These are my favorite street lamps from the past. A perfect 60's type look. Must have been like daylight.

32 minutes ago, freethink said:

These are my favorite street lamps from the past. A perfect 60's type look. Must have been like daylight.

Frankly, the most impressive thing is that they’re all working. 

NEORSD is getting in on the action, providing grants for green infrastructure to help mitigate storm water runoff. 

 

"Green roofs are just one facet of environmental infrastructure NEORSD is spreading throughout its combined-sewer service region. Bioretention areas, permeable pavement, and rainwater harvesting are also aimed at transforming the face of Cleveland’s neighborhoods one grant at a time.

 

These projects reduce the potential for flooding and eroded stream banks that can happen when sewers are overwhelmed during heavy storms. Stormwater-related impacts of pollution and waterborne illness can also be alleviated when water management features are reintroduced into the region’s built environments."   

 

https://thelandcle.org/stories/sewer-district-grants-send-green-infrastructure-dollars-to-cleveland-neighborhoods/

We rightly moan about the Jersey barriers on the square but this atrocity deserves attention too. I appreciate the need for traffic control but does anyone at the city give even a second of thought about making the very center of the city aesthetically pleasing? 

^ It's very simple. If our leaders cared these little things would be dealt with. It doesn't cost much to clean up these things, it just takes "want to."

23 hours ago, OldEnough said:

We rightly moan about the Jersey barriers on the square but this atrocity deserves attention too. I appreciate the need for traffic control but does anyone at the city give even a second of thought about making the very center of the city aesthetically pleasing? 

Looks like some guerilla gardening is in order here

That whole approach to Public Square on Superior needs to be seriously redesigned. There's no need for 2 bus only lanes. They should be combined to one lane to improve traffic flow. 

18 hours ago, freefourur said:

That whole approach to Public Square on Superior needs to be seriously redesigned. There's no need for 2 bus only lanes. They should be combined to one lane to improve traffic flow. 

 

I haven't experienced much of a problem at the Square, but I suggest that more people should ride the bus and their bike and there wouldn't be a "traffic flow" problem.

23 hours ago, Foraker said:

 

I haven't experienced much of a problem at the Square, but I suggest that more people should ride the bus and their bike and there wouldn't be a "traffic flow" problem.

 

My comment has more to do with having 2 bus only lanes heading into pubilc square from the west.  This is inefficient use of road space. It creates a weird bottleneck for buses on occasion.     

37 minutes ago, freefourur said:

 

My comment has more to do with having 2 bus only lanes heading into pubilc square from the west.  This is inefficient use of road space. It creates a weird bottleneck for buses on occasion.     

 

Agree. Plus if you watch traffic there for any amount of time you can see how confused car drivers make the situation worse. It's a very strange design that I'm betting most visitors to the city have not encountered. 

Now try riding a bike through this area.  Its not fun

8 hours ago, mack34 said:

Now try riding a bike through this area.  Its not fun

 

Oh yeah. During my bike days the Detroit-Superior Bridge and that section of downtown was like running the gauntlet. 

While not a physical change / improvement, DCA's new Downtown Busker Program hopes to further activate and animate Downtown streets and public spaces through musicians and performers.

 

Sounds like a great program! I'm currently in Greece and all the buskers here are clearly well supported and monitored. Walking through the streets of Greece and hearing random music/entertainment adds so much to a city! I'm not saying Cleveland is anything like Greece, but it's an aspirational quality for sure!

Edited September 13, 20222 yr by clandman1123

They're hanging upward facing accent lighting on the trees in Public Square. It'll look nice for the few weeks the leaves are still on for! Snark aside, it'll look nice. 

Hope the remaining trees survive... they look so nice. We already lost a few by Rebol :( 

It will look nice until the bulbs burnout and there’s no plan or budget to replace them. 

17 hours ago, mrclifton88 said:

Hope the remaining trees survive... they look so nice. We already lost a few by Rebol :( 

 

Took a long walk yesterday, man, this tree situation is dire. Was going past Global Health and Innovation Center (whatever) and there's like 5+? empty planters where trees once were. What exactly does our forestry department do?

 

Granted, knowing how govt. job shuffle goes, I wonder where Urban Forestry is on the job rollercoaster - which jobs within the city are considered Siberia and where crap employees are sent to? Also lol reading through their site, 'maintaining' is not in their department description.

