Also not a big fan of trees on lower Euclid.  It has never worked in my lifetime due to either poor execution in terms of selecting the correct variety, planting (remember those huge ugly planters that just ended up being garbage cans), lack of sunlight, poor maintenance and pedestrian abuse.  I also again with @surfohiothat Euclid looks best with an unobstructed street wall.  I think a great way to improve Euclid from the square to CSU would be to come up with some sort of unique and grand street lights that really stand out.

@HtsguyThese may not be everybody's taste or "grand" and probably would look out of place  today on Euclid.  But I love these 1960's retro streetlights!

Wow, look at all that retail! 

 

When I was a kid, my mom opened a bank account for me at Broadview Savings.  We would go to the downtown branch periodically to deposit money I got from birthdays/other events and delivering the Cleveland Press.  It was rather impressive as the bank stretched from Euclid to Superior.  Afterwards, we would often stop for lunch at Mills cafeteria next door and then do some shopping at a few of the department stores.  

I don't mind the smaller trees we have on lower Euclid. Might be a minority opinion, but I'm trying to get as much sun as I can get. The small trees add some greenery (obviously not now in winter) but don't shade out the sun too much.

i have a dumb question.  what is the type of tree that Cleveland plants downtown on the sidewalks?  They look sickly even when they're fully healthy.  is there a reason we can't plant more robust-looking trees?

13 minutes ago, Whipjacka said:

i have a dumb question.  what is the type of tree that Cleveland plants downtown on the sidewalks?  They look sickly even when they're fully healthy.  is there a reason we can't plant more robust-looking trees?

 

I believe that most of the trees are Honey Locusts. Cities often plant them because they do well in harsh conditions. 

4 minutes ago, freefourur said:

 

I believe that most of the trees are Honey Locusts. Cities often plant them because they do well in harsh conditions. 

 

Was just about to respond Honey locust, that's what a plant image search result returned for me at least. My favorite example of them is just north of Euclid on 9th along Huntington bank building. Those have been there forever. 

Edited December 12, 20231 yr by viscomi

27 minutes ago, Whipjacka said:

i have a dumb question.  what is the type of tree that Cleveland plants downtown on the sidewalks?  They look sickly even when they're fully healthy.  is there a reason we can't plant more robust-looking trees?

Progressive Field is surrounded by ginkgoes that are very tough and adaptable street trees, but they have a pretty scraggly growth habit.  They went cheap on the cultivars.

6 hours ago, mrnyc said:

^ well if you think its a concrete desert what are more trees going to do for it? an ostensibly cooler concrete desert is still a desert. 

 

meaning its fine to do of course, but i dont think its the most pressing change needed. the most pressing continues to be more people and businesses. i’d rather make something like superior the champs-elysees. can you imagine? what a change taking out lanes and tree lining that too wide avenue could be.

I don't live in CLE, but does Superior even see much foot traffic? When I come to Cleveland, it seemed like most people were on PS, Euclid, E4th, Playhouse Square or W6/W9 areas. I would focus on improving the experience where the most people would benefit. I would love to see trees on Euclid. It needs them. 

I'm sort of surprised to read some of the comments about why trees shouldn't be on Euclid. I'm an unrepentant treehugger, though, and love seeing artists' imaginings of super eco-friendly cities that are not just dense but full of greenery and everybody is driving carbon-neutral flying cars. This intersection I found in Singapore is an example in "real life" https://www.google.com/maps/@1.2850886,103.8504532,3a,75y,165.22h,83.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sy0K0HgmWqlIjGth81ztdNQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

 

 

Singapore is obsessed with maintaining a clean and attractive urban aesthetic.  They long ago realized that this would attract investment.  Cleveland, overall, is on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to this sensibility.    

23 minutes ago, OldEnough said:

Singapore is obsessed with maintaining a clean and attractive urban aesthetic.  They long ago realized that this would attract investment.  Cleveland, overall, is on the other end of the spectrum when it comes to this sensibility.    

