Hotel Bruce

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).

At its March meeting, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency’s board approved $31,000 (the local 20 percent match) to the city of Parma to construct a new, multi-purpose (nonmotorized) recreation trail on the historic Stearns Homestead property. The 1.4-mile trail will link to trails in the West Creek Preserve and Greenway, which connect to the Towpath Trail. Plans include building two bridges and opening up access to the 48-acre Stearns property, which include streams, woodlands and wetlands, for recreation and educational uses. The federal match of $124,800 will come from the National Recreational Trail Fund. In addition, NOACA approved the disbursement of $248,000 for the purchase of the Henninger House, the oldest house in Parma. This builds off the success story of The West Creek Preservation Committee, a group of local activists who fought against entrenched thinking in Parma to save West Creek and the last remnant of original wetland in the city.

Looking through the NOACA funding schedule provides a nice tally of the progress of the region’s transportation projects. For example, NOACA’s board approved an increase of $574,497 for the construction of the pedestrian promenade/ bike lane/public art project on the Detroit-Superior Bridge, which was spearheaded by Cleveland Public Art. This after the low bidder came in $140,000 higher than was budgeted last month. It appears NOACA is making up the difference—good news for fans of the multi-modal bridge project. The total commitment for the project from NOACA is $2.31 million out of an estimated project cost of $2.89 million. Finally, Cleveland will have its example of public art that serves the dual purpose of improving the city’s image and transit for pedestrians and cyclists.

Other NOACA approved projects include $696,000 for the Kinsman Road streetscape enhancement. This appears to be the local match on the $11 million federally funded and desperately needed streetscape enhancement in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood. The project is set to begin this summer and will coincide with the $4 million construction of the new A.J. Rickhoff Elementary School at E. 147 and Kinsman. It is hoped that the public improvements will spur investment and revitalization of the tired storefronts on Kinsman.

How much do transit projects impact our consumption of land? The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC—the regional planning organization in the Columbus area, which handles transportation and land-use planning) is spearheading the fight to curb Columbus’ sprawl. The group is working on a transportation plan for the seven-county central Ohio region and is conducting an opinion survey on sprawl related growth. The survey follows on the heals of a just completed study that looks at the impact of growth outward versus aggressive growth in downtown and in the county seats.

The group ran scenarios with computer models that show how the current rate of development without change would lead to an average of .6 acres of land consumed per person by 2030. By contrast, aggressive growth inward and a proposed light rail train connecting Columbus to the county seats (and some transit oriented development along the line) would decrease that number by a quarter of a percent. MORPC and other transit advocates including the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers are part of a statewide effort called the Ohio Mobility Partnership, which analyzes the impact of the state budget and items like the gas tax on transit projects.

In Columbus, as in Cleveland, the largest source of air pollution is car and truck travel. The partnership is gaining notice in stodgy Columbus, according to a source at MORPC, because Ohio’s metropolitan areas will be teetering on the edge of non-compliance with new ambient air quality standards which go into effect this summer. Columbus is a vivid example of the depth of the issue of mobile source pollution since non-mobile sources (i.e. polluting factories) are almost nonexistent there.

In Cleveland, where regional governance is just dawning in the collective conscience, land-use planning based on priorities for growth areas and conservation areas is seen by many as a solution to the emerging air quality threat. Finally, a discussion of regional land-use planning is beginning to surface. William Hudnut, former mayor of Indianapolis and nationally known researcher on smart growth issues, will discuss the costs and benefits of regional planning at an upcoming Urban Land Institute Cleveland Chapter meeting.

The big news is the move of Darrell Rush, vice president at Neighborhood Progress Inc. (NPI), to director of community development at the city of Cleveland. Rush is a successful attorney turned neighborhood development expert. He will replace Linda Hudacek at the city. Hudacek, in turn, will jump to NPI to head up its community capital program.

Tom Bier, for decades one of the region's leading housing policy analysts, has retired his post as director of the Center for Housing Research and Policy at Cleveland State University's Levin College of Urban Affairs. He will stay on as executive-in-residence.

Andrew Baque has left GSI Architects and accepted a position as an urban planner with Wade-Trim. Baque joined GSI after a distinguished tenure at Kent State University's Center for Urban Design.

Today, I was talking to one of the (store) owners on Larchmere who seemed to have some respect for the Coral Company's plan for Shaker Square but was leery about the construction of a paved amphitheater area. I suggested that many beautiful amphitheaters are low impact construction and that some actually enhance the natural environment. She agreed and suggested writing a letter to Coral to voice concerns/suggestions.

This secondary redevelopment could be the impetus for Cleveland's first sustainable shopping center. The train running through the heart of the square lends massive credence. Now imagine an integrated landscape design into which plants that reduce urban run-off are employed along with a sculpted ice rink/amphitheater.

With transit, an integrated landscaping approach, and some sort of container recycling plan, Shaker Square would, for all practical purposes, be a sustainable shopping mall! I think when combined with Larchmere, this district is too architecturally significant and to do any less would be a tragedy.

Keep up the good readings on the Bruce blog. I’ve sent many interested folks your way and they all come away impressed!

Share your opinion of bike lanes in Euclid Corridor with ODOT
In February, ODOT District 12 staff objected to the Euclid Corridor's proposed design for bike lanes. More specifically, local ODOT officials didn't like a detail which ends the stripe for bike lane markings well back from each intersection whenever a "choice lane" exists (straight or right turn allowed). It was the reason stated for pulling the lanes from the project. As of March 29, ODOT still has not decided, so the letter writing campaign continues.

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:

David J. Coyle
Director, ODOT District 12
5500 Transportation Blvd
Garfield Hts, OH 44125