Edited October 6, 20222 yr by GISguy

It sucks that property owners are stuck with full responsibility of trees / sidewalks. Let's say even if the city plants a new tree somewhere, whoever owns that property ends up having to take full responsibility for it. I'm not sure what it takes to just get people to care about the aesthetics, maintenance, and quality of their property (including sidewalks, trees, etc). I really wish that wasn't the case, and the city itself had more control over stuff like that. Maybe someday. 

 

Groups like DCA try to advocate for stuff like that and get people to care, but there's only so much that can be done. One of this city's biggest issues that holds back improvement (especially Downtown - although that is changing!), is getting all property owners to fully care about their streetscapes and to push for things to be better. If everyone cared just a little bit more, and invested just a little bit more into maintenance, it would go a long way. Ex. look at Chicago.

Joint Planning Commission meeting just ended. They approved the landscaping plan unanimously but the site amenities plan was approved with three voting no, and urged input from the city arborist and that the final transit waiting environments along Superior be approved administratively by the Planning Commission. More detail is coming in an article.

4 hours ago, urbanetics_ said:

It sucks that property owners are stuck with full responsibility of trees / sidewalks. Let's say even if the city plants a new tree somewhere, whoever owns that property ends up having to take full responsibility for it. I'm not sure what it takes to just get people to care about the aesthetics, maintenance, and quality of their property (including sidewalks, trees, etc). I really wish that wasn't the case, and the city itself had more control over stuff like that. Maybe someday. 

 

Groups like DCA try to advocate for stuff like that and get people to care, but there's only so much that can be done. One of this city's biggest issues that holds back improvement (especially Downtown - although that is changing!), is getting all property owners to fully care about their streetscapes and to push for things to be better. If everyone cared just a little bit more, and invested just a little bit more into maintenance, it would go a long way. Ex. look at Chicago.

The city or DCA should create a program that incentivizes/penalizes property owners based on the state of their streetscape, while also footing the cost for a new tree and labor. It’s in the city’s best interest to remedy all the dead tree stumps and empty cutouts around town. 

Edited October 6, 20222 yr by marty15

I will say that DCA is kicking off a couple Downtown tree audits - creating an initial inventory of some tree, tree pit/gate conditions, with a goal of creating a comprehensive Downtown-wide audit. Thanks to Councilman Kerry McCormack for actually spearheading this initiative. The end goal will be some actual strategies and implementations to help fix this issue.

 

FWIW, we just created a new volunteer Green Team for community members to pitch in with various public realm efforts and spruce-ups, including the tree audits: https://downtowncleveland.com/downtown-green-team

On 10/6/2022 at 8:55 AM, urbanetics_ said:

It sucks that property owners are stuck with full responsibility of trees / sidewalks. Let's say even if the city plants a new tree somewhere, whoever owns that property ends up having to take full responsibility for it. I'm not sure what it takes to just get people to care about the aesthetics, maintenance, and quality of their property (including sidewalks, trees, etc). I really wish that wasn't the case, and the city itself had more control over stuff like that. Maybe someday. 

 

Groups like DCA try to advocate for stuff like that and get people to care, but there's only so much that can be done. One of this city's biggest issues that holds back improvement (especially Downtown - although that is changing!), is getting all property owners to fully care about their streetscapes and to push for things to be better. If everyone cared just a little bit more, and invested just a little bit more into maintenance, it would go a long way. Ex. look at Chicago.

Chicago has trucks that go around spraying all the hanging baskets and planters with water in the Downtown area. It's probably outsourced to a private company. Its the legacy of Maggie Daley...the wife of mayor Daley. She wanted it and it changed the perception of the city.

 

That stuff needs lots of water. If you have landscaping that is mostly in the sun all day you know what that is like. Go out of town for a couple of days in the summer it all starts dying pretty quick without daily watering. I had a rooftop deck in Chicago that was sunny all day...it was constant watering daily in the summer. You have to be committed. I can see why the city would provide it but also want the property owner to help maintain it. A labor of love.

5 hours ago, metrocity said:

Chicago has trucks that go around spraying all the hanging baskets and planters with water in the Downtown area. It's probably outsourced to a private company. Its the legacy of Maggie Daley...the wife of mayor Daley. She wanted it and it changed the perception of the city.

 

It was probably outsourced to a company owned by one of the Daleys, which doesn't make it a bad idea.

I was in Frankenmuth Michigan last month.  I noticed they had hoses connected to all the flower beds and hanging baskets on the main street so they can get watered automatically.  Although it's probably not feasible to do that in a large urban city.

