surfohio

^ ^^ ^^^ Okay, so we've got TS-style spectaculars on Huron, Telegraph Hill style staircases to the river, TC retail extended out to and along the water (on a boardwalk of course), Jet Express AND Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad! I'LL TAKE IT. This is the downtown we deserve. Nothing less. Moderator, please cc D. Gilbert and sticky this at the top of the thread.

The article that needs to be written, again and again, until something meaningful is accomplished. Cleveland's lakefront parks have problems that go beyond trash and weeds: Mark Naymik Published: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 4:00 PM By Mark Naymik, The Plain Dealer The condition of Cleveland's state-run lakefront parks is worse than I thought. I detailed on Tuesday some of the shoddy upkeep at three parks – Euclid Beach, Wildwood/Villa Angela and Edgewater -- noting overgrown grass, uncollected trash and the poor conditions of amenities, from rotting picnic tables to busted restrooms. Urged by beach users to stay on the issue, I looked this week beyond the cosmetic problems and discovered something more outrageous than overflowing trash cans. I discovered years of bureaucratic inaction, which is more challenging to unclog than the toughest public toilet. The poor condition of the Cleveland's lakefront park system, which also includes Gordon Park and the East 55th Street Marina, dates back to at least 1978. That's when cash-strapped Cleveland, a lousy steward of the properties, handed them to the state. In 2004, The Plain Dealer documented the parks' poor conditions under state control. The story and related photos generated public outrage and prompted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to immediately launch an aggressive but short-lived assault on the weeds and graffiti and other problems. read the rest here: http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2012/06/clevelands_lakefront_parks_hav.html

She sounds perfect for our boardwalk masterplan! Ha! Yes....ruthless!

Because of the river, elevation differences, Cleveland Thermal plant, RTA tracks etc, the surroundings don't lend themselves well to the kind of density that makes a Times Square, Yonge Street, Piccadilly Circus, etc. possible. I wouldn't mind if Playhouse Square became a miniature version of TS, however. :) I'd simply be happy if they put that unkempt hill/cliff area to some kind of use. More infrastructure would be great, but really, even more modest changes would be a great leap forward. Like, if it was a series of well-kept stairways at least if would provide access to the river. It would look a thousand times nicer. It could be a very unique place. Think Filbert steps up Telegraph Hill in San Francisco. http://www.flickr.com/photos/82479320@N00/3503840808/#

Well, at least you didn't just buy Alaturka gift certificates for people. Stupid Dragonfly......

That is beautiful. And just checked your photo thread from 2010.... Wow!!!

This has me thinking, could the University System of Ohio do a better job of luring East Coast students? It seems the high cost of Education there combined with the low cost of living here would be a good recipe for major increases in enrollment. [edit: I see that mov2ohio has suggested something along this line]

Hey Don, since you're hanging around Mott you may be interested in my buddies upcoming film about Chinatown, Arcade. http://arcademovie.com/about

Not only that, they've got a river flowing from inside Tower City cascading down to the Cuyahoga. That river concept could be absolutely stunning. Not to get too too excited from this, as we've seen lots of pretty pictures. But the depiction shown would be that win-win scenario, giving all kinds of parking for Gilbert in addition to vastly improving public access to and along the riverfront. [edit: AND give Forest City a riverfront outdoor retail component....win-win-win?] The powerful UO Boardwalk Commission would approve of this, I am sure.

They were all over tv when I moved here. Thought it was terrific marketing, it made me want to go. There was a lot of pride in that mall back then. Then suddenly, I never saw a Tower City commercial ever again!

Joey Votto is pretty damn good. I can see both Reds and Indians making some waves this season.

With something as subjective as QoL there could be a lot of indicators, positive or negative, depending on what you value personally. The question "is there high QoL in Ohio?" (Yes!) is a lot different from "how can we improve QoL in Ohio?" For me living in Cleveland, addressing blight (aesthetics) is a major concern. I feel like we can only go so far until we can somehow improve the large swath of neglected areas surrounding our vibrant, attractive neighborhoods.

The sight line toward MOCA in that first pic is really sharp. Thanks for posting!!

I wouldn't say much worse. They certainly beat the hell out of us on sunny days. Also, you are talking about a one-trick pony state. There is no competing MSA, so the growth can be concentrated there. Also, it is much more homogeneous, which sadly helps attract people there. I'd argue that their winters are actually "better" than ours. The snow is more reliable way up there, lending itself to a true and more active winter culture.

^ wow that complex is going to look absolutely incredible. Thanks for posting!!

