^ Very nice!

Holiday Bike to Work Day: Celebration of the Hope Memorial... Public Event · By Bike Cleveland

 

When Monday, December 10, 2012, 7:00am - 8:30am

 

Where Hope Memorial Bridge Cleveland, Ohio

 

Get Directions Get Directions

 

Details Help ring in the opening of the Hope Memorial Bikeway (the bike path on the Lorain Carnegie Bridge) this holiday season on Monday, December 10th from 7am to 8:30am for the Holiday Bike to Work Day Celebration. Stop by on your way to work, school, or just on your early morning ride.

 

In celebration Bike Cleveland and the Cleveland Bike Rack will be providing hot coffee and pastries to cyclists and pedestrians who cross over the bridge. We will be set up in the new promenade on the east side of the Hope Memorial/Lorain Carnegie bridge (across from Progressive Field). This is your chance to be one of the first to ride over the Hope Memorial Bikeway, which officially opens that morning.

The Cleveland Bike Rack will have information on the Bike Station including their winter commuter parking services, ODOT will have information on the bikeway and enhancements that will be made in 2013, and of course Bike Cleveland will be there with membership info and t-shirts (this is a good opportunity to get a Bike Cleveland shirt for that special cyclists in your life for the holiday).

We know it’s short notice so if you can't make it on December 10th, be sure to check out the Hope Memorial Bikeway next time you are headed east-west. We will also be planning a larger event in the spring to celebrate the lighting of the Guardians and other improvements along the bikeway.

 

http://m.facebook.com/Innerbelt?id=158130137575685&_rdr

 

 

The Lorain-Carnegie bike/ped-way is open.  Some finishing work remains to be done in the spring

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/12/new_bikeway_opens_on_lorain-ca.html

 

Update:

 

http://fox8.com/2012/12/10/bikers-get-safer-path-to-cleveland/

^Rode the new bike lane today.  Very nice, and I was surprised to see a fair number of people using it, as it was only 38 degrees out at the time.

Saw something on the Cleveland Planning Commission site called the 'City Loop Trail'.  Never heard of it. It is planned to be a smaller version of the Emerald Necklace but within city limits. It doesn't indicate where the planning stands or if it is actively seeking funding. Looks pretty cool. Here is the link:

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bike/cityLoop.html

^^"Only 38 degrees:" that's adorable.

 

^We have something very similar, so I have no doubt that if the city pushed to get this done ASAP Cleveland could find itself listed among the top ten big cities for bikes, but that depends on what other cities are also doing the same. Although, a system like this depends heavily on already having infrastructure in place for paths largely separate from roads and Cleveland already seems to have a good deal in place, but it's so disjointed that I'm sure ridership is nothing compared to what it could be if completed.

Saw something on the Cleveland Planning Commission site called the 'City Loop Trail'.  Never heard of it. It is planned to be a smaller version of the Emerald Necklace but within city limits. It doesn't indicate where the planning stands or if it is actively seeking funding. Looks pretty cool. Here is the link:

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/bike/cityLoop.html

 

I just noticed that the other day. Must be a new addition to the site. I wonder what other cities have a loop bike route? What origins and destinations, plus connecting trail or dedicated bike routes they are attempting to connect?

FYI.....

 

Yeah, Cleveland is also in advanced stages of planning a bikeshare for downtown. I think bikeshare has a huge future, not to mention also symbolic of the kind of planning that everyone likes, in my experience in leading a bikeshare project in Stillwater, OK (home of the "other OSU"). For some reason a recreational amenity is easier to build consensus around than an urban lifestyle amenity. That is really awesome for Cincinnati as I am sure it will have great synergy with the streetcar system.

 

^ this needs to be planned out and micromanaged, at least initially.  PORTLAND, OREGON of all places did away with bike share because the bikes were stolena nd vandlaized.  Imagine how the vandals will operate here.  They need to keep a tight leash on how this will be run or else dont even bother.  I am for this project, but if its going to be lazily implemented, then its just going to be a large frustration

A new bike-friendly plan for Lorain Avenue is the conceptual opposite of a bitterly disliked plan for a new McDonald's

 

Lorain Avenue on Cleveland’s West Side is becoming a key battleground over clashing visions of the city’s future.

