The Observation Deck

I was talking to Don over the last few weeks and he was complaining that Lakewood has very little Presence on I90. When you get to W117th, there is a list of restaurants you can go to. For the rest of Lakewood there is nothing. We have great restaurants, the Beck Center, Virginia Marti - no notation at all from I90.

People complain all the time about I90 taking people by Lakewood. Well, we should use that to advertise Lakewood. I think we (Mainstreet, the Chamber of Commerce, the Planning Dept. whoever) could get ODOT to work with us. We don't even have a sign directing people to Downtown Lakewood!!!! We have a large wall - that should be used. We have overpasses that could be used. I think we know a good sign company that could maybe figure out a way to put changing names up on a restaurant signage. Everywhere I go - it tells me I can find a McDonalds, Bob Evans, etc. at this exit. Why not the Melt, Three Birds, Players, etc? You know those green signs that tell you what restaurants are at the exit. There are room for 6 - but maybe we can make the six changeable - so we could advertise 12 or 18.

How about putting up a sign that says Lakewood - a city of homes and great restaurants

While, I'm not sure we should be spending money to keep Beck Center, I certainly think we should put some effort into getting them signage on I90.

And every post secondary school - you get directions from the Highway directing you to the location. Why not Virginia Marti?

We have this wonderful opportunity everyday with people coming to and from Avon etc. to advertise Lakewood - why aren't we doing it?

How about a billboard that says - if you lived in Lakewood, you would be home now?

Lynn Farris wrote:How about a billboard that says - if you lived in Lakewood, you would be home now?

Better yet, a billboard that says, "Lakewood Doesn't Need You. Keep on Driving to Your Exurban Hell!"

Or, "Welcome to Lakewood, Home of Stephen Davis!"

Lynn

We still have the 40' banners from last year.

I have been trying to rent/buy a semi to park along the road, no luck.


.

Jim,

How about a 40 foot banner that says, "Jim Will Rent/Buy Your Semi", or "We Buy Ugly Semi's"?

Maybe you could Rent-To-Own.

Steve

Lynn, To your point, signage, or lack thereof, is something that Main Street hopes to work on. I totally agree with you that people can pass through Lakewood via 90, Clifton or Lake (as many people do who take the Shoreway) and have no idea of the wonderful commercial districts on Madison and Detroit. There is no indication that just a few blocks north or south, you would find many restaurants, shops etc.

Main Street has talked about the need for signage directing people to the commercial districts from 90, the borders of the city (w.117th, Rocky River Bridge) as well as major intersections throughout the City (like Lake/Clifton and Belle - major traffic in and out of the Park)

We are building a relationship with ODOT through the Detroit Streetscape project. Through this relationship we can discuss with them how we could go about possible signage on 90 or the ramps. Signage is another project on our to-do list that we hope to accomplish within the next couple years.

Hi,
Jim, I'm not sure I saw the 40' banner you are talking about (what's it say?) but why not invest $5 in bolts and screw it up to that concrete wall that runs in the I90 valley?

Ms. Hopper, you seem to have developed a politician's time line. Several years for a few signs? WOW! Perhaps with this extended time line we could entice you into joining our lovely city. We would love to have you as a neighbor. It a nice place visit, a great place to work, but to really get the feel you need to live here. Great homes (condos too!) are still available.

Donald Farris wrote:Hi,
Jim, I'm not sure I saw the 40' banner you are talking about (what's it say?) but why not invest $5 in bolts and screw it up to that concrete wall that runs in the I90 valley?

It was for across the McKinley overpass.

4:00 pm - 7:00pm pointed into rush hour traffic.

"If You Lived In Lakewood, You Would Be Home"

7:00am - 9:00am

"If You Lived In Lakewood, You Could Sleep In."

Simple too the point, over a month or two of traffic and rush hour it sinks in. Low Tech. We all need more time.

.

Jim, I really like your idea. I like the variety - but I shouldn't be surprised.

Okay, the semi is too difficult to rent. How do we get ODOT to allow us to use one of the bridges? Is there a specific way it needs to be secured? What are the rules?

If we can't use a bridge and we can't use the semi - how about that large expanse of stone along the side. Can we use that?

We have such creative people in Lakewood - with the brain power that we have - someone should be able to solve this one.

They are set with grommets every two feet. They go up in a flash with tie straps, easy to cut down. Still it takes a lot effort. That is why I was looking to rent a semi along I-90.

It is very subtle, but deadly. It is a poor soul that forgets that time is money, or enjoyment. Some have been driving 20 minutes by the time they pass Lakewood. 40 minutes a day, 200 minutes a week, 10,400 minutes a year to ponder the thought. That would be 173.33 hours a year to do the math that even at minimum wage they aare paying $1,360 a year to save how much on taxes? Then add in gas, tire wear, nerves, and quality family time. A mid-level executive is only paying $10,499 a year to save on taxes.

Day after day they can work through the math. When they get a raise it will only bother them more.

A guy like me, could have a lot of fun with a billboard on I-90.

You know, announce sidewalks sales at S. Davis' house.

.

The Jaycees considered freeway bridges a couple years back and dismissed them for two reasons. One the liability of a sign coming down from above the freeway and causing a pile up wasn't the type of exposure that we wanted. Second, was that it was controlled by ODOT and not the city. The obstacles put up by the city alone for us to promote an event or the group in general was enough to dissuade me from even attempting to approach a state level beauracracy. I did find it peculiar that just 8 months after asking Mayor George if we could post traditional metal signs at the entrances to the city to promote our group and being told that the prior administration had rules that prohibited groups from using signs, there were pretty green signs to highlight the Chamber, the Kiwannis and the Rotary. Naturally it makes sense to exclude the group that requested the idea and offered to pay for their own.

Sorry for the rant, seemed relevant to potential signage issues. I do think that requesting that ODOT authorize the use of similar signs used in other cities by franchises would be tremendous. If not maybe City Hall has finally broken through the prior administrations unfriendly business obstacles and will see the benefit.

[quote="Shawn Juris"]

Shawn, I do not want you or anyone thinking we risked lives. Owning a sign shop and carrying a pretty large policy payable directly to the city and others, we were sure we could control the banners enough to put them up. In the 4 times I think we used them we had no problems, and no cars were ever in danger.

As for the green signs, as you might not have been here during the Sinagra Administration, that is not just green but "Sinagra Green."

As a proud member of Kiwanis, I know they had been working on the signs for ten years or more.

FWIW



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Maybe you can get the semis from the Church on the Rise that they aren't using any more? They are still there, just not advertising any more.

Why can't we paint the walls by the on-ramps? Don't some cities do this? First it would look cool and second, you could put those great slogans Jim noted above!

Phil

Jennifer hooper wrote:Signage is another project on our to-do list that we hope to accomplish within the next couple years.

So how long will Main Street be around?

Is it going to be another permanent department?

Who funds Main Street?

How much has been spent?

What is the annual budget?

What has been done so far?

What are the design ideas so far?

Has Madison Avenue been discussed?

How many people are working for Main street?



Lynn: Good idea! You know it is a good idea because when someone finally suggests it the first thought that comes to mind is: That is so obvious why didn't anyone think of it before>

Jeff Endress wrote:Or, "Welcome to Lakewood, Home of Stephen Davis!"

But Steve lives in the Rocky River Panhandle now.