CLEVELAND — West 29th Street in Cleveland’s Ohio City could become more pedestrian-friendly through an open street concept.
While some local businesses and residents said they welcome the idea, others are a bit hesitant.
“My perspective on this is one of openness but with skepticism,” said one local business owner.
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During Franklin Clinton Block Club’s monthly meeting on Thursday, dozens of residents shared their thoughts with city leaders on the changes that could come to their neighborhood.
“Who decided this without coming to the neighbors? I live around the corner, and nobody knocked on my door and said, ‘Do you think it will be a good idea if we closed down the street?’" asked one local resident.
Some tense exchanges did take place between residents as other neighbors said the open street is needed to keep families safe.
But overall, everyone remained respectful of each other’s differences as the city heard feedback from both sides concerned with safety, reduced parking and emergency vehicle access.
“Safety, car traffic is a major concern. This is something that I hope the community will be open to as we do not have any defined guidelines,” said one local resident.
When News 5 first brought you this just days ago, City Planning Commission Director Joyce Huang told us nothing was set in stone yet besides receiving a grant of $100,000 from the Project for Public Spaces.
Huang said it will use this money in order to conduct studies and receive feedback to determine what this plaza would look like as an open street.
“Open Street is the program that where you take an existing street that is typically utilized for cars and travel and turning it into much more of a pedestrian space,” Huang said on Feb. 17, 2024.
Following Thursday’s block club meeting, the city said it will begin engaging with local businesses and residents in the next couple of weeks until May.
Afterward, it will move into program and concept development from May until July, with plans to begin implementation in the late summer.
“This is significant amount of money that we’ve been awarded to explore this together,” said one local resident.
Huang welcomed local businesses and residents to sit down with her for a one-on-one conversation in the next several weeks.
