Vulpster03

really? because I haven't noticed any construction going on.

Not sure if this is supposed to go here or not, but Kim Crow - PD Style Editor - has been giving her input on retail for downtown Cleveland. New projects need destination stores Wednesday, July 19, 2006 Kim Crow Plain Dealer There are big plans afoot for downtown Cleveland. Developers Scott Wolstein, Bob Stark and others are planning major projects for the Flats and the Warehouse District. There is also the proposed Avenue District proj ect (near the Galleria). Every plan includes a mix of housing, restau rants and retail. The plans are in the "vague" phase as the developers acquire the necessary property and funding, all the messy details that need to be solved before they can sign a list of tenants. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com Readers wish for these shops Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Kim Crow Plain Dealer Cleveland shoppers unite! Last week I wrote about the need for destination stores in the ambitious plans developers have for downtown Cleveland, and I invited readers to send me their wish lists. I was happy to hear from nearly 100 heavily interested, well-traveled folks eager for more diverse shopping closer to home. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com

How many more gated/guarded parking lot spaces will be needed now?

Walk + Roll is a go-ahead by the way. It is starting this August! They will be closing MLK drive and depending on its success, they might expand it to include the whole summer in the future. http://www.speiglechiro.com/about.asp

C-Dawg, I've thought about this too. How important really are "schools" to people? While I don't doubt abhorent school districts are a deterrent for families, are "schools" still a high priority for parents? The answer is no. I grew up in a booming suburb called Avon Lake (just over the border from Cuyahoga County in Lorain) that has a good school system, but if these new people moving in REALLY cared about the schools, then they would have moved to Rocky River, Bay Village, or Westlake. I believe that low taxes, high square footage, and "newness" actually motivate people more than schools.

Hmm, yeah that's really too bad about the store. What a disappointment. When I heard "cigar bar" I really thought it was going to be something like 806 in Tremont or Club Macanudo in Manhattan.

I'm kind of interested in the trends regarding time of day ridership. Are we seeing an increase in more people ride later in the day? Does anyone know?

^Bagel on the Avenue; between Terminal Tower and the Renaissance from a little stand in the corridor off Public Square. I buy a bagel there 2x a week at least. Not the greatest bagels in the world, but pretty cheap.

I was going to plug the site, but I got distracted and they left.

Good point. I don't believe people really mean what they say when they are asked those things for the exact same reasons. You can't hardly smoke in any "dining room" setting of a restaurant - even casual ones. But I think the way the question is phrased people always seem to answer they would eat out more. You have to remember that SmokeFreeOhio wants people to answer a certain way, and I don't think you can really take them seriously.

I was at Bier Markt yesterday and picked up some interesting information. First of all the Bier Markt would like to open a full-service restaurant, however the building is protected by a certain historical status that would not allow them to install the proper ventilation necessary for a full-service kitchen. Apparently the "cigar bar" project for the old Middle Eastern Foods store is not going to be so much a bar as will be a store. I think the concept is an upscale wine, liquor and cigar store, but no plans for a bar according to the owner who stops in the Bier Markt regularly. I met a couple guys on their way out, but they along with a group of investors want to do some kind of mixed-use concept "similar to Tower Press" - somewhere in Cleveland. They said they weren't real estate developers, but rather a group looking at openning a cluster of complimentary small businesses. They are scouting locations and narrowing them down, but Ohio City is in the running. When I was talking to them, they seemed kind of clueless about all the neighborhood developments throughout town like Gordon Square, the Avenue District, and Stark's Warehouse District development.

^ I agree. As much as I find the proposal interesting, I can't imagine the Clinic can't unify their campus and add greenspace to the street without closing Euclid Avenue traffic.

^That is an interesting point. I spend quite a bit of time in Public Square myself; mornings, lunch, after work, cigarette breaks. In fact, I think I'm the only 21 year old guy wearing a blazer and smoking out there on the square, so if anyone notices me, feel free to say hi. There are visibly much less people in Public Square since the construction started. Although - quite a bit of pedestrian access has been limited in parts of the square, and I think a lot of people who work east of Ontario, namely along Superior, aren't coming through the square to Tower City, like they usually do for lunch. Hardly anyone is to be seen during the day in front of Tower City now that the buses are running along Prospect. It looks much less vibrant now that construction started, which is to be expected. Thankfully, it is only temporary.

I really like these short films of unique neighborhoods and places. For me its been pretty addicting since I've discovered it. There is one of Cincinnati's Mt. Adams Neighborhood, which is a little disappointing compared to some of the other videos. A lot of Ohio neighborhoods could really use these videos. http://www.turnhere.com/city/cincinnati.aspx

When I check out the Superior Viaduct, I've noticed people drinking beer from coolers they've packed. Because it might be classified as "private" property, do you think this is legal?

Of course I empathize with senior citizens and their difficulties getting around, but the baby boomer generation wanted to get the heck out of the city where they always had city services like these for the suburbs. Now they will start making the demands for these services out in the suburbs, which is great, but it's just another indication of their selfish and hypocritical nature.

I think this is very true. These cities that have good transit had a large population with high density BEFORE suburban sprawl really happened. Being a major tourist city also really helps create the need for mass transit infrastructure.

I guess global warming is bad for the Ohio wine industry, but to tell you the truth I am kind of excited about global warming's impact on Ohio's economy. Florida will continue to get more hurricanes, the Southwest will get hotter, and the coastal area will flood. People will have no choice but to move to Ohio.

I find it really odd that a downtown could actually tip towards more residential-oriented than commercial-oriented, and I guess it really does raise concerns. In most instances however, I think downtowns need residential to retain or attract commercial these days. With technology today it doesn't really matter whether your office is located out in an old barn in a rural area, the basement of a suburban house, or an office in a downtown skyscraper. It seems the only way cities could maintain their commercial centers is if they have a built-in residential population within walking distance to create the necessary employment or consumer base.

This gorilla guy is infamous for crashing backyard parties throughout Westlake. He doesn't cause any trouble, and most people in Westlake find it humorous. Most people have no idea about his identity, but he is recent graduate of Westlake High. I don't know him personally, but I know people who know him.

I think the Clinic's proposal does present some interesting opportunities that include 1. adding cohesion and visual prestige to the Clinic's campus, and 2. increased ridership of the Silver line. Even though my vehicle is never counted as one of the 7,700 that use the route, I still think its fair to say that those vehicles still don't really need to use the route, and Chester and Carnegie could certainly handle increased volume in the event that Euclid was closed. I still don't know if it is quite necessary to completely close off this portion of Euclid in order for the Clinic to achieve its goals of creating a better campus. It seems to me like they could still spruce up their portion of Euclid Avenue with enhanced streetscape and mixed-uses without closing it off to automobiles. I kind of think the reason why they'd like to turn Euclid into a pedestrian area is to kind of kill the businesses or value of property of other land-owners along this site that would force them to sell or turn it over to the Clinic.

yes, unfortunetly.

I never drive down Euclid from downtown to University Circle. I have always taken Chester - even before construction started on Euclid. I don't think traffic flow would be very much affected.

I believe Ohio spends more money on libraries than any other state, or at least they are way up there. Lakewood has a great library too, but the Cleveland library downtown branch is really fantastic. Beautiful grand interior, periodicals from all over the world, stacks and stacks of books, and the reading garden. It is way better than most university libraries. The Cleveland Library also has a history of progressivism. The Cleveland library was the first library in the world where visitors could actually browse the books for themselves. There are other firsts too, but they escape me.

New Orleans didn't like the idea