South Moreland Boulevard, Shaker Square,
North Moreland Boulevard Rehabilitation
Griffing Avenue to Larchmere Boulevard
PUBLIC FEEDBACK
The City of Cleveland has hosted several public meetings for this project, which are summarized below.
CONSTRUCTION PHASE PUBLIC MEETING
Construction Public Meeting On March 15, 2023 the City of Cleveland hosted the Construction Phase Public Meeting. The meeting was held at 6:30 PM at Greenview Campus of Positive Education (formerly known as Ludlow School). Construction is scheduled to begin in April of 2023 and this meeting was conducted with the project construction contractor to discuss construction activities, phasing and circulation. This meeting was held after the design was complete, past the point of public comment for plan changes. If there are any questions about the construction of this project, please fill out the form below and someone will contact you. Click the PDF link below to view the presentation provided at the meeting:
DESIGN PHASE PUBLIC MEETINGS
The City of Cleveland has hosted several public meetings for the design of this project, which are summarized below.
Design Public Meeting #1 (held on 8/15/22) was to gather feedback about the project, provide responses and make any necessary plan changes. Responses to public comments can be found here.
Design Public Meeting #2 (held on 9/20/22) provided response to the comments received at Public Meeting #1 and collected additional comments. Responses to additional comments can be found here.
Public Walk Through (held on 9/30/22) Councilmember Gray hosted a project walk-through for interested members of the community to learn more about the proposed improvements along the corridor.
Design Public Meeting #3 (held on 11/9/22) provided response to the comments received at Public Meetings #1 and #2 and collected additional comments. Responses to additional comments can be found here.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the public input process for this project.
DESIGN PHASE - Public Meeting #1 - August 15, 2022
On August 15, 2022, the City of Cleveland hosted a Public Meeting #1 regarding the construction of the improvements along South Moreland Boulevard, Shaker Square and North Moreland Boulevard. That meeting resulted in various comments from the public. This section of the website will provide responses to those comments and post the actual comments received.
To view a record of the actual comments received, please click the PDF link below:
Since comments were often repeated, comments were grouped into categories and common responses provided to each general category.
COMMENT: Various concerns were presented about the removal of the center medians and associated pedestrian refuge at Buckeye Road and Drexmore Road.
RESPONSE: Center medians were modified to improve through traffic and left turning traffic lane alignment, which improves road user safety and enhances pedestrian mobility.
At Buckeye Road/S. Woodland Road the realignment provides an opportunity to install curb bump outs in the northwest, northeast and southwest intersection corners reducing pedestrian crossings distances by 12' on the west leg, 12' on the east leg, 22' on the south leg and 41' on the north leg. So while the refuge of the median has been removed, the overall crossing distance has been reduced.
At Drexmore Road the design presented at the 8/15/22 public meeting had the removal of the median on the south leg of the intersection. The design has been modified to include a median area, with pedestrian refuge area. Additionally, the reconfiguration will reduce crosswalk lengths by 25' on the north leg, 33' on the south leg, and 9' on the west leg. The crosswalk length on the east leg increases modestly, from 34' to 40'.
COMMENT: Several comments were received indicating concern for pedestrian crossing safety and how the plans are enhancing crossing safety along the corridor.
RESPONSE: Overall the project is increasing pedestrian safety by providing new ADA curb ramps, bump outs that create shorter crosswalk lengths, and additional crossings that were not previously provided. Traffic signal reconstruction at Buckeye Road/S. Woodland Road and Drexmore Road will also replace pedestrian signals to continue safe pedestrian crossing.
At Ashwood Road the realignment will provide ADA compliant high visibility pedestrian crossings on the south and east side of the intersection, which are not currently provided.
At Buckeye Road/S. Woodland Road the realignment provides an opportunity to install curb bump outs in the northwest, northeast and southwest intersection corners reducing pedestrian crossings distances by 12' on the west leg, 12' on the east leg, 22' on the south leg and 41' on the north leg.
At Hampton Road the realignment will provide ADA compliant high visibility pedestrian crossings on the east side of the intersection, which are not currently provided.
At Drexmore Road, the raised center islands will be extended to shelter the crosswalks crossing South Moreland Boulevard. Today, these crosswalks are striped outside of the raised islands. Furthermore, the crosswalk lengths are reduced by 25' on the north leg, 9' on the west leg, and 33' on the south leg. The crosswalk length on the east leg increases modestly, from 34' to 40'.
COMMENT: Several comments were provided expressing concern for protecting and replacing street trees.
RESPONSE: The plans presented at the 8/15/22 public meeting indicated the removal of 12 street trees located in the center median. The modification of the Drexmore Road center median saved one tree brining the total to 11 street tree removals required to make the necessary improvements. The City is committed to protecting the remaining street trees along the corridor and has included robust plans and specifications that the contractor must follow to limit damage to other trees, which has been successfully used on previous projects.
COMMENT: Various comments were received about the proposed bike lanes, if the design meets standards, if protected lanes can be provided and if the center median can be used for a path.
