Cleveland Rising

Transforming East 22nd Street

Today on Cleveland.com, a story was posted about reinventing East 22nd Street between Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University, and St. Vincent Medical Center. Now, I am all for beautifying our city. I think undertaking projects such as this are incredibly important to the reinvention, longevity and attractiveness of an area. It can quickly give a neighborhood the symbol it needs that people will recognize. In this case, it will be a tree lined boulevard. If we go back in history about 100 years, this would have been a common sight in Cleveland. Trees, nicely manicured gardens, and perfectly trimmed lawns were the norm (including in the area this project is proposed in). Most specifically and extravagantly along Euclid Avenue, which is not too far away from this proposed redevelopment.

Picture Source: Cleveland State University Library

What I have trouble understanding is why The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) would be interested in committing more money to this project than they have already allotted when they refuse to fund a seemingly identical project along West Shoreway and penny pinch on a dedicated bike-pedestrian lane on the new I-90 bridge. My inclination is that the Shoreway is a larger gateway for motorists coming downtown than East 22nd is. Sure the East 22nd Street project has a much smaller price tag, but it only seems like the East 22nd project will improve the streets leading to a place most everyday residents and visitors don’t . They could probably even find their own money to fund a project like this and forge a partnership with ODOT to use the money it has already committed. As it stands now, it won’t benefit the public much.

Even with my fear of being overly critical, let me pose a few questions. Who even goes down East 22nd that it would be worth spending $4.2 precious tax payer dollars on when there is so much greater need within the city? Who would want to go down that way when it’s so close to a bad neighborhood anyway? What CSU student is going to venture that far from the main campus for pizza when the Rascal House and other great restaurants are right on Euclid by the main part of campus? Building new office space on this street when there are empty highrises in the city is just wasteful and building 400 student housing units in a near proximity to subsidized housing is a nightmare waiting to happen. These are just a few things to think about.

Source: Googlemaps.com

Here is my best suggestion. Right now the plan calls for the entire stretch of East 22nd Street, from I-77 on the South to Euclid Avenue on the North, to be included in this project. What should be done is only pave, as originally intended by ODOT, the stretch from I-77 to Central Ave, which is two blocks. Then use a portion of the additionally requested funds to turn from Central Avenue North to Chester Ave, which could definitely use some love,  into the beautiful street that Campus District, Inc. wants. However, if Tri-C and the hospital want the boulevard in front of their property also, they should have to contribute an amount of funds that ODOT will match. CSU should also have to do some sort of fund matching for this project. As far as road projects go, $4.2 Million is not that much money. However, in our current economic state, we should be pinching every penny we can and we should scrutinize where each one goes.

Source: The Plain Dealer

To continue down this road (pun!), what the city should really be thinking about is getting behind a project that would attempt to beautify Ontario Street. That’s a mega eyesore for people going in and out of the city on I-77 and I-90. I mean, whats the deal with that empty lot across from Progressive Field anyway? Couldn’t that, at the very least be acquired (eminent domain?) and turned into a park or at least maintained in some way so it looks more inviting?

Source: Googlemaps.com

Currently that whole corridor is an uninviting concrete nightmare and it doesn’t give the city any style points from visitors and residents alike. Now, I understand and have experienced on numerous occasions the vast amount of traffic that goes down Ontario, especially when both the Cavs and Indians are playing games in the Spring. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t do better.

Source: Googlemaps.com

So why then, should we spend even a small amount of money on the East 22nd Street project, when our greater street beautifying needs are going unmet?