The Observation Deck

I have yet to see a bike on the new bike lanes going from West Clifton to the Lake Ave bridge.

Has anyone else seen any bikes on this re-painted stretch of road?

Lots of comments about this on various Facebook pages. Most people do not like it and remark that they do not see bikes using the specifically designated lanes.

But hey, the city knows better than it's residents.

Bridget Conant wrote:Lots of comments about this on various Facebook pages. Most people do not like it and remark that they do not see bikes using the specifically designated lanes.

But hey, the city knows better than it's residents.

This new painting was the product of well-intentioned Clifton park residents for a variety of reasons.

As a person who commutes through this roadway regularly, I was skeptical that it would not negatively impact my commute.

I am surprised that it has not significantly impacted me, but I wonder if that will change when Rocky River closes the two ramps on the other side of the bridge (lakewood has little control over that I'm guessing).

Still, I am curious as to the practical use by cyclists--who will find this useful and where will they go? Perhaps bike traffic to and from River will increase?

Perhaps Mr. Liston as an avid cyclist and park resident could educate us.

Come on now. I'm sure Mike Summers was the first one to get out on his bike and try out the new bike lanes. Not.

I agree with many others online. Why change something that has worked for many years? Sidewalks could have easily been installed without changing the existing roadway configuration. We already have crosswalks at W. Clifton and at Lake Rd.

Although unsurprising, this creation appears to be yet another work of NOACA. See the attached e-mails below from an ODOT representative to Bryce Sylvester, Planning & Development Director for the City of Lakewood. In his e-mail the ODOT representative cites an "AECOM Feasability Study". Based on the language in this e-mail it seems that the AECOM study was submitted to the ODOT by the City of Lakewood. Don't be fooled folks, AECOM is one of the top consultants for NOACA.

In addition, I have seen hardly any of the advice/guidance given by ODOT to the city implemented yet. For example, I find it very hard to believe that the single lane on this stretch of Clifton is 12' wide. Lanes this wide are typically seen on interstate highways in rural areas.
As a reminder, on NOACA's Board of Directors sits, among others, Mike Summers and Armond Budish. You can look up all of the board members online. NOACA seems to simply be a hotbed to advance the Mike Summers agenda.

Anyone that is not suspicious of NOACA and their dealings should seriously re-evaluate their way of thinking. Furthermore, NOACA's very bare-bones public records policy does not seem to follow the Ohio Public Records Act. Specifically, NOACA mandates that requests for "materials" must be made in writing. This seems to go against the Ohio Public Records Act.

As a reminder, NOACA is the same group of folks that conducted the "study" to determine if a traffic light was needed at Detroit/Manor Park. The study was done on a below-zero degree day with almost no pedestrian traffic at all. The results of this study should be evident. Mike Summers got his way.

While we are on the subject, this is the result of the Warren Rd. lane re-configuration between Detroit & Franklin. I wonder if this is also courtesy of Mike Summers and NOACA:
Two solid lanes of jammed traffic from Detroit to Franklin. Bravo!

I travel that piece of road multiple times a week and I fail to see the point in it. I've ridden a bicycle over it in before they put in the special lanes and had no problems. But since it's been put in, I've seen no slow downs. When they eliminate the Marion ramp, I'll probably take Sloane to that part of Rocky River, reducing the number of times I drive that road.

i did have a big problem the first time I encountered it. The signs are so inadequate, I found myself driving directly at the barriers (flexible ones I hope) with traffic on my left, making it hard to switch lanes. This is from both directions. I adjusted, but it is a major east-west route and many more people will be encountering it for the first time.

I have a hard time with the argument posted here and repeated elsewhere that because people have seen no bicycles using it, there are few using that. Consider this: for the past month, I drove through the Warren/Madison intersection multiple times a day and never saw an emergency vehicle from the big fire station there. Does that mean the extra traffic lights for the station serve no purpose? Of course not, but it's the same argument. You don't see it, so it's not there.

Meanwhile, please improve the signage, or at least take down the barriers so people have room to maneuver if they have to.

Mr. Essi is correct. The neighbors in this area are the initiators of this lane change. They have been working on it for several years.

Since NOACA seems to have been heavily involved with the planning of this for the mayor, I feel some more information about NOACA is needed in order to fully understand the huge role they play in the shaping of Lakewood.

- NOACA receives $51 million annually in funds, mostly from the Federal Highway Administration and the Ohio Department of Transportation.

- The NOACA Board of Directors decides how these funds will be distributed and to what projects in the five-county region (Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Medina, Lorain).

- The Board of Directors includes, but is not limited to persons such as Mike Summers, Armond Budish, Joe Calabrese (RTA), Michael W. Dever, Tim DeGeeter, Myron Pakush (ODOT), Tony Brancatelli (accused of sitting on street-paving money), and the list goes on. The full list of board members can be found here: http://www.noaca.org/index.aspx?page=106

While not everyone on the Board of Directors is involved with Mike Summers, the same names keep appearing. It almost looks like we're dealing with the same old company. Also, some of these folks are in charge of some of the most decaying, depressed areas in the region. They should consider cleaning up their own backyards before meddling in other city's affairs, in my opinion.

- No "Public Records Policy" can be found on NOACA's website. Since NOACA performs a governmental function and virtually all Board of Directors members are public officials, all records of NOACA should be public. Rather, NOACA keeps a "public interaction policy" which says virtually nothing about public records. Rather, NOACA has one line on the website which mandates that "requests for materials" must be made in writing, which I believe is against the Ohio Public Records Act. I was seeking a copy of the AECOM study referenced in the e-mail to Bryce Sylvester, though I am unsure how to request records from NOACA (if I would even get the records).

- NOACA keeps more materials of interest than you may think. Traffic studies, construction plans, costs, budgets for projects, etc. should be kept by NOACA for all NOACA-administered projects. NOACA receives and spends your money.

- Like many other governmental bodies, NOACA has different committees composed of different members of NOACA's Board of Directors. The last meeting minutes posted from NOACA's executive committee were from 2015. Very little information can be found about the other committees.

While I'm positive NOACA has some upstanding folks working for them, I seriously question the motives of the body itself. When the same old names appear on their Board of Directors list, I question it even more. When large amounts of taxpayer money are combined with secrecy, I become very suspicious.

NOACA almost seems like Northeast Ohio's version of the Bilderbergs. Lots of money and high-ranking politicians meeting, seemingly in secret, about what they think is best for a region or group of people.

NOACA was involved with Mr. Summers' Clifton Blvd. lane-reduction follies, and will probably continue to be involved in Lakewood, at least until Summers and Budish are removed from the Board of Directors.

And of course the residents wanted it. If you live north of Lake or in Clifton Park and/or are a friend of Summers, ask and ye shall receive.

If residents on Newman or Brown wanted a special project done on their street, they would be told to go pound salt, and we all know it.

In fact, if you are an elderly war veteran that questions City Hall (and gets hauled out of City Hall by armed guards for it), your street will not be paved until you pass on. Yes, this has happened.

If outside sources of revenue (govt grants) were not available for this project, these bike lanes would be buried at the bottom of the pile of "must do" projects and never come to fruition. Take it from someone with 25+ years of development/grant writing experience ... the city would never have dipped into its own pockets to see this project through.

The "success" of development folks is often measured solely by the number of grants received and dollars brought in the door ... whether or not the funds truly support the organization's (or municipality's) primary mission/operations.