Mini-roundabouts and bike lanes coming to Wade Park Avenue

High-level overview of Ward 8 community meeting

Note: Cleveland’s Ward 8 includes Asia Town, Hough, St. Clair-Superior neighborhoods and parts of Downtown, Glenville and Midtown.

• Meeting norms and introductions delivered by Cleveland City Council Ward 8 Council Member Stephanie Howse-Jones
• Public safety updates from Third District Police officials.
• Major redevelopment projects discussed (Willson School, Wade Park Avenue, and Lexington Avenue).
• Transportation and traffic-calming initiatives connected to Cleveland Moves and Vision Zero implementation
•  Community announcements and upcoming events.

Community safety updates

Community Relations Board Third District Representative Tiffany McClay 216-664-3861, tmcclay@clevelandohio.gov):

• Invited residents to Third District commanders’ meetings, which are held every third Tuesday of the month at the Third District Police Station at 4501 Chester Ave.
  

Safety tips for warm weather months

Provided by the Cleveland Division of Fire’s Public Education team include:

• Do not grill on your porch.
• Do not store flammable objects near places that can catch fire.
• Avoid roads that flood because you can get stuck.
• Red Cross provides free smoke detectors.

Wade Park Avenue project

Presenters included:

• Richard Switalski, Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects (MOCAP)
• James DeRosa, director, MOCAP
• Elida Rreza, project engineer
• Cameron Roberts, Vision Zero coordinator, City of Cleveland
• David Neumeyer, design consultant and project manager, GPD Group

Rreza said the estimated cost is $12 million, with funding including: 

• $4.6 million from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency
• $3.3 million from the Ohio Department of Transportation Safety Funds and $3.4 million from the Ohio Public Works Commission
• Less than $1 million from Cleveland road and bridge bonds.

Project scope, detailed by Neumeyer:

• Resurface Wade Park Avenue from East 66th Street to East 118th Street.
• Upgrade non-compliant curb ramps and curb extensions as needed.
• Address speeding by narrowing the street with bike lanes along the corridor.
• Remove signals and convert to two-way stop controls (stop signs) at six intersections along the street.
• Remove traffic signals and install mini roundabouts and median islands at five intersections along the street.
• Pavement removal on Ansel Road from Crawford Road to Wade Park Avenue to create green space.

Traffic signal upgrades and changes, detailed by Neumeyer:

• Where signals will remain: Wade Park Avenue at East 79th Street, East Boulevard and East 105th Street.
• Where signals will be removed and replaced with stop signs: Wade Park Avenue at East 66th Street, Russell Road/East 70th Street, Addison Road, East 86th Street, East 91st Street, and Crawford Road.
• Where signals will be removed and replaced with mini roundabouts: Wade Park Avenue at Giddings Road, East 82nd Street, Ansel Road, MLK Jr. Boulevard ramps, East 108th Street and East 115th Street.

Roberts shared successes from Franklin Boulevard redevelopment on the West Side:

• Speeding is down along the entire street as the percentage of drivers traveling over 25 mph has dropped from 63% to 17% following the installation of traffic calming measures.
• Total crashes have decreased by 76%, and injury-related crashes have decreased by 69%.
• The number of drivers using Franklin Boulevard as a cut-through has declined by around 30%.

Wade Park Avenue mini-roundabouts

• Roberts said over 75% of crashes on the avenue are occurring at intersections, and roundabouts will be constructed at five intersections.
• Roundabouts have reduced total crashes in other locations in Cleveland. 
• Another official said mini roundabouts are designed to allow large trucks and buses to drive across the middle.

Wade Park Avenue bike lanes

Roberts also said separated bike lanes will reduce speeds by visually narrowing the street and preventing unexpected passing in empty lanes. According to a presentation, these lanes have proven to improve safety for everyone, not just bike riders by:

• Reducing maximum vehicle speeds by 28%.
• Reducing crashes for all modes by 30% to 50%.
• Reducing crossing distances for pedestrians.
• Increasing the space between moving vehicles and people using the sidewalk.