The difference is Singapore probably employees people who are happy to have the job and proud of their work.  Cleveland has hundreds of streets and parks & rec workers that barely put in 3 hours a day (if we are lucky).   

 

 

9 hours ago, Ethan said:

The environment is one reason out of many for adding trees, it's not the only one. I just told you I'm not advocating for cars here, please don't put words in my mouth.

 

i didnt say you were outright advocating for cars, you never said anything about cars, but you ignored them completely, or forgot about them, so you are indeed de facto, by default, passively advocating for them.

 

anyway, your link examples are not making your case. foremost, those are sidestreets and not the major legacy big city high streets like euclid, fifth ave, broad st philly etc., etc.. — and even examples shown like galena’s main st and rue st jean, not quebec’s main st, show zero trees, but what they do have is narrow streets, active businesses and people. even the complete streets link mentions the keys are safety, dynamic vitality ie., people and bike lanes and the like upfront, but nothing about trees. 

3 hours ago, Cleburger said:

The difference is Singapore probably employees people who are happy to have the job and proud of their work.  Cleveland has hundreds of streets and parks & rec workers that barely put in 3 hours a day (if we are lucky).   

 

 

I see you constantly making posts like this. Which one of them hurt you?

4 hours ago, TMart said:

I don't live in CLE, but does Superior even see much foot traffic? When I come to Cleveland, it seemed like most people were on PS, Euclid, E4th, Playhouse Square or W6/W9 areas. I would focus on improving the experience where the most people would benefit. I would love to see trees on Euclid. It needs them. 

 

 

correct superior does not. some of it is even forlorn or dystopic, although the avenue development now helps a lot. but its wide and empty and ripe for a major change like road dieting and tree lining, the latter if they can be taken of that is, which is not so easy. nor is paying for anything like that. anyway its just an example, but it could be absolutely tranformative there and attract redevelopment. euclid has a lot more going for it. 

Superior and W St Claire are about as dry and uninspiring as a worn out 70s strip mall.

11 hours ago, JB said:

I see you constantly making posts like this. Which one of them hurt you?

None in particular.   I guess i'm the only one resentful of Frank Jackson's tax increase that promised more services but has failed to improve any.  Thus far the Bibb administration seems to have inherited the mess and has not been able to crack the union bubble.  

 

 

18 hours ago, Husat77 said:

Progressive Field is surrounded by ginkgoes that are very tough and adaptable street trees, but they have a pretty scraggly growth habit.  They went cheap on the cultivars.

 

And they stink! lol my friends and I have a little more, uh, colorful name for them.

 

1 hour ago, Cleburger said:

Thus far the Bibb administration seems to have inherited the mess and has not been able to crack the union bubble.  

 

Urban Forestry is a shell of a department, their backlog of stuff is embarrassing. I want to say Jenny Spencer had a post last year about median cleanups and how the city visits medians like once a year and how as a result of that they don't design them w/plantings as much anymore.

If the city is planting trees (and they absolutely should), they should be planting native shade trees. 

Did a quick count on my ride home yesterday and the first 18 "barriers" to the bike lane westbound on Detroit have either been completely removed or destroyed

1 hour ago, Cleburger said:

None in particular.   I guess i'm the only one resentful of Frank Jackson's tax increase that promised more services but has failed to improve any.  Thus far the Bibb administration seems to have inherited the mess and has not been able to crack the union bubble.  

 

 

 

I guess I'm strange in that I'm politically conservative but my only issue with unions is when they spend dues on politicians.   God knows public sector workers, including cops, need protection from shady bosses as least as much as anyone in the private sector.    The only problem is there's no competition enforced efficiency as there is in the latter.

5 minutes ago, GISguy said:

 

And they stink! lol my friends and I have a little more, uh, colorful name for them.

