Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Cleveland

Thanks to Ohio DOT, $100 million has been spent to gussy up Cleveland's West Shoreway, but it's still a limited access highway and a barrier to the lakefront. Image: Google Street View

Too Many State DOTs Are Little More Than Highway Departments

By Angie Schmitt | Aug 23, 2017 | 16 Comments

In the last 50 years, nearly every state agency that used to call itself the "highway department" has changed its name to the "department of transportation" to reflect a change in mission. But in practice, many state DOTs still operate strictly as highway departments.

The "Opportunity Corridor" is actually a road that will be gouged through poor neighborhoods so suburbanites can shave a few minutes off their car trips to the Cleveland Clinic. Image: Ohio DOT

Cleveland Clinic Lets Slip That the “Opportunity Corridor” Isn’t About Opportunity At All

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 18, 2017 | 28 Comments

The official line on the $331 million road project was that it was supposed to help poor Cleveland residents, not whisk people past their neighborhoods to reach the Cleveland Clinic. That was a lie.

Like almost all gondola proposals, this one for Austin, Texas, will never get built. Image: Texas A&M

Enough With the Gondolamania Already

By Angie Schmitt | Apr 10, 2017 | 47 Comments

In American cities, gondolas have mainly served as a distraction from bigger problems facing urban transit systems.

Advocates protested the mayor's decision to remove buses from Public Square at a City Council meeting earlier this month. Photo: Clevelanders for Public Transit

Bus Riders Prevail: Transit to Return to Cleveland’s Public Square

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 22, 2017 | 1 Comment

After booting buses out of Public Square as part of a $50 million redesign, Mayor Frank Jackson now says the city is preparing to reopen the space to buses in March. That would end a seven-month closure that led to systemwide bus delays and gained national notoriety as a case study of how local governments mistreat bus riders.

Cleveland's Public Square was the hub of the region's transit system until Mayor Frank Jackson removed buses as part of a redesign. Photo: Julio Gonzalez/Flickr

Don’t Push Bus Riders to the Margins

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 6, 2017 | 10 Comments

Mayors frequently face pressure from business interests to remove bus riders from downtown areas. But that's a big mistake, says transit consultant Jarrett Walker.

Eaton Corporation used Port Authority funds to relocate its headquarters from downtown Cleveland to the nexus of several highways in the east side suburbs.

The Injustice of Subsidizing Jobs People Can Only Reach By Driving

By Angie Schmitt | Jan 13, 2017 | 11 Comments

The more far-flung the jobs in a region, the fewer are accessible via transit, biking, and walking -- or even a short, inexpensive car commute. And yet, in many states, economic development policies still contribute to long, burdensome commutes, especially for people who can't afford cars.

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