RESPONSE: The design of the bike lanes and shared lanes in the plans and shown on this website meet national design standards. Comments were received that indicated that the bike lane should be placed between the curb and the parking lane. This is an unexpected location for bike lanes and makes it challenging for motorists to see cyclists, particularly as motorists and cyclists approach driveways and unsignalized intersections. Due to the presence of parked cars and the width of the buffer between the general purpose travel lanes and the bike lanes, turning motorists would be unable to see cyclists. A more visible location for the cyclists traveling in the bike lane is adjacent to the vehicular travel lane where motorists can see the cyclists at all times. A buffer is provided next to the parking lane - this area is known as the door zone - in order to eliminate conflicts between cyclists and the open doors of parked vehicles.
Separated bike lanes would result in the elimination of most of the parking on South Moreland Boulevard, which is widely used by residents. This is not feasible due to significant demand for on-street parking spaces.
The installation of a path along the center median is beyond the scope of the funding for this project. Additionally, it would be challenging to construct this path without significant impacts to center median street trees, which are also a concern to the public on this project.
COMMENT: Several comments and questions were received inquiring about issues and access restrictions during construction.
RESPONSE: Detailed maintenance of traffic and pedestrian plans were developed to instruct the contractor on proper construction phasing and requiring access to be maintained. Public Meeting #3 will specifically address these concerns, as the contractor will be in attendance.
COMMENT: Several comments were received about the scope of the water line work and additional public service connections.
RESPONSE: Water line work will include water main replacement and service connection replacement. Existing inactive and plugged connections will be removed. New service connections can only be provided to customers, which makes it challenging to provide new connections for public use at park spaces.
COMMENT: Comments were provided about improving/upgrading/reducing the traffic signals at Shaker Square.
RESPONSE: The projects funding scope of work does not include the traffic signals crossing Shaker Boulevard at Shaker Square. Comments regarding the Shaker Square signals will be filed for future projects.
COMMENT: Comments were received regarding concerns about the impacts to Helen Simpson Park.
The realignment of Hampton Road will reduce the size of Helen Simpson Park by 5,798 SF, however, the realignment will provide a net increase in green space of 4,688 SF at the intersection. The realignment will provided an ADA compliant crosswalk on the east side of the intersection. Currently there is not an ADA accessible crosswalk at the northern end of Helen Simpson Park.
DESIGN PHASE - Public Meeting #2 - September 20, 2022
On September 20, 2022, the City of Cleveland hosted Design Public Meeting #2 regarding the construction of the improvements along South Moreland Boulevard, Shaker Square and North Moreland Boulevard. That meeting resulted in various comments from the public. This section of the website will provide responses to those comments and post the actual comments received.
To view a record of the actual comments received, please click the PDF link below:
Since comments were often repeated, comments were grouped into categories and common responses provided to each general category.
COMMENT: Buffered/Protected/Separated Bike Lane - The most frequent comments expressed support for either separated, buffered, or protected bike lanes. Some suggested that the parking lane should serve as a “buffer” between the cars and bicycle lanes; some suggested that separated bike lanes should be located within the existing medians.
RESPONSE: Placing the parking lane as a “buffer” between bike and travel lanes is unexpected and challenging for drivers to see cyclists, particularly as motorists and cyclists approach driveways and unsignalized intersections. Due to the presence of parked cars and the width of the buffer between the general purpose travel lanes and the bike lanes, turning motorists would be unable to see cyclists. A more visible location for the cyclists traveling in the bike lane is adjacent to the vehicular travel lane where motorists can see the cyclists at all times. A buffer is provided next to the parking lane, in the area known as the door zone, in order to eliminate conflicts between cyclists and the open doors of parked vehicles.
The installation of a path along the center median is beyond the scope of the funding for this project. Additionally, it would be challenging to construct this path without significant impacts to median street trees, which are also a concern to the public.
COMMENT: Shared-use Lane on North Moreland - Several comments questioned the use of shared lanes north of Shaker Square rather than a dedicated bike lane. Additionally, support was expressed for a continuation of the bike lane further north to connect with the Lake to Lakes trail.
RESPONSE: The city’s northern project limit is at Larchmere, therefore the ability to create a connection to the Lake to Lakes Trail is outside of the project scope.
The North Moreland segment from Shaker Square to Larchmere includes shared lanes because of its relatively short length. At signalized intersections, dedicated bike lanes are transitioned into a lane that is shared with right-turning vehicles. By design, this transition occurs over a safe distance that is a function of design speed and sight distance. The distance along North Moreland is too short to effectively transition from shared lane to dedicated lane, then back to shared lane. Additionally, at the Larchmere project limit there is no existing bike lane to connect with.
COMMENT: Medians in General (including Drexmore intersection) - Any proposed alterations to the center medians were negatively received. Residents wish to retain the existing character of the medians as a pedestrian crossing refuge and as a tree-lined parkway.
RESPONSE: In response to the comments, the design team has reviewed all of the proposed impacts to the existing median, and made some revisions to reduce these impacts. Among the changes:
1. The median in the Drexmore intersection has been extended so that the pedestrian crossings will pass through the median, creating the desired pedestrian refuge.
2. Plans will be revised at the Hampton intersection so that the modified median opening will be eliminated and the existing opening will remain as-is.
COMMENT: Trees - Any proposed work that necessitates removal of existing trees was negatively received. Residents wish to retain and safeguard the existing tree canopy.
RESPONSE: There are 235 existing trees within the work limits of this project. Our plans currently require the removal of 8 trees total, spread over locations along the length of the corridor, so that the safety improvements can be made. In response to resident’s concerns about tree loss, the plans will be updated to include planting an equal number of new trees at locations to be determined by the City’s Urban Forestry division.
All remaining existing trees will be treated to an elaborate tree protection plan that will minimize potential damage caused by construction disturbance.
COMMENT: The proposed design favors cars rather than pedestrians and bicycle riders - Improvements are perceived to prioritize benefits for drivers over pedestrian or bike safety, especially at intersections.
RESPONSE: Most of the intersection improvements in this project are designed to address existing sight-distance shortcomings, which means that any user in the intersection is at risk of not being able to see or be seen by other users, no matter the mode. The proposed design changes are intended to address the overall safety of the intersection without differentiating between users or modes of transportation. Safety improvements are shared by all users.
COMMENT: No changes to Shaker Square Traffic Control - Comments included requests for bike lanes added around the square.
RESPONSE: Upcoming Shaker Square improvement plans will explore the desired improvements to traffic circulation, and are beyond the scope of this project. The proposed traffic control plan will maintain the existing lane use around the Square, with the addition of shared-lane markings in the curb lane.
Additional topics covered in the comments (one comment each topic):
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“Add some benches along both N & S Moreland, preferably shaded; maybe even a water fountain or two.”
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“I appreciate greatly the curb bumpouts/shortened pedestrian crossings.”
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“Bump-outs are ugly and do not seem to be protective of people.”
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There us more than enough street parking available
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There is not enough street parking available.
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Speeding is a problem, traffic calming is needed.
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Halt this plan until a larger neighborhood master plan can be completed.
DESIGN PHASE - Public Meeting #3 - November 9, 2022
On November 9, 2022, the City of Cleveland hosted Design Public Meeting #3 regarding the construction of the improvements along South Moreland Boulevard, Shaker Square and North Moreland Boulevard. That meeting resulted in comments from the public. This section of the website will provide responses to those comments and post the actual comments received.
To view a record of the actual comments received, please click the PDF link below:
Total comments received:
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15 On comment forms at meeting
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1 Comment left on website, www.northandsouthmoreland.com
Bike lane comments:
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Provide a separation between cars and bikes (4 comments)
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Move the bike lane next to the median (3 comments)
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Place a physical barrier to separate cars from bike lane (concrete barrier, planters, etc.) (2 comments)
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One comment each of the following:
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Add bike lane through Shaker Square
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Connect bike lane north of Larchmere
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Separate the bike lane on North Moreland
RESPONSE: The current bike lane design includes a buffer on the right-hand side of the bike lane in order to protect cyclists from door zone crashes. Raised separation is not provided in the current design due to the need for motorists to turn right at numerous intersections and driveways. Raised devices would prevent motorists from merging into the bike lane before executing a right turn, thus creating the right-hook threat for cyclists.
Shaker Square does not include a bike lane due to inadequate roadway width, the need to accommodate right turns at Shaker Blvd. and S. & N. Moreland Blvd, and the presence of head-in parking. However, the current design does not prevent us from adding a shared-use path or separated bike lane facility through the square for crossing Shaker Blvd. as part of a future project. Outside of the square, Traffic Engineering is evaluating the feasibility of placing buffered and/or separated bike lanes along the median.
Drexmore intersection comments:
One comment each:
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Add “no turn on red” restriction.
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Widen the grass treelawn area by the gas station driveway, plant a tree.
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Question – why change the on-street parking from head-in to parallel parking, north of Drexmore?
RESPONSE: Although a NO TURN ON RED sign is not needed at this time, Traffic Engineering will reevaluate the intersection after the reconfiguration of the intersection has been completed.
We’ve changed the on-street parking to parallel parking north of Drexmore Rd. for two reasons. Firstly, when parked next to another vehicle, it is difficult for a driver to see oncoming traffic while backing out of a head-in space. Secondly, by changing to parallel parking we will have room to add an ADA accessible sidewalk within the median. This new sidewalk will allow drivers and their passengers to cross S. Moreland Blvd. at the crosswalks at Drexmore Rd. or Shaker Square instead of midblock.
Other comments received (one each):
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Parking lot behind Dave's should allow weekend RTA train parking.
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Was there a count of bike usage, or is there an estimate of bike users?
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Add pedestrian scale lighting between Drexmore & Buckeye.
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Provide paved landing area next to sidewalk for bus riders at Griffing bus stop.
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Keep traffic signal at Ashwood intersection.
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Add speed bumps at intersections.
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Add red-light running cameras.
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Add a traffic signal at Hampton.
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Better to leave well enough alone, this plan is not well thought out.
CONSTRUCTION PHASE - Public Meeting - WILL BE HELD 3/15/2023
The City of Cleveland will host a final public meeting with the contractor just before construction starts to answer specific questions related to construction.