 

Does rebooting a shrinking city mean allowing it to cater to automobile-oriented businesses such as a new McDonald’s? Or should Cleveland encourage dense and lively growth around re-emergent retail corridors that once carried streetcars, such as Lorain Avenue?

 

On the suburban side of the question, developers are fighting for city approval of a controversial and highly unpopular plan to install a McDonald’s on Lorain Avenue at Fulton Road.

 

Residents hate the idea with a passion. Dozens showed up last month at a City Planning Commission hearing to complain that it would dangerously increase traffic and harm Ohio City’s image as a wellspring of the region’s local food movement. The commission voted 5-0 to block the plan

 

More: http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2013/12/a_new_bike-friendly_plan_for_l.html#incart_river_default#incart_m-rpt-2

 

Glad to see this is being looked into. Lorain Ave is poised for greatness. We just need to bridge the gap between the Market District and The Fulton intersection.

Holy crap, what a story. BTW, I LOL'd at the last line about the ransom note. Happy to hear you got your bike bake, and the thief's uppance had come.

 

That said, if he was that determined, I'm surprised he didn't try to attack you to take it away. You're lucky there wasn't more physical interaction.

 

Honestly, he's very lucky.  In a situation like that, most of my friends who are regular bikers would have quite simply decked the guy. 

 

I'm pretty sure that if he stayed in my space running his mouth long enough, I would have done something worse. 

More......

 

ohio city, detroit shoreway propose region's first protected bike lanes along lorain avenue

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2013

 

Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway might become the first communities in Cleveland -- indeed, Northeast Ohio -- to develop protected bike lanes. Such bike lanes are located in the road yet provide a barrier such as a raised curb to separate bikes and cars. While protected bike lanes have been implemented in other cities, they're only now beginning to enter the lexicon of Northeast Ohio planning agencies.

 

They're being proposed as part of a new streetscape plan for Lorain Avenue that runs between W. 25th and W. 85th streets. The plan also includes a new median between W. 28th and W. 32nd -- the area by St. Ignatius campus -- to calm traffic and make crossing easier. Curb bump-outs might be built on the south side of the street to shorten crossing distances and make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

 

Ohio City Inc. Director Eric Wobser says the new streetscape would capitalize on growing interest in cycling on the near west side and throughout Cleveland and build off momentum generated by the new Lorain-Carnegie bridge bike path. It also would make the area safer for pedestrians and attract new businesses.

 

READ MORE AT:

http://freshwatercleveland.com/devnews/lorainavenuecycletrack120413.aspx

More on Lorain Ave:

 

Cleveland eyes makeover of Lorain Avenue

 

CLEVELAND - A plan to rehabilitate Lorain Avenue on Cleveland’s west side moved closer to reality Tuesday evening.

 

The Lorain Avenue Streetscape Plan would put a median-protected bike lane on the north side of Lorain Ave. from West 25th to West 85th. Making the area more pedestrian friendly and aiding small businesses along the route is a goal of the project.

 

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/cleveland-eyes-makeover-of-lorain-avenue

"@WEWS: Cleveland to add 70 miles of bikeways over next four years http://t.co/vYSww33Z2j"

So, will cyclists have to stop every block to look for cross traffic with the type of lanes suggested for Lorain Ave.?

Cleveland plans to add 70 miles of bikeways by the end of 2017

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- The city of Cleveland plans to more than double the amount of bike-friendly routes in town, adding 70 miles of dedicated lanes, trails and pavement markings by the end of 2017.

 

An update of Cleveland's bikeway plan, introduced Sunday at the annual meeting of the advocacy group Bike Cleveland, showed almost 45 miles of bikeways added over the next two years, and another 25.6 miles in the following two years.

