting directions, there aren't consistent "train" logos on the sign - a lot of the signs say "Limos/RTA --->" I don't think people would logically assume that RTA would be grouped with the Limos, and there aren't train logos next. They also go back and forth - they use Rapid Transit, RTA, and sometimes the bus logo. It should at least be consistent. "RTA Trains To City" in addition, the exit from concourse C and D (from security section A, the continental area), there are NO signs directing to RTA.

the newspaper machines are relatively inexpensive, around $1000 each depending on options. RTA has a purchase order for new bus stops, but it appears they are just ordering the same old style. I would have thought with the transit zone improvements, it would have been a good time to brand the downtown stops. apparently not. who is requesting $$ from the cleveland foundation? the city or the DCA? i think the city should be spearheading some of these street improvements.

a few pics from this afternoon: looking east: temporary asphalt in crosswalks: getting ready to pour sidewalks in front of CSU: looking west towards downtown: