On Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Fifth Street Arcades, The Bridge Project and the Cleveland Design Competition co-hosted an event that discussed work being done to revamp the Detroit-Superior Bridge.
The reception focused on a study that was done through a $75,000 grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency’s Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative, and a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The TLCI planning study focused on the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge and its potential to provide a sheltered connection for pedestrians and bicyclists between Public Square, the Flats and the city’s West side neighborhoods.
The study, which lasted nearly a year and will soon release a document of final recommendations, required substantial community input. Terry Schwarz, director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC), stated, “We tried to make the process as inclusive as possible because public support will be needed to ensure that the project realizes all of its potential.”
The Cleveland Design Competition is an annual contest in urban design and planning that brings participants to transform urban sites and public spaces in Cleveland. Projects are supposed to become an asset to the community and others interested in doing more. Founded in 2007, it is funded by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP) and the CUDC.
This year, entries to the competition came from 24 countries and 36 states, including Cleveland State University students, 30 students from Iowa State University and five students from Miami University. Winners will receive $8,000 and will be announced at a public exhibition of the entries by representatives of the LILP. The entries are then exhibited throughout Cleveland and shown at smaller receptions and public meetings.
The area beneath the Detroit-Superior Bridge has been vacant since the end of the streetcar era in the 1950s. It has been used recently by Cleveland’s annual Ingenuity Festival, which convinced some that the space could be redeveloped.
The Bridge Project partnered with the Cleveland Design Competition to help generate ideas for use of the bridge. A gallery of the submissions was on display at the event and can be viewed at www.clevelandcompetition.com.
Recommendations from the Bridge Project can be found at www.bridgeprojectcleveland.com
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