 

The overall goal is to connect every Cleveland neighborhood to a bikeway network, said Jenita McGowan, the city's chief of sustainability.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/01/cleveland_plans_to_add_70_mile.html#incart_river_default

Just drove down Detroit Ave headed west from 25th.  The traffic markings on that stretch of road are a disaster.  Impossible to tell what lane you're supposed to be in.  Some of the old lane markings were removed in a half-assed manner & new lane markings were installed in the same manner.  The center turn arrows are still completely visible, but the center lane markings are not really visible.  Can't believe it hasn't caused an accident.  The bike lane markings come & go with no definition

I think some misguided "activist" is painting those on, and yes they make no sense and will likely get someone killed.

^The city started officially striping bike lanes there last fall: http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/cleveland-installing-official-bike-lanes-on-detroit-avenue  Sounds to me like typical city/DOS dysfunction that drags a fairly simple re-striping project over several weeks to maximize confusion.

 

Edit: looks like the city put down "temporary" bike lanes last fall and are supposed to put down "more visible thermoplastic lines" sometime this spring. I'm guessing this is the ugly time between the city's half-assed temp work and the permanent lines, which may also take care of the turning lanes.

http://www.bikecleveland.org/2013/11/01/detroit-avenue-bike-lanes/

There was an activist who painted the sharrows and forced the city to put them in officially and restripe intersections, etc. But the striping has all but faded away -- apparently using disappearing ink!

well i hope they do something soon, right now it's ridiculous.  I was paying attention as closely as I could and continually ending up in the wrong lane

well i hope they do something soon, right now it's ridiculous.  I was paying attention as closely as I could and continually ending up in the wrong lane

 

Oh you rebel... driving outside the lines!

I can't imagine those lanes were striped by professionals.  They're insane- bike lanes begin, end, and weave around with no discernible pattern.

I can't imagine those lanes were striped by sober professionals.  They're insane- bike lanes begin, end, and weave around with no discernible pattern.

Fixed that for you and I agree they were terrible when I was over there on good friday.

The irony here is that of all of Detroit Ave, that's the area where where a bike lane is least needed.

well i hope they do something soon, right now it's ridiculous.  I was paying attention as closely as I could and continually ending up in the wrong lane

 

Oh you rebel... driving outside the lines!

 

I know.  It all started when I was a kid.  Colored outside the lines...

I'm currently part of a small committee for my neighborhood association.  We are tasked with weighing the pros and cons of a proposed bike lane on our boulevard and making a recommendation on which way to proceed.  We are split pretty evenly, even my own personal feelings are split.  I thought maybe some insight from the outside might help us.

 

The proposed trail is on Colonial Boulevard in Canton, OH. (feel free to check out a map if you want to see how the area looks).  This is the first East/West path that will connect two major North/South paths.  It's pretty significant in my opinion.  There are other street options, but I believe Colonial is the only real choice.  Even then, we have three distinct options on how to create the bicycle path.  The major hang-up is all about aesthetics.  Everyone likes the boulevard for what it is.  We have been told that the tall old trees would remain.... but you never know. 

 

1.  The simple option:  Leave everything exactly how it is, just add "Share the road" signs along the street.  This option seems to make people happy.

 

2.  The slightly less simple option: Stripe a bike lane on each side of the street.  When we gain the bike lane, we lose on street parking.  This made a lot of people pretty angry.

 

3.  The MAJOR option.  With grant money, the street would be pretty radically changed.  New sidewalks, new decorative light posts and a slightly wider boulevard.  The bike path would be on the grassy area of the boulevard (24ft blvd with a 10ft wide path).  This option has everyone pretty split.  A lot of people hate it and are certain it will destroy the park-like setting.  Some people love it and believe it will bring raised property values and also improve the appearance.

 

I hope you can see my dilemma!  For the record, I commute to work on a bicycle and regularly ride with my daughter.  I love the paths, but I am just as comfortable on the streets.

 

Here are some images of the street as it appears today.  Also some of the early engineering plans for option 3.

