The much-maligned traffic circle at East 105th and MLK Jr. Drive has been completely redeveloped and is now open to vehicle traffic. Fresh Water first reported on these planned improvements two and a half years ago.
"This traffic circle has one of the highest rates of vehicular accidents in the region -- they're mostly fender benders, because people are just confused by it," Chris Bongorno, Director of Planning with University Circle Incorporated (UCI), told us at the time. "The new configuration will definitely be more pedestrian and bike friendly, and will also help to connect people to Rockefeller Park and University Circle."
According to a press release from Cuyahoga County, which invested in the project along with the City of Cleveland, the $7.2 million infrastructure project "modified an existing roadway network at East 105th Street, MLK Boulevard, Mt. Sinai Drive, East Boulevard, and Jeptha Drive. An existing roundabout was eliminated and the remaining roadways geometrically realigned."
Mt. Sinai was moved south of its previous location, while Jeptha Drive was moved north. Meanwhile, East 105th Street was widened and now includes turning lanes. Finally, MLK Jr. Boulevard has been widened and realigned, and East Boulevard has been extended.
Additional improvements include new sidewalks, paths and the reconstruction of the Cancer Survivor Plaza. A new bio swale will have over 4,000 shrubs and perennials, apparently.
The project is pedestrian- and bike-friendly. A pedestrian boardwalk will serve to connect East 105th Street to MLK Jr. Blvd.
There are still a few items to be ticked off the completion list, including installation of the shrubs and perennials, permanent pavement markings and permanent traffic signals.
"This traffic circle has one of the highest rates of vehicular accidents in the region -- they're mostly fender benders, because people are just confused by it," Chris Bongorno, Director of Planning with University Circle Incorporated (UCI), told us at the time. "The new configuration will definitely be more pedestrian and bike friendly, and will also help to connect people to Rockefeller Park and University Circle."
According to a press release from Cuyahoga County, which invested in the project along with the City of Cleveland, the $7.2 million infrastructure project "modified an existing roadway network at East 105th Street, MLK Boulevard, Mt. Sinai Drive, East Boulevard, and Jeptha Drive. An existing roundabout was eliminated and the remaining roadways geometrically realigned."
Mt. Sinai was moved south of its previous location, while Jeptha Drive was moved north. Meanwhile, East 105th Street was widened and now includes turning lanes. Finally, MLK Jr. Boulevard has been widened and realigned, and East Boulevard has been extended.
Additional improvements include new sidewalks, paths and the reconstruction of the Cancer Survivor Plaza. A new bio swale will have over 4,000 shrubs and perennials, apparently.
The project is pedestrian- and bike-friendly. A pedestrian boardwalk will serve to connect East 105th Street to MLK Jr. Blvd.
There are still a few items to be ticked off the completion list, including installation of the shrubs and perennials, permanent pavement markings and permanent traffic signals.
With the addition of nearly 1.25 miles of trail, area walkers, bikers and runners will have access to Mill Creek, a lesser-known scenic urban waterway, by spring of next year.
The Mill Creek Connector Trail will extend north from Bacci Park, East 71st Street and Warner Road, to the intersection of Garfield Boulevard and Warner Road. The addition will connect to the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation by way of a curving wooded path in Bacci Park, completed in 2007 as phase one of the project.
Features for the new path will include a 150-foot bridge traversing Mill Creek, light industrial scapes, an overlook providing eagle-eye views of Mill Creek and the Cuyahoga River Valley, soil retaining walls that will present as "vertical gardens," and a 130-foot change of elevation, which will be offset by a 1,100-foot switchback to facilitate grades not in excess of the five percent accessibility standard.
"The entire trail is ADA accessible," says Sean McDermott, the Metroparks' chief planning and design officer, adding that construction is well underway. "We are actually getting ready to set the bridge over Mill Creek. We will be doing that in November. That will be a major milestone of the project. After that we'll be continuing earthwork up Warner hill." The project is scheduled for completion by June 2015.
The unusual mixture of nature and industry that characterizes much of the adjacent Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation will also be inherent on the forthcoming trail.
"When you get to the overlook, which is at the top of switchback," he says, "you'll have a view of Mill Creek Valley. You'll also be next to industry, which is an interesting dichotomy."
Ground broke on the trail in August. Independence Excavating is proceeding with the $3.293 million project, $1.9 million of which comes from federal funding that is administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The balance is funded by the Metroparks.
McDermott notes that the Mill Creek Connector meets several criteria in the organization's strategic plan, such as connecting Cleveland to the inner ring suburbs and furthering the development of the regional greenway system.
"When we can get that accomplished, it really is something to celebrate," he says.
The Mill Creek Connector Trail will extend north from Bacci Park, East 71st Street and Warner Road, to the intersection of Garfield Boulevard and Warner Road. The addition will connect to the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation by way of a curving wooded path in Bacci Park, completed in 2007 as phase one of the project.
Features for the new path will include a 150-foot bridge traversing Mill Creek, light industrial scapes, an overlook providing eagle-eye views of Mill Creek and the Cuyahoga River Valley, soil retaining walls that will present as "vertical gardens," and a 130-foot change of elevation, which will be offset by a 1,100-foot switchback to facilitate grades not in excess of the five percent accessibility standard.
"The entire trail is ADA accessible," says Sean McDermott, the Metroparks' chief planning and design officer, adding that construction is well underway. "We are actually getting ready to set the bridge over Mill Creek. We will be doing that in November. That will be a major milestone of the project. After that we'll be continuing earthwork up Warner hill." The project is scheduled for completion by June 2015.
The unusual mixture of nature and industry that characterizes much of the adjacent Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation will also be inherent on the forthcoming trail.
"When you get to the overlook, which is at the top of switchback," he says, "you'll have a view of Mill Creek Valley. You'll also be next to industry, which is an interesting dichotomy."
Ground broke on the trail in August. Independence Excavating is proceeding with the $3.293 million project, $1.9 million of which comes from federal funding that is administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation. The balance is funded by the Metroparks.
McDermott notes that the Mill Creek Connector meets several criteria in the organization's strategic plan, such as connecting Cleveland to the inner ring suburbs and furthering the development of the regional greenway system.
"When we can get that accomplished, it really is something to celebrate," he says.
