News & Updates: Newsroom

RTA News

 

Sept. 20, 2006

 

Two RTA projects to increase quality of life on historic Shaker Square

 

CLEVELAND – Today, officials of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) unveiled the completion of two transit-related projects on the historic Shaker Square – one of the first and finest examples of transit-oriented development in the nation.

 

It has and continues to play a vital role in the development of the rapid transit system, and remains a key part of the fabric of RTA’s transportation network, officials say.

 

Cleveland Ward 4 Councilman Kenneth L. Johnson and Shaker Heights Mayor Judy Rawson joined RTA Board members Jane Campbell and George F. Dixon III and CEO Joe Calabrese at the event. Marisol Simon, the Region 5 Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration, also spoke.

 

“Shaker Square has always been a special place in Cleveland,” Calabrese says. “The unique mix of various retail opportunities blend with effective multi-modal transit to enhance the quality of life for Clevelanders. The projects we show today will help keep this area unique.”

 

Calabrese notes that each day, more than 5,000 persons use the Shaker Square Station. The Square is also served by routes #48/#48A, #25B/W and the #821 Community Circulator. These routes riders to Little Italy, the University Circle Red Line station, Case Western Reserve University and the Coventry neighborhood.

 

The projects include:

• An ADA upgrade of the Shaker Square Station, which serves both the Blue and Green lines.
• A beautification project for the rail median strip.

 

Rail station upgrade

 

RTA spent $750,000 to make the light-rail station ADA accessible. Federal funds paid for 80 percent of the work, which includes the installation of a powered wheelchair lift, wide wheelchair ramp, sidewalk ramps, signage and tactile tiles.

 

The work was shared by several firms.

• Cold Harbor Building Co. of Chardon.
• Commercial Tile & Stone of Parma, a female-owned DBE firm.
• DDC+ Inc. of Oakwood Village, a DBE firm owned by Asian-Indian.
• Schirmer Construction of North Olmsted.
• Liberty Enterprises of North Royalton, a female-owned DBE.

 

The work is part of an ongoing effort by RTA to make more of its key passenger facilities ADA accessible. All RTA vehicles are ADA-compliant.

 

Median landscaping

 

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) provided RTA with a $360,000 grant from transit enhancement funds to upgrade and enhance landscaping on the light-rail median strip between the Shaker Square station and the Coventry station. Although Shaker Square is in the City of Cleveland, part of the median work extends into Shaker Heights.

 

“This work complements the adjacent commercial area and provides a more beautiful, pleasant environment for pedestrians and transit patrons,” says Calabrese. “The median is often at the heart of major events here, and we want it to be a shining gem in the architectural treasure chest of this area.”

 

The work by F. Buddy Contracting includes new:

• Curbing along the median strip
• Grass and landscaping
• Two wrought-iron fences
• Crossing at the nearby Coventry Station
• Pedestrian benches

 

History

 

• An early suburban shopping center in Cleveland built in 1929 in conjunction with the development of Shaker Heights.
• Originally laid out as a traffic circle, changed to an octagon in order to accommodate automobile parking.
• Collection of Georgian-style buildings and its unique park-like setting creates a pleasant and enduring transit-oriented commercial center.
• Bisected by the light-rail system and ringed with high-density housing, it is one of the first and finest examples of new urbanism or transit-oriented development in the nation.
• RTA officials believe these recent improvements help breathe new life and vibrancy into the Square and demonstrate RTA’s commitment to its success.
• Oldest shopping district in Ohio
• Second oldest in the nation.
• 1976, added to National Register of Historic Places.

 

For more information:

• www.shakersquare.net/
• www.shakersquare.net/map-directions.htm
• www.shakersquareareadevelopment.org/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaker_Square

 

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY:

Jerry Masek, 216-566-5211