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 2.30.26 AM by mkeller234, on Flickr

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 2.30.39 AM by mkeller234, on Flickr

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 2.32.46 AM by mkeller234, on Flickr

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 2.32.49 AM by mkeller234, on Flickr

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 2.33.53 AM by mkeller234, on Flickr

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-20 at 2.34.02 AM by mkeller234, on Flickr

Here is a roughly scale mock up that I made showing the path size in relation to the boulevard.  I did a 10'path that was proposed and a 6' path.  I really hope it can be revised to a narrower route, because I think it makes a huge difference in feel.  I also placed existing trees and approximated the route the path would have to travel.

 

Colonial-bike-path proposal by mkeller234, on Flickr

Cool street! This looks like a great project.

My thought is to go with option A.  I also live in a community with an HOA. I have in the past contemplated if there are other HOAs that might be a little more bike-friendly. So I think I understand your dilemma.

 

That seems like a neat and picturesque blvd, i would feel it also is going to have more money thrown at it than it will be worth for option C.  The issue I have is there are so many islands in your layout.  If one is riding a bike in the median and there are multiple crossings, you have to be very aware of your surroundings.  Maybe the scale is off and it isn't that bad. I would wonder how much use it would really get, especially since you said you are comfortable on the street, so likely are other people.

 

Other thoughts are the volume of traffic.  If a car goes by once every couple minutes, as in my community, this definitely doesn't seem to need a bike path.  If it is like Broad boulevard in the Falls, than maybe yes this might be an idea to be pursued. 

 

I think it depends on volume and speed of traffic.  If those aren't too high, I'd be inclined to go with option A.  I've ridden on "option C" like bike paths before, and they suck because usually the bike path has a stop sign at all traffic crossings, meaning a lot of start and stop. 

 

If speed is a problem, you may want to consider putting in speed bumps with cut outs large enough for bikes to pass through.

Good point.  Traffic on this road is low according to the engineering dept (and my own experience).  Traffic here is slow also, 25mph posted.  I'm personally interested in this too because my backyard is on this boulevard.

If it is as you suggest (a low traffic slow residential street), and already feels safe to casually bike on, then it seems to me that the first option would be what I would choose. (and I hate riding in all the 'sharrow lanes' on the multi-lane 35mph streets around me.)

 

I don't think I would want to chop any of the trees/park area, as it looks like an asset to the area.

 

Also it seems that every house has a curb cut and huge driveway, and that would almost make on-street parking redundant. Even with that, I personally think it isn't worth it to make large changes if the street currently is as it appears...Save the protected bike lane concept for streets that would really benefit from them.

 

I would agree with the first option given the curvature of the street helping keep speeds down, and assuming low traffic.

 

Another option would be to widen the sidewalk on one side of the street to provide more space for the youngest riders.

The Rotary Club's Red Line Greenway concept is poised for a big step toward reality at RTA's Tuesday board meeting

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A revolutionary proposal from the Rotary Club of Cleveland to thread a greenway trail from the city's West Side to downtown over the Cuyahoga River could take a critical step toward reality Tuesday at a transit authority meeting.

 

Rotary volunteers are hoping the board of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will approve further study of the proposed Red Line Greenway, which would extend from West 65th Street to downtown, with a section above the river on the RTA viaduct.

 

"I am so excited," Rotary member Leonard Stover, one of the Rotary volunteers driving the Red Line proposal, said Monday morning. "I feel really good about where we are."

 

Stover and other Rotarians see the greenway as Cleveland's answer to New York's highly popular High Line Park, which is set atop a disused rail line on the Lower West Side of Manhattan.

 

Among other things, the greenway would offer spectacular views of the river and the skyline, along with a commuting route to Tower City Center.

 

Other benefits would include recreational connections to the Towpath Trail and the proposed Lake Link Trail on the west side of the river, with connections to Wendy Park on Whiskey Island along the Lake Erie waterfront. The greenway would also connect to planned improvements at the core of Ohio City at the West 25th Street Rapid station.

 

Stover said the estimated cost of the project is $13 million, and that 20 percent of the money could be raised privately. Other public sources would be tapped for the balance, he said. Rotary's goal is to begin construction of the trail in 2016.

