Avogadro

The Market is just the landmark that I used, esp. since it is in the center of all of the restaurants on W. 25th. So, let me see if I understand this: you think that there should be a free trolley set up to run for two hours each day (since it wouldn't get that much use otherwise) for downtown workers who have the money to go eat at Great Lakes, Crop, or Bar Cento, but who don't want to ride the regular bus or pay money to get there.

I think you just answered your own question. Setting up a new trolley route (much less a free route that would really only benefit those who aren't regular riders) for what is effectively a two-hour window each weekday would take resources from routes that already have demand doesn't make a lot of sense. Besides, from 11:50a to 12:05p, there are three buses that go from Public Square to the West Side Market.

Uh huh. Well, I hear how you feel, but given that it on the end of E. 4th with the parking lot cut-through* and that doesn't have sufficient pedestrian space anyway, it's not going to have a patio. Also, it's doing very well, so the lack of world-class signage isn't hurting it much. Honestly, I don't understand what the big deal is. It's a high-end restaurant with slow turnover and lots of business that is an asset to the district. Complaining about whether it has a sign** seems to miss the point. *Exhaust fumes tend to go mix poorly with food that isn't fried or between two buns. **It's not like anybody with two neurons to rub against each other can't figure out what it is.

Chinato* is not really a place where one tends to just drop in. It is a destination restaurant in the same way that Lola is. Honestly, anybody peering in the extremely large windows should get a sense of the type of style Chinato has without needing a flashy sign, and if you need a sign to decide whether to drop in (rather than looking at the menu), then perhaps Flannery's or the Wonder Bar would be more your speed. (It's not Chinato's, just like Lola is not "Lola's".)

You are looking straight down E. 9th from somewhere above the Lake or Lakeside Ave. The street in the foreground is Superior (you can see the Leader Building on the right). Obviously, the round dome in the center is the Cleveland Trust rotunda. I don't think you can see the Allerton, but you can definitely see the Bingley on the left (it's the fifteen story building with the two top floors in white). The "C" shaped building in the lower right is the old WKYC building on Rockewell and E. 6th that is being renovated for that law office whose name I forget).

Ignoring specific sections might do the trick, but alas, I don't know how to do that either. Hm.

Actually, it looks like there is significantly more in reserve, even with the most conservative of revenue projections... How does Cuyahoga County reach the figure of $490 million for the medical mart and convention center? Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 7:59 AM Laura Johnston, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- So how did Cuyahoga County come up with a figure of $490 million for building a downtown medical mart and convention center? Well, for one thing, analysts assume you won't be buying much in the next two decades. From cars to Cavs jerseys, they figure, sales will stagnate at 2010 levels until 2027 -- a slump experts say hasn't happened before. And sales taxes are paying for the project. Commissioners in 2007 imposed a 20-year, quarter-cent sales tax hike to pay for a four-story showplace for medical technology and a connected, L-shaped convention center beneath Malls B and C in downtown Cleveland... http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga-county/index.ssf/2010/09/how_do_you_get_490_million_for_the_medical_mart.html

Is there a way to "ignore" certain threads so that they don't show up when I click "unread posts since your last visit"? It's not that big of a deal for me to skip over these threads, but it would be nice to have the option of not knowing when the Tea Party thread has another new comment.

When the drownings and the fights took place in the Flats, the music playing was the Rock and/or Roll, but nobody made that an issue, EC. Despite what people on opposite sides of the issue want to claim, this should have nothing to do with race and everything to do with underage loitering and, dare I say, media coverage. I don't know if the problem has gone away because of the onset of autumn, or if this is just a passing phenomenon that won't even show up next year, but the amount of coverage is out of proportion with the problem.

Except that this is water that needed to be flushed out of the mains anyway as a part of their scheduled maintenance. Like so:

^The fountain on Mall A stays, inasmuch as the CC doesn't extend that far and there is already something beneath it (parking for the Marriott, I believe).

^The new design also eliminates many of the pillars.

<i>If I were Mayor, I would propose an ordinance that until such land is actually built upon...(meaning sitting 12 or more months of nothing) that it be put to some sort of very basic park-like pedestrian use in the meanwhile....and that if there is a surface lot anywhere, it meet with guidelines on adding a pedestrian element...some trees, benches, planters and walkways.</i> To do something like this, one would need to demonstrate that the property is a nuisance, which is why one typically doesn't (or shouldn't) see unfenced construction pits or wide-open abandoned homes. An unattractive lot is fairly low on the priority list compared to real nuisances around the city. However, the Urban Design Center's Pop-Up City work and Redesigning Cleveland Pattern Book has been quite helpful in showing what can voluntarily be done in the meantime.

This is what I have, and it is well worth it. I've needed it twice (once for a burglary and once for a burst pipe); if I had only one incident, it would have already paid for itself.

What a lot of young families do is send their kids to Tremont Montessori, a CMSD school. It gets high marks and I have heard many good things about it. It's not as orthodox in its curriculum as, say, Ruffing Montessori, but it is of high quality.

