TRANSIT POLICE QUESTION ACTIVIST WAVING “LEAVE PUBLIC SQUARE ALONE” SIGN IN DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND, OHIO ON A HOT FRIDAY, 09-05-14, EVENING!
QUESTIONING BY TRANSIT POLICE:
On Friday, 09-05-14, evening, as I was demonstrating in Public Square waving my “LEAVE PUBLIC SQUARE” sign – I was questioned by an officer of the Transit Police. A police car with two officers pulled up at the south-western corner of Ontario Street and South Roadway.
One of the officers (not the car driver) wanted to know what I was doing. I explained that I was demonstrating against the radical makeover that was being proposed for Public Square and that, in my opinion, was going to cause a traffic nightmare. The officer was very polite and listened to what I had to say. The conversation was brief. At the end, I gave the officer a copy of a flyer I was distributing.
I am a Sikh-American (born in India) – and after 9/11 – I have been questioned by police officers – on multiple occasions – both in Cleveland, Ohio – where my late wife and I moved in 2001 – and in other cities. I wear a turban that attracts attention for the wrong reason. Some fellow citizens are quick to call the police when they see me around – as a suspicious character in their midst. I take such incidents in stride – there is no shortage of ignorance and bigotry in this world.
RADICAL MAKEOVER:
WILL PROPOSED $30 MILLION RADICAL MAKEOVER
OF CLEVELAND, OHIO’S. 218-YEAR OLD PUBLIC SQUARE RESULT IN A TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE?
LEAVE CLEVELAND, OHIO’S, PUBLIC SQUARE ALONE:
DON’T CLOSE ONTARIO STREET,
DON’T NARROW SUPERIOR, AVENUE, &
DON’T MESS UP THE TRAFFIC!
STOP THE STUPIDITY!
WHY FIX SOMETHING IF IT’S NOT BROKEN?
City Hall is planning a radical $30 million makeover of Public Square.
Mayor Jackson has a vision for Public Square. “I want to see one big square”, the mayor said in a 2011 interview.
The four separate quadrants, that have existed for most of the time when the square was laid out over 200-years ago (in 1796), will be combined to form two rectangles.
This makeover will require the permanent closing of Ontario Street and the narrowing of Superior Avenue from the existing 77 ft. to 44 ft. and limiting the avenue to bus traffic only. However, when there are major events, the narrowed Superior Avenue will also be closed to bus traffic. Existing traffic will be routed along the perimeter roads and other avenues & streets.
The makeover, being designed by James Corner (of James Corner Field Operations) -- renowned American Landscape Architect -- will include:
*Increasing the green space by removing the road pavement.
*Adding about 50 more trees, a splash zone, meandering pathway, etc.
*Relocating the Moses Cleaveland & Tom L. Johnson statues.
2012 TRAFFIC STUDY:
According to a $120,000 Traffic Study done in 2012, and paid for by City Hall, Nelson Nygaard – the San Francisco based Traffic Consultant concluded that re-routing of traffic will cause significant delays; blocking of intersections; long lines; 8,500 boardings/alightings moved to adjacent blocks; increased travel time for 18 bus routes, and $1.05 million in additional Annual RTA Operating Costs.
If both Ontario Street and Superior Avenue are closed – as Mayor Jackson wanted – the additional Annual RTA Operating Cost would increase to $2.6 million and the re-routing would affect 17,800 boardings/alightings and increased travel time for 26 bus routes. City Hall decided against this alternative.
CITY PLANNING COMMISSION, RTA RESPONSE, AND SECOND TRAFFIC STUDY:
On August 15, 2014 – the City Planning Commission approved the schematic plans for the makeover. At the hearing, a rep. from the firm of James Corner Field Operations of New York – the Landscape Architect for the radical makeover -- told the Commission that of the four bus shelters, presently on Ontario Street within Public Square, two will be moved to Superior Avenue. What will happen to the other two bus shelters is not yet known. Also, Superior Avenue, which at present has two bus shelters, within Public Square, will finally end up with six to eight shelters. It is also not clear what will happen to the four bus shelters on Ontario Street, immediately outside Public Square because buses will not be able to easily get to them.
While a new Traffic Study is scheduled for the end of September, 2014 – Joseph A. Calabrese, CEO of Greater Cleveland RTA, said in a recent interview (according to The Plain Dealer) that a great many issues need to be clarified before RTA can sign off on the radical makeover. The RTA wants Superior Avenue open to both cars and buses – not just buses and is questioning the $1.05 million in additional Annual RTA Operating Costs.