Ya know, I don't remember ever seeing a commercial or even any written publication touting MS beaches. If they are nice, perhaps they're a good candidate for the "Pure Michigan" tourism route.

Agree with most of what you said. However, we actually did have really nice beaches once. And we could have them again! Sure it would be quite an investment to reverse the years of bad policy, but it would be a worthwhile one imho. Ohio is the most reluctant coastal state in America. You want to change opinions of our state, start at the shoreline.

Story about one of the artist's other sculptures: http://www.ohio.com/news/dyer/bob-dyer-akron-icon-crawls-over-to-youngstown-1.313027 "Comunale’s string of Akron hits includes the stainless steel catfish at Furnace and Howard streets" The Catfish rules!!!

Nice!! I've been by there on I80 maybe 100 times. I know that it's home of the Clipper restaurant, and you get their college station in for ten minutes or so. Never once have I stopped but maybe next time I will. Very charming little place. Thanks for posting.

MARK PRICE FOR THUH-REEEE. What a great voice!

Not really. But there is this: http://byways.org/explore/byways/59836/

I kinda cut that MCD's some slack, because they have that fierce Kangaroo sculpture out front. It's pretty awesome. Pictured in this blog: http://eccentricroadside.blogspot.com/2009/11/roo-ination-zippy-university-of-akrons.html

I love how Holmgren tries to make football sound like it's so ridiculously complicated. Mike, we saw the games last year. The Browns fans can be a lot of things, but they aren't stupid. Any way you want to try and excuse that sucky offense and even suckier coaching go right ahead. Anyone else think the intelligence of these nfl "genius" types is overblown? Think if Mike didn't get into football he'd be a physicist or something? Or that Bill Belichik would be a brain surgeon?

There's something about nighttime shots that are so surreal. Thanks for posting!!

That's not a million-dollar question. It's a matter of routine procedure when you're dealing with transportation projects, especially those involving federal matters. Since Superior is a federal route (US 6 and US 20), there is a process established by federal law (National Environmental Policy Act) which needs to be followed to determine the impact of this change on natural and built environments. In its most basic form, the project development process under NEPA starts with an alternatives analysis. Then the preferred alternative is subjected to an environmental documentation (there are three different types depending on the scale of the proposed change -- categorical exclusion, environmental assessment or environmental impact analysis). Sometimes an alternatives analysis can include some environmental documentation. Then the proposed project and its environmental mitigation elements become the subject of preliminary engineering to determine a projected construction cost. If the project meets federal criteria (for road projects, criteria is focused on traffic flow and safety; for transit projects, criteria is focused on cost-effectiveness), if is therefore eligible to receive funding, and if its score gives it higher priority over other transportation needs, then it could receive funding in about five years after a NEPA-compliant assessment begins. That five years is the average time, according to the Federal Highway Administration, and can vary depending on how complicated a project is. Then the project undergoes final engineering and construction. Any change to Superior Avenue through Public Square will probably have more impacts on built environments (increased noise, vibration, affects on historic structures, and issues of safety on other nearby streets where traffic will be diverted) but there are some impacts on natural environments (increased air pollution from vehicles having to stop-start more often in congestion and from X number of vehicles having to take Y longer routes). If it is found that these impacts are serious enough and any proposed mitigation is either too expensive or not sufficient to reduce the impacts, then the project would not receive a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) from the appropriate federal agency or agencies, in this case the Federal Highway Administration/FHWA (and possibly the Federal Transit Administration will have a say in signing off on the FONSI, as might the department of Housing and Urban Development). If there is no FONSI forthcoming, then there will be no federal money forthcoming. Or the mitigation measures necessary to achieve a FONSI may be so expensive that the non-federal funding share (20-50 percent) may be so expensive that the city/county/state may not be able to afford. And of course the way gas tax revenues are declining, the feds may not have the money to pay for the project either! The FHWA is probably not going to support a project that increases levels of vehicular congestion on federal roads. They have road congestion rating system and they do not fund projects that cause a road or roads to experience higher congestion ratings. Because changing Superior Avenue through Public Square is a federal matter, local approvals of any redesign project have to go before the region's Metropolitan Planning Organization, which for our region is the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency. If the proposed improvements to Public Square meet NOACA's scoring criteria for funding eligibility, then it can receive funding. However, if that score is not high enough to rank higher than that of other projects of need in the five-county region, then it will have to wait for funding. Determining the impacts and costs from any change to Superior Avenue, its funding eligibility, its ranking and its timeline.... Now THOSE are the million-dollar questions! KJP I just wanted to say that was insightful, that your off hand knowledge of NEPA is pretty sharp and most of all, thanks a lot for depressing me!