Ethan

Thanks that's a good start, but if Councilman Griffin intends to hold his ground on this he needs to make a more specific pitch to the public. E.g. "instead of spending 15 mill on the west side market, we should spend 5 mill on the WSM, 4 mill on x, 3 mill on y, 2 mill on z, and 1 mill on w." I'm also team WSM, but I'm sympathetic to his argument that we should prioritize the struggling neighborhoods. Anyways, hopefully these funds, make it through, everything that has been proposed so far is either what I'd propose, or a better idea than what I'd have thought of. The food hall, expanded mezzanine, and outdoor seating will make WSM much more of a social destination and pull it away from functioning as a fancy grocery store. At the end of the day, while fund distribution is zero sum, the returns are not, funding the WSM will benefit the whole region, not just Ohio City.

I'd be interested to see him itemize exactly what he'd prefer those days 15 million dollars go to. I agree that a politician can make that point every time, but I'd add that it's also almost a good point. Governing is about tradeoffs. What specifically does he think would be a better use of that 15 million? I know council has proposed an alternative use of all the funds compared to Bibbs, but I think it be interesting to see which remaining unfunded projects he thinks would be a better use of the funds. Once he gets more specific we can have a more substantive discussion of the merits of each proposal. We can't debate WSM versus something else, but we can debate WSM versus these seven other priorities. Personally I'd like to see the find go to the WSM, but I understand the councilman's argument, and I'd like to see it fleshed out.

All of those services sound like a headache, if renting a car was as easy, or easier, than calling an Uber, I'd call that game changer.

This forum seems to be pretty negative on self driving cars overall, I'm not sure all of that is justified. Ignoring the question of how far off the technology is, the thought I've been having recently is that driverless cars will actually be a boon for cities as they will allow a lot more people to go car free by simplifying car rentals. I'd wager there's a lot of people living in walkable or semi-walkable areas that don't need a car for 85% of their life tasks; however, a lot of these people still own a car because it's too much of a hassle to rent a car to get groceries or visit grandma. With driverless cars you could call the car through an app on your phone, it would show up and pick you up, and you could keep it for an hour, a day, a weekend, or just a few minutes. That would be an absolute game changer for anyone who can almost go car free but for a few things. Granted, full self driving is likely still a ways off, but I think their impact on North American cities will be generally positive by reducing the need to own a car. The same car could be used all day and effectively shared by several people reducing the need for parking space. People will still probably own cars in rural and suburban areas, but I think the math will flip for a lot of urban and near urban residents. They may not be an urbanist's ideal dream, but I think they will be a positive step in the right direction.

I was under the impression this was already the case, not sure if I heard that or just assumed. Regardless, if that is not the case I agree it should be. The borderline cases will be the ones that get challenged and lose the cameras what public goodwill they have left. Most people have little sympathy for people running clearly red lights, but many people have run orange ones either due to legitimate safety concerns, or noticing the yellow light a bit late to safely stop.

There are absolutely situations where it is safer to go through an orange light than it is to slam on the breaks. Poor road conditions, someone following too close behind, etc. I'm not saying that is the reason for anything close to a majority of borderline red light cases, just think it's worth bringing up. When I was a young driver I was more rigid in following traffic rules. I almost got rear-ended stopping at an orange light. I've since realized that safety should always be prioritized over the law. (I'd rather get a ticket than be in an accident, regardless of fault). One reasonable criticism of robot assigned tickets is that uniformed officers will understand these niche safety situations in ways that traffic cameras don't. I don't know enough make a call on the usefulness of traffic cameras overall, this is just my two cents.

The above article mentions public meetings some may want to attend.

From the recent Cleveland.com Lakefront article. "Residents are invited in May to participate in a new round of public meetings related to both lakefront planning projects. The Community Visioning Workshops are scheduled for: - Saturday, May 6 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Inlet Dance Theatre, the Pivot Center for Art, Dance and Expression, 2937 W. 25th St. - Tuesday, May 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at EJ Kovacic Recreation Center, second floor, 6250 St. Clair Ave. - Thursday, May 11, 12-1:30 p.m., on Zoom. Information and registration for the events are available at clevelandnorthcoast.com or by calling 216-664-2210."

