[image-1]Mayor Frank Jackson’s insistence that Public Square not include bus traffic is picking up steam — despite the $50-million city centerpiece renovation being completed already — thanks to architect James Corner’s totally chill admission to Cleveland.com that “We always anticipated that one day it might close anyway.”
Who knew?
Corner goes on to tell Steven Litt that the design of Public Square wouldn’t really be different, despite removing a two-lane roadway from the middle of it, and adds that changing the layout to suit Jackson’s fancy isn’t even a big deal. “No problem,” according to Litt.
The problems — depending on perspective, one supposes — are delineated neatly in the Rustwire link below and in the 2012 traffic study that laid out extensive costs to RTA in the event that bus traffic is shuffled out of the square entirely. (See original stories below.)
“The redesign of Public Square called for buses to use Superior Avenue,” an RTA spokesperson tells Scene today. “The Group Plan Commission design and construction went forward with Superior Avenue reserved for RTA only, with the exception that when major events were held in Public Square, RTA would vacate Superior Avenue and use the perimeter roadways.
“With Public Square construction now successfully complete, the City Traffic Department has reached out to RTA for information regarding daily and peak-hour bus frequency in Public Square.
“That information, which has been supplied to the City Traffic Department, shows that significantly fewer buses per day would travel around the perimeter roads of Public Square if Superior Avenue was open to RTA.”
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Originally published Aug. 1
With Mayor Frank Jackson’s 13th-hour call to ban bus traffic from the newly redesigned Public Square, RTA announced today that the return of bus traffic through the square has been delayed — with no firm date to reinstate it. (Public Square bus traffic was supposed to restart today.)
Via RTA: “Although the original plan was to resume bus service on Superior Ave through Public Square on August 1, the City of Cleveland & RTA…are in discussions regarding when and if the buses will be allowed to use the designed, exclusive transit lanes.”
Ah, the old “if” qualifier.
Rustwire published some quick, reasonable and extremely basic reasons why this is a concerning move on the city’s part.
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Originally published July 29
The newly redesigned Public Square has been open just one month — a brief timeframe that included brutish RNC shenanigans en masse — and, here we go, Mayor Frank Jackson wants to fuss with it.
NEOMG’s Mark Naymik dropped the news today, reporting on “informal discussions” about the mayor’s wish to bar RTA bus traffic from the two-block stretch of Superior Avenue that bisects the square — thus closing the square entirely from any traffic. (The current plan allows only buses to trek eastward and westward through the square.)
Jackson’s wanted this for a while. “I want to see one big square,” Jackson told Cleveland Magazine in 2012. And when questioned about possibly closing just one of the streets at the time, he said, “We could make it two halves, but that’s not a square. A square is one piece.”
Indeed. Still, that was then, before $50 million had been poured into the “two-halves” plan.
At that time, a consultant hired by Jackson and the Group Plan Commission (to the tune of $120,000) recommended keeping Superior open to bus traffic. That would reduce overall traffic congestion in the area and prevent the city from “displacing nearly 18,000 bus passenger pick-ups and drop-offs daily,” as Cleveland.com reported at the time. Closing Superior to bus traffic would also tack on a cool $2.6 million in annual operating costs to RTA’s already concerning balance sheet, according to that 2012 study.
RTA has been rather mum on the mayor’s renewed push to relocate Public Square bus traffic.
Naymik points out that the two halves of Public Square do sort of blend into one another, but, he rightfully notes, there is essentially a street (curb cuts and all) built into the very expensive park — a street that was built into the redesign for the purpose of bus traffic. On that note, we ask: What’s up with the redesigned redesign wish list from City Hall?
No word yet, if ever, on where this debate is headed.
This article appears in Jul 27 – Aug 2, 2016.
nowhere. it would *screw* RTA.
There appears to be zero definitive planning from City Hall for the mayor’s proposal — which is not surprising.
What we have is two parks, one green, one concrete, that seem to have been designed by two separate teams. That awful looking restaurant building is tragically placed at the entry to the cement park. The green park is beautiful. Why anyone thought a street running thru it would be a good idea is breathtaking. That’s got to go or we have nothing but potential that’s made in to a mess.
Maybe they should have thought about putting a tunnel under the sqaure so traffic could continue to flow. Oh wait, this way they can have another project in the future to spend more taxpayer dollars.
This debate should have happened prior to pumping $50 million dollars into the redesign. I would like to hear from Field Operations on how they would fix the two halves into one cohesive park or what they would have done differently with one continuous square prior to the design. The Group Plan and Land Studio should also be asked for their thoughts The argument that 18,000 RTA users will be displaced is a stretch . Just mov e the drop off and pick up shelters to the perimeter of Public Square. Those shelters would be closer to all buildings
RTA is subsidized anyway. It screws the tax payer. Of course having bus traffic thru the middle of public square was bad idea. Our city planners are so clueless. You think NYC would put bus traffic thru Washington Square Park? Jackson is right but a little late. ….Poor Planning . Of course the architect is saying no big deal cuz he gets paid to redesign it and some one else foots the bill.
@Aglazen: the “awful looking restaurant building” is actually a nice modern design. I’ve been to a few of your establishments, Alan, and perhaps you should concentrate on updating those spaces.
Also, it would be great if Scene magazine didn’t provide links to Rustwire articles by Angie Schmidt. She is rarely a good representation of logic or intelligent thinking. She’s an old man constantly shaking her fist at the sky without actually saying anything. I’m a member of an urban forward, Ohio-centric website, and one time there was criticism of one of her articles and her style of writing in general. Instead of engaging the forumers in a constructive debate, she signed up only so she could yell at everyone for having legitimate concerns of her writing and then she blamed the members as being all white males (which isn’t true) and so we “wouldn’t listen to a woman”. I’ll happily listen to anyone as long as they are intelligent, thoughtful and sane.
I am an RTA Commuter through downtown. With no traffic on Superior, besides parked Police cars and Food tucks, the alignment of connecting buses is always through a 10 acre ‘park’! The time wasted chasing buses, missing connections, and just walking, usually running, through this debacle causes great grief to many.
RTA needs to put its foot down! Call the state, the sheriff, or the news! This street should have opened August 1! The Mayor is not the be all and end all on this topic! Lawyers should now be involved to rectify the need for the road to be opened or closed.
My personal feeling about Public Square are invalid. This is about what is best for the city, county, and most importantly the citizens who have for decades had the intersection of Superior and Ontario as the Ground Zero of city. Those days are long gone! The individuals who sit on RTA’s board should be ashamed for not speaking up publicly on this issue!
Superior should have been grass if it isn’t going to open! It would have cost far less than the Food truck/Police car parking lot it now serves! Parked cars all day and night, or buses at rush hour! Mayor Jackson should be ashamed of himself for squandering taxpayer monies on HIS DREAM!