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News & Updates: Newsroom
RTA News
May 14, 2009
RTA hosts June 9 meeting to
discuss
design of new University Circle
Station
CLEVELAND – The design of a new Red Line rail station
at University Circle will be the topic of a community meeting at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 9.
a rendering of the proposed platform and headhouse for the new University-Cedar Rapid Station
(click for larger image)
The rail station, operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority
(RTA), is at 11150
Cedar Ave., near the border of Cleveland and Cleveland Heights.
The meeting is at the Cleveland Heights
Community Center, One
Monticello Blvd. at Mayfield Road.
Design architect Mehrdad Yazdani will present his
design concept. Residents who cannot attend the meeting can view the project summary.
They can e-mail comments to RTA’s Maribeth
Feke, or write to her at RTA, 1240 W. Sixth St., Cleveland, OH 44113.
Cleveland Heights Mayor Edward J.
Kelley, who is also Vice President of the RTA Board of Trustees, urges
residents to attend.
“The University Circle Station is part of the
gateway to Cleveland
Heights,” he says. “The project is vital to our City. It’s appropriate for
residents to view the proposed design and offer feedback. We all have the same
goals. We want this to be a world-class transit facility that is user-friendly
to many residents of our city, as well as people from around the world who
visit University Circle.”
The design process
In October 2007, the RTA Board of Trustees
awarded a contract to URS Corporation to
design a new rapid transit station. The project design included:
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| the site location plan of the proposed new University-Cedar Rapid Station (click for larger image) |
The $1.25 million design process will end in
spring 2010. Depending on funding, contracts will be awarded in fall 2010. The
construction cost of the station is budgeted at $10 million. It will take some 24
months to complete.
Existing station conditions
The University Circle Station – also called the
University-Cedar Station – is an important transit hub in RTA’s transportation
network. Built in 1953, it is a primary bus transfer point on the East Side,
with 7 RTA bus lines serving the station -- #7, #8, #9, #32, #48/48A, #50, #821 and the free Circle Link service, operated
by University Circle Inc.
The station’s proximity to Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, Cleveland Heights and
the University Circle institutions
provide a constant stream of traffic, among the highest in RTA’s system.
The station, located on the Rockefeller and
Ambler Park Trust Greenways, now consists of several loops, lots of concrete, a
tunnel, platform, and bus entrances on either side of Martin Luther King Blvd. The
presentation will illustrate the dramatic difference the proposed station
elements will contribute to the existing environment.
Proposed station design
The new station may incorporate the following:
- Consolidation
of bus loop and passenger areas to the north side of Cedar Hill/MLK
- Removal
of the southern entrance and bus slip ramp
- Expansion
of the pedestrian walkway from the rapid station to the bus station
- Signature
architecture symbolizing the regional gateway of the station
- Station
headhouse constructed to maximize glass and visibility of passengers
- Park-like
plaza entrance and park-like area, maximizing green space setting
- Public
art
- Certification
by the U.S. Green Building Council’s
Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) program.
- Treatment
of railroad underpasses
RTA staff and the architectural design team are working
through the complicated tasks involved in building a rail station in a confined
space along a busy city street adjacent active rail tracks under traffic.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES ONLY:
- Jerry Masek, 216-566-5211
