Press Release: Transit Riders Applaud Positive Changes to Public Square but Want More

Posted on by clefortransit@gmail.com

Transit Riders Applaud Positive Changes to Public Square but Want More
More can and should be done so riders benefit from the $50 million investment

Cars park daily in-front of Rebol restaurant on Cleveland’s Public Square. They use the crosswalk to Tower City and the Rapid as a driveway. This must stop. Photo credit: Clevelanders for Public Transit.

 

Last week, plans were formally announced to begin to address the jersey barriers on Public Square. CPT applauds the City of Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), and the Group Plan Commission for finally working to remove the jersey barriers from Public Square and install bollards to protect pedestrians from drunk, distracted, or otherwise unsafe drivers, including the Rebol parking issue discussed below.

Over 5 years ago, on a chilly December afternoon back in 2016, Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT)  held a rally to reopen Public Square to transit. Public Square has served as Cleveland’s transit hub for over 100 years. 

Over 70% of transit riders ride the bus, and most of the routes serve Public Square. Therefore, any delays on Public Square ripple throughout the entire transit system, affecting thousands of riders every day. 

To justify keeping Public Square closed, then Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson stated “I don’t want 20, 30, 40, 50 people to be run over by a vehicle in Public Square.” When Public Square was reopened to transit in March, 2017,  jersey barriers were placed in the middle of Public Square. These jersey barriers do very little to keep pedestrians safe. 

In fact, the new design of Public Square allows vehicles to park behind the Rebol restaurant daily without any care for pedestrians. These vehicles use the busy crosswalk between the Tower City Rapid and Public Square as a driveway and parking lot. This must stop. 

When Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb won the election, CPT looked for new leadership.  In November, CPT provided a list of demands to Mayor Bibb to improve transit. We continue to ask that the following be included with the current improvements being made to Public Square: 

  • Public Square is for the public. Private vehicles must no longer be allowed to park anywhere on Public Square and bicyclists must be officially allowed to ride through it.

 

  • Stop closing the Public Square Bus Lanes for superfluous events. Closing Superior Avenue through Public Square creates delays that ripple throughout the GCRTA system and affect thousands of riders. Weekday closures in 2021 included: Holiday Tree Installation, a Recharge Auto Rally, and a City Club event. 
    • Cleveland is asking GCRTA to contribute $500,000 toward this project. In exchange for this money, GCRTA must demand a limit to the closures of Public Square to public transit.
    • When closures are necessary, schedule work for times of low ridership.
    • When Cleveland initially closed Superior Avenue to buses, the federal government threatened to demand repayment of millions of dollars in grant funding of the HealthLine because of the disruption caused by the closure. Public Square and its vicinity are a Downtown Transit Zone that plays a vital role for the entirety of good public transit operations in Cleveland.

 

  • Install signal priority for GCRTA buses and pedestrians on Superior Avenue as part of a comprehensive review of the central business district’s traffic flow. Most GCRTA riders use the bus, and most GCRTA buses use Superior Avenue, yet buses crawl to a standstill at many empty intersections waiting for lights to change. Buses must move faster than 3 MPH through downtown or people will not use transit.
    • Update existing pick-up/drop-off areas for valet services, delivery and ride-share vehicles to prioritize public transit instead. 
    • Optimize bus lanes, curb space and bus stops for safety and better connectivity. 
    • All crosswalks in and around Public Square should be signalized using leading pedestrian intervals to ensure the pedestrian right of way is guaranteed.
    • During construction of the Sherwin-Williams headquarters, prioritize bus routes, stops, and signals so buses are safely accessible  with minimal service disruption.

 

  • Paint bus only lanes on Superior Avenue red to ensure bus priority and speed trip times.

 

  • Install heating elements in the bus shelters on and around Public Square. Bus riders know all too well how cold it can be to wait for a bus that comes too infrequently. Public Square and the immediate vicinity is a Cleveland transit district, which should shine as an example of the ease and comfort of public transit for all. 

 

  • There must be a 24/7 accessible public restroom on Public Square. As former Mayor Jackson previously stated “Cleveland is perceived to be the butthole of the world sometimes.” It is our duty to change those perceptions and keep Cleveland clean. Cleveland should use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to construct and maintain public bathrooms for transit riders and pedestrians throughout Cleveland. Riders with over hour-long commutes need restrooms 24/7.

 

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