The Wade Park Avenue project will contribute to a broader bikeway network that will connect to bikeways on East 66th Street, East 55th Street and the Superior Midway project.

Planned construction sequence/maintenance of traffic stages

Detailed by Neumeyer:

Section 1: East 66th Street to East 79th Street

• Eastbound traffic will be maintained, westbound traffic will be detoured to Superior Avenue.
• Construct north side of Wade Park Avenue.
• Construct south side of Wade Park Avenue.

Section 2: East 79th Street to East 105 Street.

The sequence for this section will be the same as for Section 1. 

Section 3: East 105th Street to East 118th Street.

• Eastbound traffic will be maintained and westbound traffic will be detoured to Euclid Avenue.
• Construct north side of Wade Park Avenue.
• Construct south side of Wade Park Avenue.

For more details and updates about the project, visit the City of Cleveland project webpage.

Willson Middle School demolition planning updates

Sandra Madison, CEO of Cleveland-based architecture firm Robert P. Madison International, shared updates on the next steps of the demolition plan. The general process was shared, but specifics about the project timeline were not. 

“CMSD has tried on two occasions to have it demolished; it was denied by the city, because they wanted to try to actually have developers come and develop it into something else,” said Madison. “Developers were interested, but they could not get their funding together.”

The current plan is to demolish the building and create a blank canvas at the property, located at 1625 E. 55th St., then auction off the property. The hope is that a developer will be more incentivized to buy without having to take on the demolition cost of $613,000. The following steps for a demolition like this were shared, as well as the process connected to them:

1. Meet with community members and leaders.
2. Get approval to demolish from the Cleveland Landmarks Commission. 
3. Obtain permit from the city. 
4. Site prep and initiate a rodent plan before, during and after demolition.
5. Perform full site inspection.
6. Identify rodent areas of activity.
7. Install trapping devices.
8. Deploy fertility devices.
9. Initiate weekly monitoring.
10. Land restoration and post-demolition site maintenance initiated.

Auction process

Explained by Hollie Dellisanti, CMSD’s executive director, Capital Improvement & Architectural Services.

1. Get approval from the CMSD Board of Education, affirming that the school is no longer needed.
2. The building would then be evaluated and appraised.
3. CMSD decides what will be kept or removed from the building.
4. The property is publicly listed through auction or public site sale.

An attendee asked if bidders need to have a plan for the land to be able to bid. Dellisanti said no.

Do you have questions and concerns? Dellisanti shared the following contact information:

• 216-838-0406 and hollie.dellisanti@clevelandmetroschools.org.
• Hammond Construction at 330-418-8328 and wschurman@hammondconstruction.com. 

Lexington Avenue traffic calming project

Commissioner Robert Mavec, Division of Traffic Engineering, presented.

Some neighbors questioned why Lexington Avenue would be getting priority for traffic-calming measures when other streets have more traffic safety issues. According to Howse-Jones, this redevelopment proposal is brand new, and she wanted neighbors to give input before money was fully secured. Additionally, she said that resurfacing only Lexington Avenue would cost about $1 million, which is about the entire budget secured for resurfacing streets in Ward 8 this year.

Howse-Jones added that this project — which includes speed tables and roundabouts — would be a way to improve traffic flow and make an impact at a lower cost.

Updates from Howse-Jones

Howse-Jones urged residents to vote in the May 5 primary election.

Announcements community events in Ward 8

• The next community meeting is Thursday, May 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Chinese Christian Church, 3224 Payne Ave.
• Ward 8 Neighborhood Network Night on Thursday, May 21, from 6 – 8 p.m. at Neighborhood Connections, 1971 E. 66 St.

These notes are by Documenter DaQuavion Roston. Audio recorded by Documenter Tisha Barnes.

---

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@signalcleveland.org  with “Correction Request” in the subject line.