 

 

Urban Forestry is a shell of a department, their backlog of stuff is embarrassing. I want to say Jenny Spencer had a post last year about median cleanups and how the city visits medians like once a year and how as a result of that they don't design them w/plantings as much anymore.

Part of the problem with maintenance of such streetscape is with the lower level management and rank and file workers in the city maintenance departments.   

 

In Jenny's median example, it takes 3 departments to coordinate closing off traffic, trimming back the greenery, and picking up the waste (Streets, Parks/Rec and Refuse).     None of them are very cooperative with the others, so it takes a herculean effort to get the most mundane tasks done. 

 

In addition to this, the workers unions, knowing there is no extra money laying around to negotiate for more than an annual COLA increase,  come up with work rules that further erode productivity.   For instance the workers tasked with cleaning up the medians have insisted on a shift that is typically 6 am-2:30 pm.  But they will not head out on the streets in the dark during the winter months (for safety reasons, which is understandable).    So during winter months, they show up at 6 and do nothing until at least 9 am, which is already pushing up on their first mandatory break pre-lunch.     So not much gets done in the morning, then it's lunch, then it's time to head back to their base to put things away and change clothing.   

 

Just negotiating a reasonable shift time that works year round for daylight could boost the productivity of city workers, and save the city in OT during peak seasons.   Bibb would most certainly encounter a huge amount of pushback with any such attempt.  

 

 

12 minutes ago, Cleburger said:

In Jenny's median example, it takes 3 departments to coordinate closing off traffic, trimming back the greenery, and picking up the waste (Streets, Parks/Rec and Refuse).     None of them are very cooperative with the others, so it takes a herculean effort to get the most mundane tasks done. 

  

 

The crosswalks around 48th-50th and Franklin have been torn out and re-poured now SIX times since 2021 because none of the departments (both city, county, and utility tbf) communicated with each other about work flows. 

What are the impediments to growing healthy trees along downtown streets? Are there underground utilities preventing deep root growth? Do they not get enough sun? Do ice/snow melting chemicals stunt their growth? Is it feasible to use tree planters as barriers to protect bike lanes? As someone who likes to visit downtown whenever I'm in the area, it would really improve the experience to have more trees lining the streets. It's also too bad there aren't a bunch of trees on The Mall. But I understand the underground structure doesn't allow for tree root growth. Whenever I come up from Columbus, I go out of my way to at least drive through downtown. I will be picking up my mother-in-law next weekend and I'm going to give her a tour of the downtown area on the way from Ashtabula to Columbus.   

1 hour ago, Cleburger said:

None in particular.   I guess i'm the only one resentful of Frank Jackson's tax increase that promised more services but has failed to improve any.  Thus far the Bibb administration seems to have inherited the mess and has not been able to crack the union bubble.  

 

 

Have you seen the street light situation in the Warehouse District. One stretch alone between West 6th and West 3rd on Lakeside, four of the five street lights are missing. Two are half poles and two are gone with the wiring left behind. 

1 minute ago, stpats44113 said:

Have you seen the street light situation in the Warehouse District. One stretch alone between West 6th and West 3rd on Lakeside, four of the five street lights are missing. Two are half poles and two are gone with the wiring left behind. 

That's odd... that the wiring was left. That's often the first thing stolen!

50 minutes ago, TMart said:

What are the impediments to growing healthy trees along downtown streets? Are there underground utilities preventing deep root growth? Do they not get enough sun? Do ice/snow melting chemicals stunt their growth? Is it feasible to use tree planters as barriers to protect bike lanes? As someone who likes to visit downtown whenever I'm in the area, it would really improve the experience to have more trees lining the streets. It's also too bad there aren't a bunch of trees on The Mall. But I understand the underground structure doesn't allow for tree root growth. Whenever I come up from Columbus, I go out of my way to at least drive through downtown. I will be picking up my mother-in-law next weekend and I'm going to give her a tour of the downtown area on the way from Ashtabula to Columbus.   

