image of overlook on bridge
W. 14th St. and Kenilworth Avenue
Lincoln Park, Tremont Neighborhood of Cleveland Ohio
Sunday, December 6th
2 - 4pm
A rally to support pedestrian and bike access on the bridge will be held Sunday, December 6 at 2 p.m. at Lincoln Park in Tremont (W. 14th Street and Kenilworth Avenue).
Anyone interested in safe, convenient and healthy car-free access between Downtown and Tremont (and a great scenic overlook of downtown) is invited to attend. The event is free, and refreshments and entertainment will be provided. Cyclists are urged to ride their bikes, with free mechanical safety checks provided by the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op. Helmets are strongly suggested, and OCBC will have some available to borrow or purchase.
The rally will evaluate alternative walking and biking routes proposed by ODOT for the bridge and present other information about a dedicated path over the bridge. Participants will divide into groups, taking a different route from Lincoln Park to the intersection of Ontario Street and Carnegie Avenue, where a brief rally will address the issues of equity and civic interest in this nearly $1 billion project, before returning to Tremont for refreshments and discussion of strategies for further public input in this process.
After the rally, the job is not over. Please consider attending and voicing your support at a very important follow up: The December 11 meeting of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) at 10 a.m. when this local board will decide on ODOT's final proposal for funding of this project.
If you cannot make the meeting, consider sending an email, calling, or writing the Mayor's action line 216/664-2900, and the ODOT project director, Craig Hebebrand, at 216/581-2100 to let ODOT know you support biking and walking the proposed I-90/71 bridge. This huge taxpayer investment—ODOT's largest ever—will affect the places we live, work and play for the rest of our lives. Any donations to the event organizers will be used to help pay for engineering and professional services to document ODOT miscalculations of the feasibility and cost to safely accommodate pedestrians and cyclists in this project.
For more information, please stay tuned and visit http://www.gcbl.org/innerbelt
is there a surplus of bike racks in the world that we need to find places to store them? why would we continue to put racks in the middle of a bridge? is someone going to ride to the middle and decide that a bicycle is too efficient and walk the rest of the way to work. you can almost see the useless ones on the DS bridge in this image, and there are so few to be found downtown
ReplyDeleteI understand your pain, that there is a severe lack of cycling amenities downtown. The racks shown in this illustration are to facilitate the lookout as a place for respite. Also seen in the rendering are some information boards and benches meaning that this place is to be used as a place of rest and gathering, much like on the Detroit Shoreway Bridge which I have seen used now and again.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the proliferation of bike racks is somewhat similar to the scattering of benches in Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. You would rather have too many that could be used than too few that negate any opportunity.
It may make sense to locate some spots that you feel are in dire need of racks downtown and contact Cleveland Bikes and Downtown Cleveland Alliance as a way to see what can be done to resolve that issue. I know many are looking forward to the "bike station" coming to the Gateway Neighborhood, however you are completely correct in pointing out the importance of places that allow for secure bicycle parking all around the city, from a visitor/commuter/commercial point of view. Your contribution could be the final linchpin needed to change someone's mind to cycle downtown instead of driving.
I'd just like to let everyone know that the NOACA governing board is not expected to make any decision on the Innerbelt bridge at the December 11th meeting. The ODOT presentation will be a project status report for information only. There will be no resolution before the board regarding the Innerbelt bridge.
ReplyDeletePublic comment is still welcome, although it's our understanding that ODOT will not be commenting on bike/ped facilities due to pending legal action. You can find information on NOACA's public meeting comment policy on our website: http://www.noaca.org/pipsum.pdf