Cleveland has a $3.5M plan for replacing Public Square’s ugly jersey barriers, but some question need and cost

After years of planning and debate, Cleveland has come up with a $3.5 million plan to replace jersey barriers in Public Square with more than 60 new bollards that aim to make the square safer, more beautiful, and easier to navigate for pedestrians. The plan would also add curb extensions and a raised crosswalk on Superior Ave. It received conceptual approval at the Jan. 6 meeting of the Cleveland Planning Commission, which also asked the presenters to study the addition of bike lanes and the removal of some of the bollards at the square’s perimeter. 

Nora Romanoff, associate director of LAND Studio, told the commission that the goals of the project are to address the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s concerns about cars driving onto the square and hurting or killing people, provide easy closure of Superior for special events, repair damage to the road caused by buses, restore bike access, and maintain RTA routes. 

“Public Square is a beautiful park built on top of some of the most complicated infrastructure in the city,” Romanoff told the commission, citing the more than 20 utilities running underneath the square. The project to remove the jersey barriers and replace them with bollards had stalled out under former Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration, but was revived by Mayor Justin Bibb. “The catalyst was really the Bibb administration and its commitment of $1.5 million.” 

Public Square originally reopened after a $50 million redo in 2016. In the original designs for that rebuild, the project architect, James Corner Field Operations, wanted to close Superior to cars and buses, but the city agreed to keep buses running through Public Square at the request of RTA. However, when the square opened in 2016, the Superior closure was maintained by former Mayor Frank Jackson. The street was reopened in 2017 when RTA complained, activists protested, and the federal government threatened to retract funding tied to bus lanes on Superior Ave. The jersey barriers were added as “temporary measures” to prevent vehicles from driving onto the square.

Today, Superior Ave. at Public Square is a far cry from what was promised when the square was overhauled six years ago. The brick crosswalk that was intended for pedestrians is walled off by concrete jersey barriers while people cross at a painted crosswalk using yellow ramps that were intended for temporary use but which have become semi-permanent fixtures on the square. 

Bus and bike traffic on the square

Despite the planning commission’s general thumbs-up to the bollards, Chris Martin, an Ohio City resident, public transit rider, and chair of Clevelanders for Public Transit, questioned the plan (CPT has not taken an official stance on the plan). He said it would reduce the number of bus lanes while failing to prevent cars from parking on the square. He also said the frequent closure of Superior for special events causes problems for people who rely on transit. 

“Public Square is the hub of the bus system,” said Martin. “RTA uses a hub and spoke system, and Public Square is the hub. Whenever a bus is delayed, it’s harder to make any of the other connections in the system. It slows down every trip.”

Martin also questioned the project’s expense. “I don’t understand why we need to spend money consolidating bus lanes from four to two,” he said. 

Jacob Vansickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland, said the city also needs to be thinking about allowing bikes through the square and connecting it to the Lorain-Superior Midway. Calley Mersmann, the city’s senior strategist for transit and mobility, confirmed that the new plan will create sharrows, or markings indicating that bikes can share the lane, along Superior Ave. through the square. (Cars will still not be allowed on Superior Ave. through the square – only buses and bikes.) 

“The city is also working with partners on concepts for a protected bikeway connection around Public Square, but that will be designed and constructed as a separate project,” Mersmann told The Land in an email. “It is in the planning stage at this point.”

The curb extension and raised crosswalk on Superior Ave. where it crosses through the square are newer ideas that fit in with the Bibb administration’s focus on increasing pedestrian safety. The city debuted a speed table pilot project last year. It is still in the testing phase, according to Mersmann, but the aim is to expand it citywide. 

Sharing the square: “Not perfect by any means”

Cleveland Planning Commission member and Ward 17 council member Charles Slife also questioned the project’s expense and why so many bollards were necessary. Sanaa Julien, director of the Group Plan Commission, which helps to maintain and program the square, cited 3-4 cases of cars driving onto the square in the past six years and causing property damage. 

When Slife asked why a dedicated bike lane couldn’t be added on Superior Ave (instead of a sharrow), Mersmann responded that there isn’t enough room. “We’re committed to a separated bike connection from the Midway to Public Square,” Mersmann stated, adding that it would likely be adjacent to the square, but the city is still studying options. 

CPC chair Lillian Kuri said the design was “not perfect by any means” but she liked “the simple, functional solution of narrowing the crossing and raising it up.” Commission member Marika Shioiri-Clark questioned whether the additional bollards around the square would be effective at deterring cars. Romanoff responded by saying other deterrents, such as light poles, also prevent cars from coming on the square. 

None of the presenters addressed the issue of cars parking on the square. On any given day, Martin said, two parking spaces behind Rebol cafe at Public Square that are intended for short-term drop-off parking, are instead used by Rebol employees, who park their cars there all day long. The Land was unable to independently confirm this. (Rebol Cafe was started by restaurateur Bobby George, son of businessman and restaurateur Tony George.) 

Julien clarified that temporary parking is allowed behind Rebol Cafe for cafe operations, including product deliveries and food delivery services, as well as for vendors who service the square, such as landscapers. “However, at no point has this area been considered approved for long-term parking,” she said, adding that Cleveland police can ticket or tow cars parked illegally. “Our plan includes a solution for protecting the needs of operations for both Rebol café and Public Square operations while discouraging all parking for reasons other than the stated capacity. We continue to work with our partners at Rebol and our vendors to ensure that their employees understand the permitted parking protocol, and future modifications and reinforcements will be noticeable and impactful.”

Martin also complained about the frequent closure of Superior Ave. for special events, including the holiday tree lighting, City Club talks, and others, which he said can cause inconvenient delays for bus riders. 

Although Slife and others have questioned the need to keep Superior open for buses at all, Planning Commission director Joyce Huang closed the meeting by arguing for bus traffic on Superior, saying that transit riders have a place in the square, as well. “Someone said in a meeting quite eloquently, RTA and the public transit system were actually some of the first tenants of Public Square, and we ought to respect that,” she said. “We do really want to honor that and say the city is a partner that RTA can trust. The original design did include buses.”

The groups involved in the Superior Ave. re-do are now charged with coming back to the planning commission for schematic and final approval before they can move ahead. 

Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly stated that Clevelanders for Public Transit (CPT) is opposed to the new bollards plan. Additionally, it incorrectly stated that the jersey barriers were required by the US Department of Homeland Security.