These are great questions! I don't have all the answers, but here's a helpful article on the subject. 

 

https://extension.psu.edu/designing-downtowns-fit-for-trees

42 minutes ago, Ethan said:

These are great questions! I don't have all the answers, but here's a helpful article on the subject. 

 

https://extension.psu.edu/designing-downtowns-fit-for-trees

Thanks! Great article! Answers a lot of my questions. It also points out some of the drawbacks I didn't think about. 

Oh hell. I give up. Reasons why we can't do something always beats out why we can. 

 

Feel bad trumps feel good in today's America.

On 12/9/2023 at 6:46 PM, GISguy said:

 

They may be first energy poles...there's a few parts of the city that are theirs... @GREGinPARMAmight have more insight....

 

Fwiw, their site is showing 88% complete

 

https://cdmsmith.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1c448337c6f8498c92c139b073e8d60c

 

Sorry I just noticed this question this morning. But I just spoke with the manager of the street light department. He said mostly all of those poles are CPP's. Also certain cities have not opted in for the conversion program but instead chose a "change upon failure" route. So those high pressure sodium bulbs won't be changed to LED until they burn out. However, those HPS bulbs won't even be available in a few years so that's when you'll see everything switched over. 

1 hour ago, GREGinPARMA said:

 

Sorry I just noticed this question this morning. But I just spoke with the manager of the street light department. He said mostly all of those poles are CPP's. Also certain cities have not opted in for the conversion program but instead chose a "change upon failure" route. So those high pressure sodium bulbs won't be changed to LED until they burn out. However, those HPS bulbs won't even be available in a few years so that's when you'll see everything switched over. 

Just to followup, it has become hard to find manufacturers of those already with more and more cities opting into that conversion program.

It just seems as though they reached 88% and stopped or switched to "change bulb on burnout."

Chiming in with some extra insight and context on the streetscape + trees conversation. Downtown Cleveland, Inc. and the city are actively collaborating on future Euclid Ave / Downtown-wide streetscape improvements. Between tree grants to plant new trees, early stages of a Euclid Ave streetscape refresh, and other improvements, there is lots of behind-the-scenes work going on right now to produce actual implemented change and improvements over the coming years. 

 

Don't expect it to happen overnight, and I know it's not happening as fast as everyone (me included!) would prefer, but I can promise that things are going in the right direction.

 

Also in regards to where the tree pits have currently empty pits / dead trees. Those were all poorly designed with the underground utilities, which caused many of those trees to die. And unless the larger infrastructural/utility issue is addressed, no trees will survive in those spots. Therefore we need to be a little creative with some solutions. I saw someone mentioned extending the Bedrock planters - that's definitely something we are discussing and agree could be a good solution.

 

More specifics and progress are yet to come down the road, but I can confidently say that there's never been the level of alignment (as far as I've heard or known) between the public/private/nonprofit sectors on what needs to happen and how to get it done as there is right now. 

3 minutes ago, urbanetics_ said:

Chiming in with some extra insight and context on the streetscape + trees conversation. Downtown Cleveland, Inc. and the city are actively collaborating on future Euclid Ave / Downtown-wide streetscape improvements. Between tree grants to plant new trees, early stages of a Euclid Ave streetscape refresh, and other improvements, there is lots of behind-the-scenes work going on right now to produce actual implemented change and improvements over the coming years. 

 

Don't expect it to happen overnight, and I know it's not happening as fast as everyone (me included!) would prefer, but I can promise that things are going in the right direction.

 

Also in regards to where the tree pits have currently empty pits / dead trees. Those were all poorly designed with the underground utilities, which caused many of those trees to die. And unless the larger infrastructural/utility issue is addressed, no trees will survive in those spots. Therefore we need to be a little creative with some solutions. I saw someone mentioned extending the Bedrock planters - that's definitely something we are discussing and agree could be a good solution.

