Ethan

I thought it would be interesting to overlay the current master plan over the framework plan. It'll be interesting to see how the rest the area covered in the framework area is fleshed out! Also, does anyone know the timeline for moving between the current passed they're working on to the next (see below)? The road closures will make such a big difference to this feeling like one park, instead of several disconnected green spaces!

Work continues!

I love the bike lanes! More of those please! That said, the RBT seems like a compromise that might be worse than either end position. A 10-20% time reduction doesn't seem like it's worth eliminating a lane of traffic, at the very least I'd like to see a traffic study. That's a twenty minute trip taking 16-18 minutes for perspective. A lot of people on here are talking about signal priority. Assuming that could result in a truly substantial time savings it seems like a better option than what is pitched. (Any estimate?) I'm not convinced the current BRT is worth it over just having normal traffic lanes, or even just larger sidewalks. I'm sure this won't be a popular opinion, but if I'm thinking it, I'm sure someone else is.

How does giving the buses a dedicated lane only speed up service by 10-20%?

This is too cool of a location for just a neighborhood. It's surrounded on three sides by water and well connected to the local trail network. At a minimum, it should have some form of public benefit. I'd like a park or green space, but ground floor restaurants and retail, along with boardwalks or green space on the riverfront would be almost as good, and should be the minimum for any development proposal here to get approved.

Like I figured, people watched different debates... I didn't hear a condescending tone from Kelley, from the portion I watched, he seemed refreshingly honest to me. I appreciate it when politicians don't over promise and are up front with what they can and can't get done, especially when it comes from a position of actually knowing what they're talking about. My impression was Bibb was largely unsubstantiative and full of buzz words, (clearly the better speaker though), but as I alluded to earlier, I had other things to do and couldn't justify spending my time finishing a debate for which I've already made up my mind. Everyone filters these debates through their own bias.

While I'm normally not a fan of this kind of thinking, I think Scranton Peninsula is a place where it makes sense to hold out for the right opportunity to develop it. It's hard to find that much continuous, nearly undeveloped, land that close to the heart of a major city. I think we should hold it out for a transformative project. (Personally I think it'd be a great park, but I know that's not a popular opinion on this site).

Canal Basin Parking Lot no more!

Understandable, since 15 foot trees don't usually knock down power lines or do substantial property damage, but I still wish we'd plant bigger trees. Nothing looks better to my eyes than neighborhoods where the houses are all dwarfed by large trees. Or streets where the canopy extends over the whole street. Trees are generally a major part of the reason when older neighborhoods look better than the newer ones. Clear cutting is such a travesty.

Great street presence, even on a cloudy day!

Progress on the lower facade.

The CEO of the Metroparks was recently on the Lay of the Land podcast. It was great to hear his enthusiasm as well as his perspective on the state of the Metroparks. Interesting listen. https://open.spotify.com/show/6I9cADlgjW5lGAf6XkwOYF https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lay-of-the-land/id1539921799

There are bike racks outside of Terminal Tower. I never see anyone use them but they're there. There is also a ton of bike racks at the corner of St. Claire and West Mall Dr. outside of the center for health innovation. Either place should be a manageable walk, if not super close.

Thanks for calculating that out! You're right, but it's not obvious to me that the underlying assumptions are necessarily correct. The percentage of people whose first choice was Bibb/Kelley may not be the same as the percentage of people whose second/third choice is Bibb/Kelley. Bibb is a far more singular candidate than Kelley, and it's possible the more standard establishment candidates split the vote amongst themselves. All in all though, I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.

It seems like endorsements could/will make a huge difference in this race. On policy, a candidate like Zach Reed is probably more similar to Kelley, but Bibb received more votes than Kelley in the districts won by Reed. An endorsement of Kelley by Reed could make a huge difference, and help Kelley make the East side inroads he so desperately needs. Conversely, if candidates like Reed, Williams, or Jones decide to endorse Bibb it could be very hard for Kelley to improve his vote share on the East side. I'll be interested to see what happens.

Speaking of rankings... I really wish this race utilized rank choice voting! Hopefully we can move towards that in the future.

