| Vol. 1, Issue 4 | 
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| Bruce blog Welcome to the Bruce blog—a weekly update on news, events and issues affecting life in Cleveland. Reporting as it happens on transit, development, planning, environment and arts & culture. Basically, we write about creative ideas forming, talk to the people who have an inside track on the issues, and sometimes offer a commentary of our own. (For disclosure purposes, Bruce blog is a local, independent writer who also works part-time with nonprofit organization EcoCity Cleveland. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of EcoCity or any other organization).
March 14-21, 2004 Stone Oven knocked out of Lee Rd. mix? Stone Oven, a mainstay on Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, will have the plug pulled on its operation if its landlord follows through with plans to accept another tenant’s offer for double its current rent. Building owner, Solon-based PMJ Realty, has reportedly agreed to terms with Charter One Bank, which will pay upwards of $4,000 a month to occupy the space. Stone Oven, a popular café and bakery, has occupied the space at the southeast corner of Meadowbrook and Lee roads for the last five years, but did not lock into a long-term lease agreement. As word spread this week, area residents expressed
consternation at losing a quality, locally owned business. Many
are confused by the tenant mix on Lee Road, which would place three
banks in a row (on the corners of Tullamore and Meadowbrook). One
such resident notes that, “the building owner holds all the
power. The bank may not be completely aware of how residents feel.
They need to understand that those of us who live here do not find
three banks in a row a viable main street.
Finally, RTA gets racks rolling for all buses The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency will disburse $231,000 to complete the installation of bike racks on 100 percent of RTA's buses. RTA will purchase 294 racks and begin to install them this summer on all the buses in its fleet. Plans include eventually adding racks to community circulators, park-and-ride buses, and the big coach buses. Four years after the Rack and Roll program was initiated, at the request of EcoCity Cleveland and others, cyclists will be able to put their bike on any vehicle in the RTA system. “This is part of a national effort to make the
transit industry more user-friendly to bikers,” says RTA spokesman
Jerome Masek. “[It] is estimated that one-half of all transit
buses nationally are equipped with racks.” Why mixed-use development matters Explaining the benefits of smart growth in a clear, concise way is what separates the average nonprofit leader from the pack. In a recent report published by the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, Dana Beach of the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League spells out the benefits of mixed-use development (it minimizes the externalities of pollution and waste) while pointing out the ironies of how modern zoning works against smart growth. He writes: Conventional zoning separates various land uses from one another. Originally justified by the need to prevent polluting factories from locating next to houses, zoning has reached an unjustified level of complexity. This is especially true in the assignment of suburban housing densities...rigorous division of uses has contributed to the increase in trips taken by car and the reduction in trips taken on foot...single use zoning, branching, cul-de-sac streets, and lower housing densities have caused dramatic increases in the length and number of automobile trips. Suburban zoning has now become an engine of pollution rather than a shield against it."
Readers respond My family used to own Euclid Load and Dept. Corp.
on E. 57th and Euclid, right next to the Hotel Bruce. At one point,
it was the largest pawn shop in all of Ohio. Musicians would stop
by there before local gigs to get new gear or just to check out
the place. To this day, I still meet people from "the old neighborhood"
who tell me how great the place was for the area and how wonderful
a man my grandfather, Larry Botnick, was. It's unfortunate that
there was a shooting at the store in 1981, which lead my father
to close up the place and open a jewelry store on the East side.
I was inspired to reply by your feature on the Hotel
Bruce's demolition. My father's side hails from the Hough neighborhood.
The grandfolks are 89 now. I've always wanted to capture some of
their memories.
Calendar events March 20 March 24 Through April 16 Activist alerts Share your opinion of bike
lanes in Euclid Corridor with ODOT Cycling advocates responded by pointing to an option in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials guide which was absent from ODOT's manual. The advocates’ move was seen as instrumental in getting ODOT to retreat from its position, even though the lanes are not yet back in the design. If you want to see bike lanes included in the Euclid Corridor project, consider writing a letter to the director of ODOT District 12 and copying Mayor Campbell (addresses below). Cycling advocates note that the City of Cleveland is actively defending the bike lanes, and that RTA is at least neutral (simply want to keep the project moving forward). ODOT officials are the only ones who have advocated the removal of bike lanes from the Euclid Corridor. Send letters to: copy to: To email a comment or a tip to Bruce blog Receive email updates of the Bruce blog |
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Blog Archives 2003 Archives 1/4-1/10 1/11-1/17 1/18-1/24 1/25-1/31 2/1-2/7 2/8-2/14 2/15-2/22 2/22-2/28 2/29-3/6 3/7-3/13 3/14-3/21 Other blogs Other Web sites Artists' sites |
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