 

More specifics and progress are yet to come down the road, but I can confidently say that there's never been the level of alignment (as far as I've heard or known) between the public/private/nonprofit sectors on what needs to happen and how to get it done as there is right now. 

Any idea if you will be planting native trees and flowers?

1 hour ago, JB said:

Any idea if you will be planting native trees and flowers?

Does that mean they should scrap the plan to plant coconut palms?

On 12/14/2023 at 12:32 PM, urbanetics_ said:

Chiming in with some extra insight and context on the streetscape + trees conversation. Downtown Cleveland, Inc. and the city are actively collaborating on future Euclid Ave / Downtown-wide streetscape improvements. Between tree grants to plant new trees, early stages of a Euclid Ave streetscape refresh, and other improvements, there is lots of behind-the-scenes work going on right now to produce actual implemented change and improvements over the coming years. 

 

Don't expect it to happen overnight, and I know it's not happening as fast as everyone (me included!) would prefer, but I can promise that things are going in the right direction.

 

Also in regards to where the tree pits have currently empty pits / dead trees. Those were all poorly designed with the underground utilities, which caused many of those trees to die. And unless the larger infrastructural/utility issue is addressed, no trees will survive in those spots. Therefore we need to be a little creative with some solutions. I saw someone mentioned extending the Bedrock planters - that's definitely something we are discussing and agree could be a good solution.

 

More specifics and progress are yet to come down the road, but I can confidently say that there's never been the level of alignment (as far as I've heard or known) between the public/private/nonprofit sectors on what needs to happen and how to get it done as there is right now. 

This is great news!  In the meantime, I wish the "bridge" pattern crosswalks at Euclid and East 9th could be repaired back with the pavers placed correctly and all streetlights turned the same direction.

 

This has bothered me for years because it is so baffling. Can anyone explain why East 105th street from Chester to Mr.Sinai Drive was never repaved while the other sides were? This wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't in such bad shape.

Sent from my Pixel 8 Pro using Tapatalk

^ I believe it is also a bit narrower than the refreshed areas.  This is mostly by the Maltz PA Center and where the Nord Greenway crosses.

Looks like Cleveland's Urban Forestry Commission is finally getting started after being recently reformed. 

 

I'm not sure why a "listening walk" is necessary in this case... I've seen plenty of resources showing where Cleveland has lost its tree canopy. Unless this will double as a way to take a new inventory of which trees need pruned, removed, or replaced, this seems like a bit of a waste of time and effort.

 

Urban Forestry Commission wants Clevelanders to speak for the trees

by Dakotah Kennedy and Cleveland Documenters January 15, 2024

 

The Urban Forestry Commission plans to spend time in different communities listening to residents, hoping to understand what tree maintenance means to them. “We want to put boots on the ground and talk to residents and committee groups where they are,” said Maintenance Committee Chair Dan Leamon. 

 

...

 

Cleveland has almost $3 million in backlogged work orders for tree maintenance, according to City Council Member Jenny Spencer. Spencer, who also chairs the budget committee for the Urban Forestry Commission, said the total includes a $2.4 million backlog of tree removal and critical tree pruning work plus more than $400,000 needed for stump grinding.

 

The city needs to find a way to fund the work, said Spencer. One option she mentioned was using leftover money from the 2023 budget. Spencer also noted that these work orders are complaint-driven and separate from ongoing maintenance.

 

https://signalcleveland.org/urban-forestry-commission-wants-clevelanders-to-speak-for-the-trees/

Getting public input can be helpful in securing federal grants like those that Euclid recently won...

 

https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/21/cleveland-suburb-wants-to-be-the-next-forest-city/

4 hours ago, Luke_S said:

Looks like Cleveland's Urban Forestry Commission is finally getting started after being recently reformed. 

