urbanlife

http://www.brac.gov/Deliberations.aspx looks like this final vote will occur Thursday or Friday as not on Agenda for this afternoon.

Downtown bears brunt of Cleveland car break-ins Saturday, August 20, 2005 ...

I don't understand why this issue is rarely classified as a "national security issue." Demand is projected to increase, population to increase, economic activity to increase, but as a country even if there is ample oil for another 100 years, we don't control most of it and I haven't seen any pursuasive arguments that the US is going to suddenly find more oil. I say let's agree that oil supply will last a long time, but since we don't control any of it, we are at the mercy of markets and competitors for a critical supplies, or we have to invade or form interesting international alliances with countries that don't share our democratic value system. As a national security/economic issue it should be in everyone's interest to develop more alternatives - regardless of the politically charged environmental vs business arguments. Maybe the alternatives are nuclear, maybe wind, solar, biomass, hydro, hydrogen or some combo of these. Maybe some are ultra clean and some we just have a lot of (coal) and can use all of the smart people in the country to figure out how to make them meet our own determined standards for air quality (since we don't care to participate in any international treaties on this). Best case scenario is oil runs out in 20 years and the US is one of the few players and a big supplier in whatever the "new" sources are. Worst case: Oil companies based in US are still selling oil and making money as demand has continued to increase, but US is now diversified and able to provide additional energy options. We've seen a similar government model in defense and space exploration. Building next generation products supports the important national goals, but also creates new opportunities as development costs decrease and the technologies make their way into the mainstream market. why isn't that happening here on a bigger scale???

As a region i think we have to make a few big bets - a sort of 80/20 rule, where 20% of the overall investment solves 80% of the problem and makes a giant leap forward in jobs, quality of life, etc. Then the next years can be spent finishing the last 20%. Most importantly each of these bets needs to be world class and not half ass. I'm interested in hearing others' opinions on what world class bets have been made in the last 25 years in this region - things that were built in the last 25 years that we are proud of and that are truly world class, whether unique to Cleveland or not. Many of the investmests that we treasure today were created a long time ago - the carnegie libraries, historic housing stock with character, warehouses converted into living spaces, original rapid lines, museums, tower city, bridges. But what has truly occurred from an investment front in the last 25 years that people in 75 years will talk about? I'll start the list of what I think are world class investments in the Cleveland area, and list a few where we dropped the ball and either did a half ass job or gave up altogether. I didn't make a public/private distinction - as i think that when others are leading the way with good practice, the region will follow, whether public or private enterprises started. World Class 1) first mass transit connection to airport (a little more that 25 years ago) 2) Cuyahoga Valley National Park 3) Gateway 4) Cleveland Clinic 5) Rock and Roll hall of fame 6) Towpath trail (when fully completed) 7) Case (if progress continues) 8 ) Key tower 9) bp tower Disappointing or abandoned projects 1) true subway system, after many many studies 2) half ass airport 3) lake front parks / housing / access 4) schools 5) neighborhoods 6) inability to keep home grown enterprises 7) true regional approach to problems/services 8 ) air and water quality not highly valued, a longer term solution

90.3 @ 9 had a program this morning on the towpath/innerbelt and other related transportation projects. Not posted yet on their website yet, but basically it seemed that the completion of the trail past steelyard commons is still a few years away (due to the 25m price tag).

Are there any plans to incorporate a future extension of blue or green line to serve this area? It seems with all of the proposed development from the PD map, that this would be a good opportunity to try and get a line over the river with stops that roughly approximate with Detroit/Superior possible underground station at w.25 (or above ground at w28) and then above ground out to 45th, 54th, 65th/Edgewater, and 76th. Even if the right of ways were built into the middle of the new blvd that would be a start.

The scaffolding on this was taken down, but there are no grates in the sidewalk for any trees. The sidewalk seems too large here to not include some trees, especially with BP and NatCity at both ends having more mature trees planted. Does anyone know if euclid corridor work will include new sidewalks in this area and maybe this is just a temporary concrete pad?

what should happen, imo: red line should go further south through BW and to strongsville; blue line should extend west and green line head due east. then the rapid route map would start to look functional. what will happen: nothing w/out some serious $ and a significant change in attitude by regional leaders and residents. that's why i'm particularly excited about the TODs that are slowly starting to infill around existing redline stations. make this route successful and there will be momentum for expanding the rest of the system.

I just found this picture in a book called "Cleveland: Then and Now" by John Grabowski and Diane Ewart Grabowski, p.84 and p.85. Here is what the "then" caption says: "Northwest of Tremont, in a neighborhood along West Twenty-fifth Street south of Lorain Avenue, most people were of German origin, as the bilingual sign over the dentist's office at the corner of West Twenty-fifth and Vega Avenue shows. In November 1913, the district's residents battled one of the largest blizzards in local history. Although streetcars were soon up and running, the boys partly visible in the foreground seem to be considering an alternative" Here is the "now" caption: "Nearly 90 years have passed since the photographer of the original view stood in the snow on West Tewnty-fifth Street; few of the old buildings have survived. Much of the neighbordhood was lost to the construction of the I-90 freeway. The surrounding area is today largely a Spanish-speaking neighborhood, a fact that makes the street name Vega and the entrance ramp sign pointing the way to Toledo doubly meaningful."

and I was all excited... Google Earth downloads temporarily delayed Thanks for your interest in Google Earth, but we're sorry we can't offer you a download right now. As you know, Google Earth is in beta, and we're still building out our ability to take on new users. We're making good progress, and expect to be able to accept new downloads shortly, so we recommend you check back daily at earth.google.com. We hope to be able to welcome you and other new planet surfers soon. We appreciate your patience, The Google Earth Team

Circus in the Flats sold By STAN BULLARD June 15. 2005 11:32AM The sale of the Circus, an adult club in the Flats, likely adds a new hoop to jump through for the real estate developer planning to redo Old River Road as an upscale downtown neighborhood. HDV Cleveland LLC, an out-of-town investor group associated with the 75-club Déjà Vu chain, acquired the Circus in the Flats on Tuesday, June 14, and plans to turn it into a Larry Flynt Hustler Club. The sale comes shortly after the Wolstein Group development concern announced plans to remake Old River north of Main Avenue as a new downtown neighborhood with condos, apartments and retail space. More at http://www.crainscleveland.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050615/FREE/50615001/1004&Profile=1004