I know they did use eminent domain at least a little bit because there were lawsuits about it. Still it's a lot easier to get resident buy-in if you aren't splitting their land in half, and with how straight high speed rail needs to be it probably helps to keep disgruntled residents to a minimum. Plus, other than being a huge cost increase, elevating the track is a good thing. It won't cut towns, farms, or natural areas in half. If a private company is deciding to build HSR and while under a profit incentive decides to elevate large portions of it, that's a double win in my book!

Port Authority takes step to acquire key Irishtown Bend property; NOACA will vote Friday on awarding $12.8 million to stabilization, park project CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two important developments this week could resolve critical property and financial issues related to the longtime effort to stabilize the Irishtown Bend hillside and build a 23-acre park on the slope overlooking the Cuyahoga River and the downtown skyline. On Thursday, the board of the Cleveland Cuyahoga County Port Authority voted unanimously to approve a “declaration of public necessity” as the first step toward acquiring a key property at the southeast corner of West 25th Street and Detroit Avenue, one of the last remaining pieces not under project control. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/09/port-authority-takes-step-to-acquire-key-irishtown-bend-property-noaca-will-vote-friday-on-awarding-128-million-to-stabilization-park-project.html

Generally you should always assume the most charitable interpretation of anyone's comments. You don't have enough of a smoking gun to credibly suggest intentionality. It's entirely plausible he missed it didn't connect the state funding point. On the internet, proper manners and etiquette become more important not less. :)

This whole discussion focus too much on Bibb. I listened to Bibb's comments based on your characterization of Pugu's comments as 'lies and hyperbole.' There's a difference between disagreeing with how someone chooses to characterize something and calling them a liar. He's not lying (though I would say it's much ado about nothing). The interview is cut up in a weird way which separates out the point about state funding and parking meters. The temperature in this thread needs to be lowered.

The blight is there whether it is technically within the city limits or not. Cleveland Heights incorporating EC is an interesting idea, but it doesn't make sense. CH would absorb all of EC problems with even less of an ability to deal with it than Cleveland. Plus, (echoing others in this thread) Cleveland has a ton of potential opportunities with EC, that don't really exist for CH, as it's right besides one of Cleveland's most happening areas. I don't think it'll happen, nor do I think it's high priority, but if it does I just hope the city incorporates EC alongside a plan. Without an executed plan it won't do much good.

This is what I thought, but there wasn't a wall at the top of the escalators before. So now I'm confused.

They're adding a wall... Not sure why. 🤔

I actually asked Kelley how his administration would be different from the Jackson administration, and was pleasantly surprised by his answer. I can't quote verbatim, but the implication of his answer was that the only people/department he intends to keep on from the current administration is the Financial/budget committee. As, in his mind, they are the only ones doing a good job. Everything else he wants to change. I actually got a slight impression of disdain for the current administration from him, though, given his endorsement and Jackson's popularity, he couldn't say anything of the sort. Obviously, he's a politician, and like all politicians, his words should be taken with a grain of salt. But if he does what he says, it doesn't seem like his administration will be a continuation of the Jackson administration.

Since you asked, what I'm looking for, and what I think Cleveland needs, is a centrist/moderate technocrat. Bibb is neither of those things. He seems to have a lot more experience with talking than he does with doing, and I don't think he would describe himself as a moderate. As others have pointed out, the article you choose to link to is an interesting choice, as it perfectly describes one of the reasons I wouldn't vote for Bibb. I believe a bad mayor could have a far greater negative impact on the city than a good mayor can have positive. Therefore rolling the dice isn't a smart play. I also just don't support his policies as I understand them, because, as I said, I'm looking for a moderate/centrist candidate. I'm pretty sure Bibb's appeal to his fans is that he isn't that. The candidate who so far has shown themselves to best match my criteria of a moderate technocrat is Kevin Kelley, though if anyone thinks there is a better candidate for that description please let me know. Above all, city hall just needs to actually function. It is very hard to determine from all the various political speeches, who can achieve that outcome.