 

I'm not sure why a "listening walk" is necessary in this case... I've seen plenty of resources showing where Cleveland has lost its tree canopy. Unless this will double as a way to take a new inventory of which trees need pruned, removed, or replaced, this seems like a bit of a waste of time and effort.

 

Urban Forestry Commission wants Clevelanders to speak for the trees

by Dakotah Kennedy and Cleveland Documenters January 15, 2024

 

The Urban Forestry Commission plans to spend time in different communities listening to residents, hoping to understand what tree maintenance means to them. “We want to put boots on the ground and talk to residents and committee groups where they are,” said Maintenance Committee Chair Dan Leamon. 

 

...

 

Cleveland has almost $3 million in backlogged work orders for tree maintenance, according to City Council Member Jenny Spencer. Spencer, who also chairs the budget committee for the Urban Forestry Commission, said the total includes a $2.4 million backlog of tree removal and critical tree pruning work plus more than $400,000 needed for stump grinding.

 

The city needs to find a way to fund the work, said Spencer. One option she mentioned was using leftover money from the 2023 budget. Spencer also noted that these work orders are complaint-driven and separate from ongoing maintenance.

 

https://signalcleveland.org/urban-forestry-commission-wants-clevelanders-to-speak-for-the-trees/

Yes, yes, yes, and yes!!!!

4 hours ago, KJP said:

Getting public input can be helpful in securing federal grants like those that Euclid recently won...

 

https://neo-trans.blog/2023/09/21/cleveland-suburb-wants-to-be-the-next-forest-city/

 

It's also a way to build public support for spending public funds on trees.  Something we all want to assume is a slam dunk, but isn't.  There was a good article recently about Detroit residents rejecting free tree plantings in their neighborhoods for a variety of reasons, primarily stemming from issues of race and fears of gentrification:

 

Quote

Why Detroit Residents Pushed Back Against Tree-Planting

 

Detroiters were refusing city-sponsored “free trees.” A researcher found out the problem: She was the first person to ask them if they wanted them.

 

By Brentin Mock

 

January 11, 2019 at 2:55 PM UTC

 

A landmark report conducted by University of Michigan environmental sociologist Dorceta Taylor in 2014 warned of the “arrogance” of white environmentalists when they introduce green initiatives to black and brown communities. One black environmental professional Taylor interviewed for the report, Elliot Payne, described experiences where green groups “presumed to know what’s best” for communities of color without including them in the decision-making and planning processes.

 

9 minutes ago, X said:

 

It's also a way to build public support for spending public funds on trees.  Something we all want to assume is a slam dunk, but isn't.  There was a good article recently about Detroit residents rejecting free tree plantings in their neighborhoods for a variety of reasons, primarily stemming from issues of race and fears of gentrification:

 

 

Thanks for the article! Interesting read. My only problem with it is that offering someone a free tree seems like asking people if they want them with a lot less overhead. If they say no, I guess you have your answer. 

 

People might say no for any number of reasons, if it's because they don't want to maintain it (they're likely correct in assuming the city won't), then that's their choice. Obviously I wish they'd say yes, but now you're into persuasion, not listening.

 

Maybe I'm reading too far between the lines, but my impression from the article is that the people who said no, wouldn't have said yes unless the city promised to maintain the trees on their tree lawn, which just doesn't seem practical to me from the city's perspective. At least not in the day to day sense, maybe the city can promise to cut down and remove dead trees, but I'm not sure what they can do beyond that. I'm curious what specific maintenance acts residents are looking for the city to perform and if the requests are both reasonable and sufficient to change the mind of someone turning down a free tree. To be honest, I'm not sure what the city can realistically do but keep offering and making sure residents are aware of the offer.

 

If listening sessions help (either to get grant money or persuade residents) I'll happily support them, but to be honest they sound like unnecessary overhead to me at this time. 

We already discussed this USDA grant program for urban forestry back in September and the missed opportunity for the Big 3C in Ohio.   Not sure if there are similar funds to be released in 2024. 