Cliffs Field or Cliffs Stadium doesn't sound too bad. I could live with that.

Sad development for Clark Field.

This is beyond aggravating. This park was just fixed up. Police investigate after Tremont field badly damaged "Residents say a group of people on dirt bikes and ATVs turfed the park recently. Neighbors witnessed dirt bikes and four wheelers come barreling down West 11th Street Monday night." https://fox8.com/news/its-just-sad-police-investigate-after-tremont-field-badly-damaged/

Hart Crane progress

Progress Views from across the river.

What can we do to get more eyes on this proposal? Can we bring this to the attention of regional planning groups or rail advocacy groups such as NOACA or AAO? Is there an appropriate recipient(s) for us to send some form of a chain letter to? I'm not an expert on where to best apply pressure, but I know that many members of this forum are better versed in this regard. Obviously the money is a lot, and will be the main issue, but regardless, getting this into the public consciousness is the first step.

Yeah, that bridge has been an unenjoyable pedestrian experience for the last few years. Before it closed for repairs, I would always opt for the Center Street Bridge. Even if it makes the walk a bit longer, it is such a more enjoyable route that it's worth the extra time. Any creative ideas on how to spruce up the bridge? Obviously resurfacing and cleaning it up are the immediately obvious necessities, but it could also really benefit from some kind of public art. The biggest, easiest (and least likely) improvement would be to remove the suicide prevention fence so that people can actually see off the bridge. As it is, while you can see through the fence the posts are close enough together that they feel like a wall. (For anyone who's not aware, the chain link shown in the pictures is only on small sections of the bridge, most of it is much harder to see through).

It's also misleading because the average person isn't aware of the precise neighborhood boundaries. When he or she hears Ohio City / Tremont They're thinking about W25 / Professor. Not the vast majority of the neighborhood which isn't nearly so "hot", or may even be uninhabited. (Not saying the hot areas of OC / Tremont are too built up, they aren't, just pointing out how it's misleading).

Thanks! But this is effectively a no. The longest trucks are about 22' which is still less than half the legal limit. The average parking spot is 16-20' long. It would seem if your vehicle is longer than that it is no longer a layman's vehicle. I'd love to cap these vehicles to parking space length. I'm sick of them creating effective one way streets when they park. I don't see anything happening on the national level, or in red States, but if blue States apply some modest regulatory pressure it might make manufacturers decide to engage in some modest shrinking. Maybe California puts a cap on new vehicles in 2026 that they have to be under 21.5' in length. Rather than lose the Californian market, automakers decide to shave off six inches. Repeat in 2030, 2035, etc. It's not a quick solution, but it's the most realistic one I see.

Is there any legal limit to the maximum car length in the USA? Or in specific States? I would expect something like any vehicle over XXX" requires a CDL to operate.

Signage at Tower City is better at least (as of today anyway).

I spy workers!

It also depends on where the crime is. If crime is occuring near tourist or business areas the city will be perceived as having higher crime. If it only occurs in neighborhoods only visited by residents the perception won't match the stats.

The other benefit of carpooling is that it is very green (compared to the alternatives). A full mini van is probably pretty equivalent in terms of emissions per person as a full bus. Indeed, most of the math I've seen puts cars as more efficient than the average bus (~10 people) at only the first passenger (2nd person) (buses have much higher empty running carbon cost). Unfortunately most cars only have one person in them most of the time. I'm not saying carpooling is better in terms of emissions than taking a bus (since the bus will run regardless of whether or not you're on it). Just pointing out that gas efficiencies tend to be pretty similar if you actually fill all the seats.

Before scrolling down I thought someone had just secured their bike to a parking meter. ("Free bike, just lift up") More seriously though, this seems like a great idea to me! Cheap way to add bike parking almost anywhere. Here's what I consider the most important quote from the article: "The units are secured using shear-bolts, which are bolts which lose their wrench-shaped heads at a specific torque, leaving behind a smooth, conical head that cannot be turned." These will be secure, and thus a great idea!

Even for tower city, a decent number of people use mobile tickets. The scanning system for those haven't worked for months. Sometimes this results in a line of people showing their ticket to the attendant and walking through the handicap gate. I'm not sure if they are all getting counted, or getting counted as a single person.