CLARIFICATIONS FROM THE PLAIN DEALER:
Questions have been directed to Steven Litt, Art & Architectural Critic of the Plain Dealer on the cleveland.com website. At first the questions were deleted. Later, after they were submitted again – they were accepted for publication. Recently, additional questions were submitted – seeking clarifications to contradictory information published in the paper’s articles. So far no response has been received from Mr. Litt to any of the questions or clarifications. The Plain Dealer is one of the leading cheer-leaders for the radical makeover.
FUNDING:
The funding will come from both private and public sources. So far the Cleveland Foundation has committed $8 million and the Gund Foundation $5 million – with a balance of $17 million remaining.
The contributions from the Foundations are for the radical makeover of the square and in no way will compensate the RTA for their $1.05 million in additional Annual RTA Operating Cost or the delay in travel time caused to commuters whose cost we don’t know.
At present, the traffic flows smoothly along both Ontario Street and Superior Avenue. Any improvement, no matter how much money our Foundations contribute, that does not address the traffic component to an urban setting, cannot be considered a good improvement.
PUBLIC SQUARE WAS ONE BIG SQUARE FOR 10-YEARS:
The current plan to unite the four quadrants into two rectangles is not the first attempt to mess around with the original layout of Public Square –dedicated on July 22, 1796 by Moses Cleaveland and his team of surveyors.
Public Square was unified, at the request of the residents, from 1857 to 1867, by installing a white double-railed fence all around and preventing any traffic from coming in. After the business community complained -- the fence was removed and the traffic was allowed to flow freely. So, Public Square has remained in its present form (four quadrants) for most of the 218-years (1796-2014) it has been in existence.
GREEN SPACES & TRAFFIC:
Parks are a very important component of urban environments – and unless they provide us with the greenery we are looking for and also permit free flow of traffic – they fail to serve their intended purpose.
For example, New York City’s renowned Central Park – unifies both green spaces and traffic and is not really one continuous park – but five separate parts connected by bridges or underpasses – a connection done so seamlessly by Fredrick Law Olmsted, the designer, that most New Yorkers are not aware of it. The connectors cross the bathtubs (depressed roadways for the most part) that carry the cross-town traffic. I became aware of the separate components in the course of walking multiple times, all over the park, in preparation for lectures that I have given on the Bridges of Central Park. My late wife and I are former New Yorkers.
IF IT’S NOT BROKEN:
As Public Square is not broken, there is no need to fix it. Minor repairs can be easily addressed by the City’s Department of Parks.
Groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of 2014 and the makeover completed by June 2016 in time for the Republican Convention.
NOTE:
I don’t have a car, don’t know how to drive, use public transportation, and walk for hours when I am in downtown Cleveland. I love green spaces. Our house faces west side’s Jefferson Park. As a concerned Clevelander – I worry about the negative effects of decisions made by City Hall on our residents – mostly those that are less fortunate. Hence, this campaign.
FLYER & DEMONSTRATIONS:
Demonstrations have started, mostly in Public Square, to inform Clevelanders of the negative impact on traffic from the proposed radical makeover.
Flyers are being distributed and concerned citizens are being urged to call Mayor Jackson and express their concerns.
As of 09-05-18 – there have been ten demonstrations for a total of 35-hours – mostly in Public Square, in Downtown Cleveland, at the Labor Day parade on the east side, and in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. Over 1,200-copies of a flyer have been distributed. Most Clevelanders I have spoken with have no idea of the details of the negative impacts of the proposed radical makeover.
City Hall and the RTA have done nothing, so far, to educate the commuters.
*LEAVE PUBLIC SQUARE ALONE:
The photographs show traffic conditions as observed on Friday, September 5, 2014.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
*Please visit the blog of Steven Litt, Art & Architectural Critic of The Plain Dealer for articles on the radical makeover of Public Square:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CB0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fconnect.cleveland.com%2Fuser%2Fslitt%2Fposts.html&ei=No7rU7fDIoOjyATQtIKQBQ&usg=AFQjCNHBIsKAjoHYOGsIoiCU5YPJNZzD8A&bvm=bv.72938740,d.aWw&cad=rja
*Links to previous posts on my blog (Satinder P. S. Puri) at REALNEO:
LEAVE PUBLIC SQUARE ALONE: DON’T CLOSE ONTARIO STREET, DON’T NARROW SUPERIOR AVENUE, & DON’T MESS UP THE TRAFFIC: http://realneo.us/content/leave-public-square-alone-don%E2%80%99t-close-ontario-street-don%E2%80%99t-narrow-superior-avenue-don%E2%80%99t-mess
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