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/urban-forests/ucf/2023-grant-funding

Edited January 15, 20241 yr by DO_Summers

23 minutes ago, Ethan said:

Thanks for the article! Interesting read. My only problem with it is that offering someone a free tree seems like asking people if they want them with a lot less overhead. If they say no, I guess you have your answer. 

 

People might say no for any number of reasons, if it's because they don't want to maintain it (they're likely correct in assuming the city won't), then that's their choice. Obviously I wish they'd say yes, but now you're into persuasion, not listening.

 

Maybe I'm reading too far between the lines, but my impression from the article is that the people who said no, wouldn't have said yes unless the city promised to maintain the trees on their tree lawn, which just doesn't seem practical to me from the city's perspective. At least not in the day to day sense, maybe the city can promise to cut down and remove dead trees, but I'm not sure what they can do beyond that. I'm curious what specific maintenance acts residents are looking for the city to perform and if the requests are both reasonable and sufficient to change the mind of someone turning down a free tree. To be honest, I'm not sure what the city can realistically do but keep offering and making sure residents are aware of the offer.

 

If listening sessions help (either to get grant money or persuade residents) I'll happily support them, but to be honest they sound like unnecessary overhead to me at this time. 

Maybe offer some sort of property tax credit for planting them. 

20 hours ago, DO_Summers said:

We already discussed this USDA grant program for urban forestry back in September and the missed opportunity for the Big 3C in Ohio.   Not sure if there are similar funds to be released in 2024. 

 

https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/urban-forests/ucf/2023-grant-funding

 

When I lived in DC there were similar federal tree grants for the Great Lakes Region that were meant for places like Cleveland.  Great Lakes Initiative funds (funds meant to be used to improve the health of the great lakes, reduce runoff etc. 

As I was working in a capacity of managing related programs I would send the RFP to any Cleveland area official and non-profit that I thought would have interest saying "hey this is free money to replant the city" you just needed to have some sort of plan to apply (I even sent an outline showing how easily they could apply).  I did get some non-profits to respond to me, but there wasn't anybody that could take it on or had the capacity at the time.  No organization that was looking at such things.

This was after Cleanland merged with another org to form a nonprofit that was only interested in public art (Landstudio today).   

I remember coming back to volunteer for tree plantings organized by Cleanland, and then coming back to check on the trees and they were all either broken off or pulled out by the neighborhood folks/kids that had no appreciation for such things.  Likely the result of all suburban volunteers planning and organizing without neighborhood involvement or buy-in.  This had to be at the beginning of the Frank Jackson era.  

I think Detroit won a 10 million grant at that time.  It was frustrating.  

 

Today we are certainly better organized for such an endeavor.  I believe the Western Reserve Land Conservancy reviews these opportunities for the region and Cleveland specific initiatives plus there is a newer organization advocating for the city of Cleveland that is still finding its footing.     

         

Edited January 16, 20241 yr by willyboy

Western Reserve Land Conservancy does have tree programs. Including free tree giveaways and advocacy. 

 

https://wrlandconservancy.org/reforestourcity/

 

Holden Forest and Gardens also have a program, though it looks less extensive. 

 

https://holdenfg.org/news/holden-forests-gardens-launches-people-for-trees/

 

Another good resource for anyone interested.

 

http://www.clevelandtrees.org/

I'm assuming that this will soon be a ceremony to mark the removal of the jersey barriers.  Finally!

I know twitter links are annoying but don't want to go through video upload, this was one of the more Parks and Rec things I've seen in a while lol

 

 

Glad to see the jersey barriers gone but I also am not a fan of bollards.  Public Square was never given a chance to operate as it was originally designed and they should have seen if it could have worked rather than implementing the fear based jersey barriers.  The best solution would have been to have closed Superior all together and unite the square.  From the press conference Mayor Bibb mentioned this may be on the table again

 

Edited March 25, 20241 yr by dave2017
typos