The Observation Deck

Just heard on Channel 5 that the final decision was made to keep the West Shoreway as it is and scale back the plans for increased park. Not sure exactly what this means in the long-run for Lakewood, but I thought I'd share.

This is good news, but I wonder how much money they spent to figure this out. I don't think you have to be Arnold Einstein to know that you should not mess with one of the most efficient roadways around.

Doug

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/images/einstein.jpg

Arnold Einstein? Is he Albert Einstein's lesser-known cousin?

I am glad someone was paying attention. I typed that in on purpose. I was going to make it William Einstein, but that would have been too obvious.

Doug

Comedian Albert Brooks is really Albert Einstein, and his brother, Super Dave Osborne, is Bob Einstein. I don't know if they have a brother named William.

I had mistaken it for a pun on Arnold Swarzeneggar. Like Einstein, he is from Austria/Germany. He is also governor of California. California was the vanguard of American highway sprawl.

The Detroit/Bob Hope Bridge is nearly always nearly empty when I go over it. So is the Lorain Avenue Bridge. Taking Scranton or Columbus to the Flats to Downtown is also nearly completely devoid of traffic, almost like in a Zombie movie.

I am so happy they are keeping it! It is such a short trip into work that way!

ryan costa wrote:The Detroit/Bob Hope Bridge is nearly always nearly empty when I go over it. So is the Lorain Avenue Bridge. Taking Scranton or Columbus to the Flats to Downtown is also nearly completely devoid of traffic, almost like in a Zombie movie.

FYI... I was used to the old designations of the Detroit-Superior Bridge and Lorain-Carnegie Bridge...but it's the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge that is now the Hope Memorial Bridge... Detroit -Superior is now Veterans Memorial.

I no longer work downtown. Is it turning into more of a ghost town?

I hate to see my city die any more.

That's why it's the "Hope Memorial" - any hope died long ago.

Try the veal, folks! I'll be here all week!

On one side of the mouth of the movers and shakers, they say they want to do anything to revitalize downtown Cleveland at pretty much any price. However, some people question the way in which the construction has been carried out and wonder if the true intent of some of the movers and shakers is the death of downtown Cleveland, albeit doing it while spending lots of money. For those who don't work downtown or who don't go down there often, you may not have much idea of what is going on.

Doug

The Colonial Arcade is the work of massive investment. When I'm there it is nearly always nearly empty. On the other hand, it doesn't have all the goons and idiots milling about like Tower City and public square. The Cold weather seems to drive many of them from downtown for a while, but they're back as soon as it warms up.

The Warehouse district has a lot of new stuff. They even have a grocery store. Parking lots west of West 6th are much cheaper and much more available, and a ten minute walk to nearly everything else downtown.

I've been reading a book called "Oil on the Brain". The highlight so far is of America's own oil rich past. It became so cool to drill for oil in a giant East Texas field oil was selling for a few cents on the market, while taking 80 cents to pump out of the ground. This was America's Grand Coke-head phase: selling something for much less than it cost. The cokehead phase has continued through a mosaic of expanding rotting urban cores. While millions of Americans are goaded into investing in sprawl that will basically be physically impossible to maintain and function in without massive subsidies and expeditionary wars.

Are you referring to the Euclid Corridor project?

I was referring to Doug's comment about the expense of 'revitalization' and how I haven't observed many people in revitalized areas most of the time.

Then I segwayed into something about oil and likening the U.S. to the cokeheads of the world. I suppose this makes OPEC our best friends. Without OPEC we'd have blown through the global oil supply as quickly as we did our own immense domestic oil supply. The increased scarcity would mean oil would now be prob'ly at least 150 dollars a barrel. OPEC is our friend....