On 10/6/2022 at 9:55 AM, urbanetics_ said:

It sucks that property owners are stuck with full responsibility of trees / sidewalks. Let's say even if the city plants a new tree somewhere, whoever owns that property ends up having to take full responsibility for it. I'm not sure what it takes to just get people to care about the aesthetics, maintenance, and quality of their property (including sidewalks, trees, etc). I really wish that wasn't the case, and the city itself had more control over stuff like that. Maybe someday. 

 

Groups like DCA try to advocate for stuff like that and get people to care, but there's only so much that can be done. One of this city's biggest issues that holds back improvement (especially Downtown - although that is changing!), is getting all property owners to fully care about their streetscapes and to push for things to be better. If everyone cared just a little bit more, and invested just a little bit more into maintenance, it would go a long way. Ex. look at Chicago.

I don't know why DCA can't handle this stuff. They should be able to care for trees and plants and clearing sidewalks in winter. 

@LibertyBlvdSure it is, check out Israel. They do this literally everywhere. I've been meaning to add some pictures of there from my recent-ish trip to the lessons from other cities/countries thread. 

 

Edit: Literally every bed looks like this.

 

Edited October 8, 20222 yr by Ethan
That thread is only for roads and biking nvm.

Cleveland is losing trees; health and environmental advocates call for planting

BY MARC LEFKOWITZ 

OCTOBER 6, 2022

 

For the past four years, the city of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have each allocated $1 million per year for tree planting to bring back the region’s dwindling tree canopy. Through its Cuyahoga County Healthy Urban Tree Canopy grants, Cuyahoga County funded the planting of 4,000 trees in 25 locations across the county in 2021. Yet while those numbers may sound impressive, officials at the recent Cuyahoga Tree Symposium held Friday, September 23 at Beachwood Community Center pointed out that the region is still losing trees at an alarming clip. 

 

“We’ve seen a significant decrease in canopy coverage,” Cuyahoga County Sustainability Director Mike Foley said. “Some (areas) are doing well, but others, like first-ring suburbs and the city of Cleveland, are struggling.”

 

The City of Cleveland alone has lost half of its tree canopy since 1950, according to the Cleveland Tree Plan. The decline has left only 18% of the city covered in shade, and the losses continue to mount: According to the Cleveland Tree Coalition (CTC), at the current rate, Cleveland will lose another 4% of its trees by 2040. 

 

 

https://thelandcle.org/stories/cleveland-is-losing-trees-health-and-environmental-advocates-call-for-planting/

I've read through the article but I couldn't figure out if developing land that was an empty lot counted as losing tree canopy. Because I can see why that would make sense us losing a lot of trees. As empty lots get bought and developed we're taking a lot of plants and trees down on the property. 

 

A good example is how they cleared off irishtown bend park land this summer. It's for development of a park so sure the park can't have as many trees as empty land did but it's still a good thing!

21 hours ago, metrocity said:

Chicago has trucks that go around spraying all the hanging baskets and planters with water in the Downtown area. It's probably outsourced to a private company. Its the legacy of Maggie Daley...the wife of mayor Daley. She wanted it and it changed the perception of the city.

 

That stuff needs lots of water. If you have landscaping that is mostly in the sun all day you know what that is like. Go out of town for a couple of days in the summer it all starts dying pretty quick without daily watering. I had a rooftop deck in Chicago that was sunny all day...it was constant watering daily in the summer. You have to be committed. I can see why the city would provide it but also want the property owner to help maintain it. A labor of love.

Another reason why we need trees lining our streets. Trees don’t need this constant maintenance 

7 hours ago, marty15 said:

Another reason why we need trees lining our streets. Trees don’t need this constant maintenance 

 

And would provide (at least) dappled shade for part of the day for any other perennials or annuals planted, reducing some of the maintenance strain. 

If we want to restore the tree canopy, and we should for many reasons, we have to put our utility lines underground. That has to be a part of Cleveland's strategy.

Completely agreed though I haven't noticed any movement in that direction. The city policy is planting the right trees for the location. Which makes no sense because the power lines limit you to all but the smallest ornamental trees. And even then the trees are topped at 12ft so they look bad. Tall trees can coexist with power lines but it takes more careful pruning than how they are typically mangled.

 

Edited October 9, 20222 yr by Mendo

On 10/8/2022 at 10:08 AM, LibertyBlvd said:

I was in Frankenmuth Michigan last month.  I noticed they had hoses connected to all the flower beds and hanging baskets on the main street so they can get watered automatically.  Although it's probably not feasible to do that in a large urban city.

They do have that in the Warehouse District. 

