Public Meeting: Franklin Boulevard

The City of Cleveland is presenting an in-person opportunity for stakeholders and residents to learn more and provide feedback on the most recent proposals to the Franklin Boulevard Rehabilitation project. The complete website, including the recent updates to the plan, can be found at https://westfranklincle.com/contact/.

Thursday, July 29; 6:30pm | Waverly School (1805 W. 57th Street, Cleveland OH 44102) MAP

 

In our original Action Alert about Franklin Boulevard back in late April, we noted the following based on the small amount of detail provided by the city concerning the physical design elements of the intersections:

“Our concern lies with the mini roundabouts as the primary source of traffic calming. If they are only paint and a low-profile concrete island, will they keep the speed of drivers of large trucks and SUVs at or below the speed limit? Or will they be able to easily “traverse” or otherwise defeat them? Without any vertical elements (such as signage, planters, delineator posts, etc. as noted in the original Franklin TLCI plan) will these mini roundabouts be effective at slowing down traffic?”

The updates posted this week show the following improvements and changes to the intersections:

  • The curb height of the mini-roundabout has been increased to 4″ (from 2-3″)
  • 4″ raised concrete splitter islands on Franklin will replace painted ones
  • Reflectors will be used on both for visibility
  • Concrete curb extensions will be used at W57th, W44th, and W29th
  • Remaining painted curb extensions will use vertical delineator posts to prevent unwanted vehicle movements

In addition, 20MPH School Zones (with flashing beacons) will be added to Franklin and w38th.

Still missing from the plan are raised crosswalks/speed tables. The community and stakeholders have supported these during the project feedback period, but the City still does not have a policy in place to utilize them in Cleveland. Once this policy is established, they could and should be included along the corridor at points identified by residents and stakeholders as needed to provide additional traffic calming.

 

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