Avogadro

We did! I felt it in Downtown Cleveland, and friends in Elyria and Kitchener ON (!) also felt it.

I'll defy anybody else to come up with another neighborhood or community that can mobilize 250+ people in a week to address safety issues, and do so productively.

Keep in mind that soccer is an exhausting sport, and short of deciding regulation time draws with a shootout (which nobody likes), playing overtime periods until a team scores essentially means that the winning team may have very well run themselves out of the entire tournament.

Easy there, everybody. I actually appreciate DefendCleve's treatise on the intersection of Port relocation and dredging issues, especially since it saved me the effort of providing that synopsis myself. Assuming that the Port has to be relocated due to a need for increased capacity (and based on the studies from the various consultants to the Port, this is speculative at best), there are two additional disadvantages to a West Breakwater site: 1. Docking could only take place on the City-side of the constructed island due to the wave action on the Lake-side, and the island would have to extend well inside of the breakwater due to the way it was originally constructed (the cross-section of the wall is pyramidal, not vertical, which would preclude docking boats of any appreciable size). 2. Relocating the Port to the West Breakwater site was predicated on the construction of the West Bank Connector. Due to topographical reasons and the desire to keep trucks off of the Shoreway, all truck traffic was to be shunted to a road that would begin at the West Breakwater island, skirt the Whiskey Island Bulk Terminal to the west and south, go under the Norfolk Southern tracks, go across the Willow Street Bridge, and then head along the vacated railroad right of way that parallels Center Street to the west and then goes along Rivervbed Street on the way to Quigley Road. Because of several issues, including that pesky subsidence issue on Irishtown bend, the West Bank Connector is kaput.

I know that it's wrong for me to like this, but it feels so right. From the "Cleveland: Crime & Safety Discussion" thread: Let's take our lack of understanding of economic development clusters over to a more appropriate thread. Back on topic please.

I know that there have been far, far too many electrons spilled in this thread over the turn announcements issue, but I don't think that the argument being made is "we value tranquility over human safety" but rather "is there a more effective, less intrusive method for protecting pedestrians?", which is why conducting a study or reviewing current research could be effective and helpful for RTA and its customers. I think that another ongoing issue with the turn announcements was that there was a perception here that it was in direct response to the most recent accidents where drivers were at fault for things such as cellphone use (and certainly RTA also reacted appropriately by increasing driver education on avoiding distractions). While I can certainly sympathize with taking a "suspenders and a belt" approach to safety, it would be helpful to know whether the suspenders are actually effective. Should the belt of driver education fail, will the suspenders of pedestrian awareness through turn announcements guard against an unfortunate viewing of the soiled tightie-whities of accidental collisions?

There were several alternatives presented by the Corps of Engineers back in August 2009 for stabilizing the hill, some of which called for extensive excavating of the hillside so as to lighten the load further downhill. The option that the City is currently pursuing (by which I mean that they are seeking funding) would not include excavation but would instead rely on a series of anchored stability walls. The properties currently on W. 25th Street would be preserved, but since only conceptual designs and cost estimates were developed, it is too soon to determine of new building would be allowed. Given that the hillside mainly consists of ~100 feet of silt, fill, and sand on top of a thin layer of clay, I doubt that any new construction on top of the hill would be permitted, even after the construction of the walls.

NPR's Scott Simon and his family love Cleveland: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/05/nprs_scott_simon_thanks_the_cl.html

It is very, very easy to bike from Tremont to the W. 25th rapid station in Ohio City. It's just a level 5 minute slow ride from Lincoln Park to the station, going across Abbey Ave. Getting to Dave's and the West Side Market are likewise easy; I make that bike trip for groceries all the time.

Really informative op-ed where Raskind kills the idea of the Port relocating to E. 55th, states that any relocation of the Port for redeveloping the downtown lakefront will require assistance to the Port to move, and states that the Port alone is not responsible for the local effort to maintain the navigation channel. See also http://clevelandmagazinepolitics.blogspot.com/2010/05/raskind-kills-port-relocation.html Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority has its finances and its priorities straight: Peter Raskind By Plain Dealer guest columnist May 23, 2010, 3:48AM By Peter Raskind Six months ago, I volunteered to take the helm as the interim CEO of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Recently, after a comprehensive search process, the port's Board of Directors hired Will Friedman to succeed me. Will is an excellent choice for this challenging job, having spent his entire career around ports and port issues. As I prepare to hand over the keys to Will on June 1, I wanted to share some of my personal observations about the port: http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/05/post_19.html

I took part and arrived at the Bike to Work event in front of where the new bike station will be located. There seem to have been a good crowd; about 40 or so folks were there when I got there (late). About 400 cyclists participated in Wednesday's Ride of Silence, representing a real nice cross-section of folks. I think that there was an overall good showing at events throughout the week, thanks in large part to OCBC, Walk+Roll, ClevelandBikes, NOACA, and City Planning. Well done, Cleveland! (The ride back home may be a bit damp, but that's what rain gear and fenders are for.)

What were they resisting? They wanted it made into residential? Or they just preferred the vacant storefront look? Maybe they just don't like Turkish food... The concerns were about parking and traffic, as usual.

It would be helpful to know what neighborhood he lives in (or likes) in Baltimore. Given what he's looking for (and the clincher is that the office is in Little Italy), I think that he belongs either in Cedar-Fairmount or Shaker Square/Larchmere.

I don't think that it is so much viewed as "optional" as much as it is outside of the scope of this particular study. I believe that GGN and LMN are making sure that its design is open-ended enough to permit future development of said train station and linkage.

