| 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).
May 15-30, 2005 ROOMinations
from Hotel Bruce: This issue of Hotel Bruce presents a potential Glenville drawn by idealistic urban planners, green space visionaries and nonprofit civic activists. Futurists all, its authors write about Dike 14 as a birder’s paradise, about building a series of “counter-cultural” gardens, about reinvigorating E. 105th and St. Clair as an RTA hub, about recreating Charles H. Lake Elementary School as a green “Greenville Elementary”—all in all, an impressive exercise in optimism. I wish the future of Glenville, Cleveland, Greater Cleveland, and Northeast Ohio was so unabashedly assured. I wish transforming urban neighborhoods like Glenville into anything approaching Hotel Bruce’s 21st-century new urban-main street vision was unencumbered by present economic reality.
Capturing wind power
for NEO a step closer
City cycling improvements gearing up Cycling-as-transportation advocates had a couple of reasons to feel good this week. First, a bike/pedestrian workshop at NOACA, the regional transit planning COG, drew a crowd from the target audience of traffic engineers – the folks who often need the most help creating streets that accommodate cars, bikes and people. Sources who attended say that Michael Ronkin, of the Oregon Dept. of Transportation and an expert on bike lanes and pedestrian friendly streets, fielded the bulk of questions about how to handle bike lane design in standard practice. Also mentioned was a proposed bike lane heading up the hill from Little Italy, with city of Cleveland officials confirming they are in favor of exploring it for the small segment that runs in the city (the majority of that stretch of Mayfield is in Cleveland Heights, which has not signed off on a study, but, observers note, may be more willing if partnering with Cleveland). Also, news has reached Bruce blog’s ears that the Cleveland Planning Department has started to mark pavement locations for the new city bike racks program. The $388,000 program (80 percent of which is paid for by the feds) will place 500 bike racks primarily in downtown Cleveland, neighborhood retail centers, parks, rec centers and playgrounds. In the works for a couple of years, the bike racks program is finally going out to bid. The city will install the racks this fall through next summer, according to city officials. This is another big step in Cleveland’s remaking itself into a bike friendly city.
Hotel Bruce—so much more than a great blog In its spring '05 issue, Hotel Bruce explores the impact that demolishing storefronts for parking lots—a technique favored by churches in the city—has on neighborhood revitalization efforts. Check out this excellent article penned by Hotel Bruce contributor, Lee Chilcote. And, the dialogue continues at the Urban Paradoxes blog, which writes, “One of the most common and intriguing comment to come out of the series of recently completed neighborhood visioning salons facilitated by Urban Paradoxes is the statement: ‘The churches have ruined our neighborhood.’” Read both articles, and send us your comments. Retail Therapy: Breaking bread with Breadsmiths Bruce blog is concerned about the state of local retail in the Cleveland area – while mom and pop businesses come and go, it seems like we’re in a cycle of local retail bust. Our response is shop in our neighborhood, support our neighbors and community, as often as possible. With that in mind, Hotel Bruce Managing Editor Lindsey Bistline has been spotlighting a local retail shop each month. Enjoy. Bruce fell off the Atkins bandwagon and followed his nose to Breadsmith in Lakewood. Wow. If you like delicious, hearty bread, this is the place to get it. You won’t have to worry about partially hydrogenated oil, sugar or bleached flour here—everything is made from scratch and it’s all natural. And even though it’s a franchise (there are 34 Breadsmiths in the country), this is the only one for hundreds of miles around. The owners are native Clevelanders who renovated an older building into a beautiful little shop with the look and feel of a real French boulangerie. Using ingredients from organic sources in Ohio whenever possible—for example, their honey comes from Amish farmers in state—they are producing some of the best bread Bruce has ever tasted. But bread aside, the real treat at Breadsmiths is their chocolate chip cookies. Take it from a cookie snob, you’ll be very sad if you don’t spend the $.95 to take one home (if it makes it that far).
Bruce blog interview: Charles Chudakoff, builder Charles Chudakoff is still trying to figure out what went wrong with his hometown. Chudakoff is locked in a legal battle with the Village of Moreland Hills over his proposed Owl Ridge development, which calls for a fairly dense (by far-suburban standards) 29 single family homes on 18 acres. The problem is his proposal challenges the village’s minimum two-acre residential zoning, which only allows for nine homes on the same acreage. Chudakoff, who ran a truck parts operation until 1991 when he started working with his wife’s family (The Perl’s) business, says he’s gone beyond accommodating the village. A flat out refusal for a zoning variance led to the courts. Chudakoff started making news after his case got on the docket of the Ohio Supreme Court (the hearing is scheduled for June 15). Bruce blog spoke with Chudakoff about his case and why it has so many people watching. Read the interview here...
State considers incentive for revitalization A blue-red effort to establish an Ohio version of the national historic tax credit got a boost last week when the bill’s Republican sponsors began touting the possibility of incorporating it in the state budget. By combining mixed-use development with the restoration of historic buildings, state lawmakers believe they've found a way to inject life back into Ohio's inner cities while combating suburban sprawl, reports the Hamilton Journal. Bills in both houses of the General Assembly would give tax credits for builders and developers who restore historic structures rather than plow up green fields. Sen. J. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, who introduced the first bill in the Senate, said he's excited by the prospect of restoring downtown cityscapes and giving a boost to the economy at the same time. "There's something special about a downtown if it's done correctly," Schuring said. "If you combine office and retail with some type of a living component, housing component, that's the magic formula. You end up with folks with disposable income that will support retail and entertainment. It becomes a community. The synergy is pretty doggone powerful."
Calendar Bike to work day Sneak-a-peak at a future Cleveland
Lakefront Park Nappy Head Entertainment @
B Side Lounge Fashion event
Action alerts Federal amendment for 'complete
streets' 2005 ‘Life on Lake Erie’
photo contest The 2005 contest has no specific subject categories and may depict any person, plant, wildlife, activity or scene that captures the unique character of the lake's watershed. All photo entries must have been taken between August 7, 2004 and August 1, 2005. Deadline for submitting photos is August 5. To enter, send a 5x7" print or digital picture via U.S. Mail (along with a completed entry form) to: One Maritime Plaza, Fourth Floor, Toledo, Ohio 43604. Digital entries must be in jpg, gif or tif format and be in a minimum resolution of 1600x1200. Black and white, as well as color photographs, are encouraged. Additional information and rules available at the commission's Toledo office or call 419-245-2514.
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