Actually, Clark and 14th is technically in Tremont. It is difficult to make gas stations look better (the BP and Sunoco are fairly comparable to other stations everywhere), but one can improve the streetscape. This is considered a gateway and should be improved. I think that it's a two-edged sword. Certainly, right around the time the highways cut through Tremont, the neighborhood went into a steep decline. The isolation has made it a bit easier to focus development, but as the part of the neighborhood north of I-490 and east of I-71 gets built-out, those barriers are making it more difficult to relink with the rest of the neighborhood. There is a lot that we are and will be doing to make pedestrian and bike connections along Abbey, Starkweather, Kenilworth, W. 14th, and W. 11th to span the highways, as well as improve the streetscape above and below the highways. The Innerbelt project can be leveraged to improve the I-71/90 undersides, for example, but it also means that the tunnel-effect will be greater.

Caveat: I serve on a Tremont neighborhood board, so I have a bit of a bias. I really like what is happening on Kenilworth between W. 11th and W. 10th. Starting with Visible Voice, quite a few storefronts are being renovated and repopulated with the record store, the new-age place, and there is a bit more to come. It will be a really nice corridor linking Professor with Lincoln Park. I'm also really happy with what is happening with Tremont Pointe, especially in comparison to the barrack-style housing that was there previously. All of the development that you see on Starkweather (the breakout of Lucky's, Lily's, and the other new shops) would not have taken place without Tremont Pointe. Contrary to perception, Tremont Pointe has not been an area of concern for crime. I think that the design of the buildings and the increased visibility of public spaces has done a lot to help, but there is also a real sense of pride there. We do have crime problems along some of the residential alleys (W. 6th in particular). Also, the "Metro North" part of the neighborhood (which is part of historic Tremont before the interstates came through) has had crime problems as well, mainly stemming from its proximity to Clark Metro. There is always a need for more work there, but there is also an active block club that works with TWDC and CPD 2nd District. I am very hopeful that we will see the kind of redevelopment and rehabilitation there that we have seen elsewhere in Tremont. I really believe that the neighborhood is still progressing. Despite the economic downturn, there have been relatively few vacant or foreclosed properties in the neighborhood. And, we are still seeing investment in places such as Scranton between Starkweather and Barber which would have been unimaginable several years ago. I'd like for there to be more work on Tremont south of I-490, especially to build off of the Towpath Trail, the rehab of Clark Field, and the Christmas Story House. Crime will always be an issue in any City. Most of the crimes in Tremont are crimes of opportunity such as car break-ins (PUT YOUR JUNK IN THE TRUNK, PEOPLE). There are exceptions, but we have good community policing. I think that as long as we do the basics, such as keeping up block clubs, doing streetscape projects, keep vacant lots clean, and do more infill, Tremont will continue to thrive.

Except for "Bring Your Lawnmower To Work" day.

My pet peeve: How every damn thread in UrbanOhio eventually becomes The MyTwoSense Show. If I wanted to learn more about MTS's life, I would have turned on Univision to watch some El Chapulín Colorado reruns. ;-)

As somebody who lives in Tremont and works Downtown, a ped/bike route on the Innerbelt would create a significantly shorter commute. Presently, my choices are either to: 1. Zig-zag from W. 14th west across a narrow Abbey Ave. to an even narrower W. 20th then east across the Lorain Carnegie to Ontario (which is another awful road for cyclists). 2. Shoot down Literary Hill to W. 3rd, possibly wait 15+ minutes for the W. 3rd Bridge (which is being maintained presently anyway), then hump it up Commercial Hill (which will be eliminated by the new Innerbelt Bridge anyway). 3. Shoot down University to Scranton, take the bumpy and extremely dusty ride to Carter Road, possibly wait 15+ minutes for the Carter Road bridge, then go to Old River and hump it up St. Clair. The argument has never been an either/or as ODOT wants us to believe, but one of basic fairness and connectivity. ODOT had a responsibility to make a reasonable analysis of bike and ped connections, which it didn't do until the last minute. And when they finally looked at it, they said it would cost $40 million to add the bike and ped connection. $40 million to a bridge that is estimated to cost less than $290 million. Words fail me. [EDIT: By the bye, as I ride over the Lorain Carnegie, although the speed limit is 35 mph, cars regularly drive 50+ mph, and there is no protection for cyclists whatsoever. A separated lane on the Innerbelt Bridge would have been much, much safer, even at highway speeds.]

Rivergate will be on Columbus Peninsula, just across the river from Irishtown Bend.

Jesus, MTS. Point made already! Really, it is up to the homeowner to make an informed decision. The developer will always try to maximize his or her short term profit, but it is the buyer who will be making the long-term investment.

EDIT: Oops! I thought that you were coming up this weekend. Carry on.

Probably not. It will abut their property, but Sherwin-Williams has a lot invested in the Breen Center. I wouldn't worry about that at all.

^ If one were to make a beeline from an intermodal station to Terminal Tower, where would one encounter street-level retail? Certainly not around the Mall (surrounded by government buildings and the MedMart/Public Auditorium).