Ai, cabrón. If I had photos, don't you think I would have shared them already? One more point: they talked about developing "catalyst landscapes", which describes places that generate pedestrian life on their own. For a space that is surrounded by offices and other mainly-daytime activities, having an active space is necessary to generate... "vibrancy". It will be interesting to see how this can co-exist with the current and perhaps future expectation of the Mall as a blank space for large public gatherings.

I was at the meeting yesterday, and came out more impressed with LMN and GGC than I was already. I'll try to summarize the points as briefly as I can: First, Mark Reddington (LMN) described how his firm takes the basic plan of convention center movement and then "folds" and manipulates it to fit in the settings in which they are building. Reddington and Shannon Nichol (GNN) then went through the following seven points to describe how they are approaching the project: 1. Lifted City: They showed a relief map of downtown and showed how it is, for all intents and purposes, a peninsula raised above the Lake (and the lower, filled in lakefront) to the north and the Cuyahoga River and Valley to the west, and how this influenced street layout (such as Lakeside and Euclid) and how the Mall actually sits at the top of this peninsula. This gives the site prominence with regard not just to views to the lake, but connections to Public Square and to the east and west. How then ought we to regard this space to honor this prominence? 2. Civic Heart: The Mall site is not only in the center of the "Civic District", but is fairly equidistant to the other downtown districts, and as such (although current pedestrian movements don't reflect this), ought to act as a hub for pedestrians. The admitted challenge is that the "Civic Heart" is surrounded by "5 p.m. uses". They contend that while the Medical Mart can contribute to the use of the Mall in the evenings, it is also important to have programs that regularly use the Mall and use it throughout the year. 3. City Beautiful: Besides the obvious importance of the City Beautiful movement (and Cleveland's place among the great spaces of this movement), Reddington and Nichols showed how the Mall was intended to have pedestrian activity along its edges, with tree-lined promenades along its western and eastern frames. With the use of the western frame as the truck dock and the eastern frame for cars and the movement of people through the center, that pattern of movement has been replaced with zig-zag patterns that discourage pedestrians to move across the Mall. They would like to restore a more obvious pedestrian pattern that brings people closer to the buildings (which in turn helps to generate more pedestrian interest). 4. Place of Arrival: They described the original intent to have the train station at the northern end, and wanted to keep open the possibility of connecting the Mall to the station to the north. They did emphasize that the Medical Mart will also act as an attractor to make the Mall a "place of arrival" and communicated that it should be uniquely Cleveland and speak to our values as a community (similar to how the Group Plan spoke of Cleveland's early 20th-century place as a city of "good government"). 5 Lakefront Edge: Fairly obvious. 6 Urban Alignment: This was similar to "Civic Heart" in that the need for programming was evident, as was the desire to make this a space that served Downtown well. Additionally, they talked of the need to improve Lakeside and St. Clair so that they were not barriers to movement but contributed to the urbanism of the site. They also described the east-west movement north of Mall C that existed before back when there was a road parallel to Lakeside (before the parking garages). 7. Green Ring: Here, they spoke of the Emerald Necklace and how the Mall should act as a hub to the Metroparks and how it should connect to east-west movement on the Lakefront. They also described how the Mall should manage stormwater on-site. (sorry, this was a lot longer than I intended it to be)

I concur. Regardless of who the other candidates were (and I think they are both good at their current positions), the fact that Friedman led the Port of Indiana (not to mention Seattle) is a significant win for the region. They cover ports on both Lake Michigan and on the Ohio River, and as such, they have a broad and sophisticated vision of transportation and logistics as required by moving material throughout the state. Good hire!

Hey, dewitfam, I've sent to you an email about a furnished studio apartment in Tremont (over on College Avenue between Professor and W. 7th). I stayed there for a couple of months, and it's quite nice, and should be less than $700. It's also available at the time that you want. Just check your email for the contact information.

Huh. Actually, they have nine combined hubs from before the merger. Tokyo would be added as a new hub.

Same news from the PD: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/05/continental_and_united_announc.html I wonder where the two new hubs will be located.

KJP, that reminds me of the really excellent film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces where William Whyte asserts that "relationship to the street, seating, sun, water, trees, food, and triangulation" are the most important factors to consider when creating public urban spaces (including parks). If you all haven't watched this film, you really ought to (YouTube link to Part 1 of 6- see them all). It's droll, informative, and filled with really excellent sideburns.

We do not yet have a thread for that; all of the discussion on the skate park has take place at the North Coast Harbor thread (due to the closing of their skate park).: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,10446.60.html

Catholic Diocese of Cleveland puts churches on the market By Michael O'Malley, The Plain Dealer April 29, 2010, 9:30AM CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, in the midst of eliminating 50 parishes, has begun marketing some of its properties, including 17 churches and a building at University Circle. Total asking price: $11.8 million. The push to unload real estate comes during Bishop Richard Lennon's ongoing downsizing of the eight-county diocese. The church closings are confined to three counties -- Cuyahoga, Lorain and Summit -- with most of them in urban areas of Cleveland, Lorain and Akron. More at http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2010/04/catholic_diocese_of_cleveland.html

The food (and service) at Hornblowers at the end of its business life was fairly dreadful. When it comes to walking, it's not so much that it's far to walk there (although it is if you only have an hour for lunch), but that the walk is not particularly enticing. One of the reasons that there are not more waterfront restaurants in the Cleveland area is that the shoreline is mainly used for parks, industry, or residential uses. As the Port of Cleveland vacates its current location, there will be more space for retail.