Sent: Thu, January 3, 2013 8:04:56 AM
Subject: Metroparks and bikes
Hello Matt,Happy New Year :) I posted the information related to Wirth House at your FB page, because frankly, you are more effective at using public monies for public good. I wish you didn't delete it.I worked at the Cleveland Metroparks in the Planning department. I have lobbied for years to get Metroparks more involved in the surrounding neighborhood. You have a built-in advantage by the Lake and with Gordon Square and with Detroit Ave. Detroit Ave. is a ridge line and it is a natural bike route. Denison is a ridge line and a natural bike route. To get to Gordon Square - I ride Denison to W. 65th.At some point, Metroparks will have a place at Edgewater [1] and your neighborhood will benefit, especially if you can get Amtrak to provide a mini-station at Battery Park (or possibly transfer the entire station from downtown) [2], but in the meantime- Please encourage Brian to develop Denison and build the bike community in Northeast Ohio (eventually a bike attraction is also planned for lower Big Creek). It is especially noteworthy that the demographics here are families with kids. I know you have families with kids in Detroit Shoreway, too--we need to build BIKE DESTINATIONS. http://clevelandhistorical. org/about [3]Art House has programming that would add to the attraction of renovating Wirth House (and possibly the adjacent house also owned by Art House-hostel?). I don't need to tell you the long back story behind the CDC and the monies allocated under Merle Gordon while Brian was CDC director. I don't need to tell you about years as a Section 106 consulting party (Ann Palotta Nagin cc.d is also a consulting party) to prevent the demo of these properties. Needless to say, we have an opportunity and the monies allocated should go towards creating BIKE DESTINATIONS.Metroparks has in-house staff who could take the $125,000 of HUD monies remaining on the property to make a destination location on Denison. [4] Eventually, BikeCleveland could manage the properties with the built-in family bike traffic to the Zoo, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the historic Brooklyn Centre neighborhood. Families could plan week long activities with trips to these destinations AND Battery Park and the Lakefront and the Happy Dog.