 

 

More at: http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2014/06/the_rotary_clubs_red_line_gree.html

^ Yay!!

 

Very cool idea.

Very sad - William McNulty (Sam McNulty's brother) was hit while riding his bike recently and is now hospitalized.  This is circulating around facebook:

 

"Ohio City pals, keep your eyes open for a maroon Toyota Corolla with damage to the front hood. William is pretty banged up but luckily was wearing his helmet and will be fine. Some good samaritans found him in the tree lawn at 32nd and Bridge. The car, of course, drove away. This is why I rarely ride my bike "

 

The original post is at this page: https://www.facebook.com/becca.ritterspach?fref=ts

^ Confession of a cyclist, I stopped biking to work last week. Too many close calls.  And I still say any cyclist who uses the shared lane on the Detroit Ave. Bridge has a death wish.

Perception is everything.

^ Confession of a cyclist, I stopped biking to work last week. Too many close calls.  And I still say any cyclist who uses the shared lane on the Detroit Ave. Bridge has a death wish.

 

Yeah, that shared lane is idiotic.  The bridge may be signed at 35, but people mostly do 45-50.

That bridge is a place where you should just ride on the sidewalk.

 

^ Confession of a cyclist, I stopped biking to work last week. Too many close calls.  And I still say any cyclist who uses the shared lane on the Detroit Ave. Bridge has a death wish.

 

Yeah, that shared lane is idiotic.  The bridge may be signed at 35, but people mostly do 45-50.

 

Same for the Lorain-Carnegie. Nobody seems to obey posted limits on those bridges.

All the more reason why we need more cycle tracks on major streets. If we can reopen the lower deck of Detroit-Superior to bikes and streetcars, and offer a trail next to the Red Line into downtown, those should provide traffic-free routes into downtown. But I am concerned that the Red Line trail across the RTA viaduct will forever block out the restoration of Amtrak or high-speed rail into Tower City Center.

I don't know when I turned into such a sap....but this made me tear up?????

 

Nice!  Happy to see this striping project finally done.  One question based on something I noticed in the video at the 54 second mark: on the block of Detroit just east of West 29th (the really wide part in front the old Van Roy building, where the streetcar tunnel used to open up), it looks like east bound bike lane is immediately adjacent to the general traffic lane, even though there is a wide section of roadway adjacent to the curb striped to be out of bounds for either cars or bikes.  It's as if they provided a buffer between the bike lane and the sidewalk.  Anyone know why the bike lane wasn't instead striped to be adjacent to the sidewalk?

We need to get Jeff on this board to keep everyone abreast on bike developments.

St. Clair Superior's been in the news a lot recently with more cool projects, so I'm going to post articles that haven't made it to the forum.  Enjoy!

 

Put Cleveland bicycle expressway where streetcars once rolled down wide streets, planners say

Alison Grant, The Plain Dealer

Print Alison Grant, The Plain Dealer By Alison Grant, The Plain Dealer

Email the author | Follow on Twitter

on August 07, 2014 at 8:00 AM, updated August 07, 2014 at 8:23 AM

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A big, bold way to connect Cleveland neighborhoods, pump up businesses and add tree-lined bikeways to miles and miles of city streets is hiding in plain sight.

 

The paved-over tracks of Cleveland's once-extensive streetcar network left some of its main avenues far broader than needed for the traffic they're handling.

 

Bike and community advocates say that buried transit system can be transformed into "the Midway" -- a center-of-the-road, two-way bike lane protected on either side with boulevards, with a lane of traffic and a parking row on either side of that.

 

Members of Bike Cleveland, St. Clair Superior Development Corporation and Bialosky + Partners Architects have been working for two years on plans to reimagine some of the wide, low-traffic streets that branch to all corners of Cleveland and to the Emerald Necklace fringing the city.

 

As a start, the Midway team proposes a one-mile stretch of boulevard-buffered bikeway along St. Clair Avenue between East 55th Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/cleveland_bicycle_expressway_c.html

 

Click the link for cool renderings of what the bike midway down the center of the street along old trolley track lines would look like.