In Cologne, Germany, they have a special tractor that comes down with retractable hose arms that stick out from both sides of the tractor that waters all the trees and flower beds along the street.

All I know is the "Forest City" could use more trees. It drives me insane when I see a large, mature tree essentially cut in half to make room for power lines. 

FWIW DCA does water the planters around town - either it's via pickup or a little gator.

On 10/9/2022 at 9:36 AM, KJP said:

If we want to restore the tree canopy, and we should for many reasons, we have to put our utility lines underground. That has to be a part of Cleveland's strategy.

In a lot of cases around the city, if we would shrink our streets we could pull the trees in away from the wires. 

11 minutes ago, marty15 said:

In a lot of cases around the city, if we would shrink our streets we could pull the trees in away from the wires. 

I agree with this. If we also could coordinate street and sidewalk  repaving with the utility companies we could bury them much easier. In the end though Cleveland is a city that finally has had positive tax receipt growth for the first time this decade. So baby steps with what gets done. 

 

If it's one thing that can separate a city from another, it's outdoor music. Rockhall is doing just that! I would love a rock and roll hall of fame playlist playing almost anywhere.

18 hours ago, tastybunns said:

If it's one thing that can separate a city from another, it's outdoor music. Rockhall is doing just that! I would love a rock and roll hall of fame playlist playing almost anywhere.

 

It quite honestly floors me that the city doesn't do more to play up the Rock Hall and the history of the genre. 

Cleveland police to increase ‘unarmed uniformed’ presence on Public Square

(From DCA's LinkedIn Page)

Today, Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) and the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) are opening a Co-Deployment Center on the first floor of Tower City Center. DCA’s collaboration with city leadership continues to help offer a welcoming environment at the city’s core. This is a national best practice, and we hope to expand the program assuming it is successful. More information can be found below...

DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND ALLIANCE’S CLEAN AND SAFE TEAM AND CLEVELAND DIVISION OF POLICE OPENING A NEIGHBORHOOD CO-DEPLOYMENT CENTER IN TOWER CITY
 
DCA and CDP collaboration to open November 16th in Tower City Center
 
DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND – Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) and the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) are opening a Co-Deployment Center on the first floor of Tower City Center Wednesday, November 16th. DCA’s collaboration with city leadership continues to help offer a welcoming environment at the city’s core. 
The new center will house two Neighborhood Safety Specialists and two Downtown Services Unit officers. They will specifically focus on the Public Square and contiguous areas surrounding it in an effort of increasing unarmed uniformed visibility through DCA resources along with on-duty law enforcement. After several months, the group will assess the deployment and location and adjust if appropriate.
DCA always encourages residents and visitors that if you observe criminal behavior, please call 9-1-1 immediately. For anyone seeking clean, safe, and welcoming services, please call 216-621-6000 between the hours of 7am and midnight, seven days a week. There is access to full-time outreach specialists, whose primary duties are to support those unsheltered and underserved in the community.
 
WHAT:              Co-Deployment Center – providing an increased offering of unarmed uniformed visibility to the Downtown Cleveland area
 
WHEN:               Opening Wednesday, November 16th, 2022
·       Operating Wednesday – Sunday from 8PM to Midnight
 
WHERE:             First Floor, Tower City Center
 
WHO:                 Cleveland Division of Police in collaboration with Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s Clean and Safe Team

 

Related Story:

https://www.cleveland19.com/2022/11/16/cleveland-police-increase-unarmed-uniformed-presence-public-square/

Well that seems to be a smart answer to the issues PS is going through. I am very glad to see this hybrid approach. PS is surrounded by a lot of new investment and is way too high profile to allow it to degenerate. I'm not sure how much the Bibb administration had to do with this but somehow I don't think the Jackson people would have done much of anything. 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2022/12/no-more-jersey-barriers-clevelands-public-square-to-get-a-makeover-the-wake-up-for-wednesday-dec-21-2022.html

18 minutes ago, OldEnough said:

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2022/12/no-more-jersey-barriers-clevelands-public-square-to-get-a-makeover-the-wake-up-for-wednesday-dec-21-2022.html

 

It's a Christmas miracle!! 🥳

Good morning from Basel Switzerland.    I was thinking of Cleveland and our many sidewalk closings during major construction projects while walking about this morning.   

Here in Switzerland, they maintain the roadway, the sidewalk, and even built a outdoor cafe setting for the coffee shop onto the base of the crane! 

 

 

Guten Tag!  Switzerland is a great country and definitely has its act together.

Do they still have a black bear mascot in a pit/semi natural area in a city park? A local told me it was as city tradition.