Buses won't return to Public Square SQUARE RTA on board with move, planning ways to lessen impact on riders from A1

Road closure sign on Superior Avenue through Public Square in Cleveland, OH, Monday, August 1, 2016. (Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Two weeks ago, Mayor Frank Jackson decreed that Public Square permanently would remain closed to buses.

The announcement came after months of uncertainty surrounding the future of transit in the square, which originally was designed to allow bus-only traffic on the stretch of Superior Avenue that runs through it.

The city instead left Public Square, which was slated to open to buses Aug. 1, closed while the Jackson administration determined how to proceed.

However, the data-gathering process conducted by the city was completed behind closed doors, with little information available to the public.

Because of the lack of public input on the decision to close the square, city council members have opted to hold a public hearing 9 a.m. Wednesday during council's transportation committee meeting at City Hall. A local transit riders' group also is holding a rally Saturday to discuss the decision, and a downtown residents' association is conducting a survey to gather feedback.

"The main reason we need to have a hearing is we elected a mayor, not a dictator. On this issue, the mayor is acting like a dictator," said Councilman Zack Reed, who has been vocal about his disappointment in how the city handled the Public Square situation.

"There has been no real public conversation about how the closing of Superior would affect the individuals who have to use the bus every day. In no way should a decision that affects so many individuals should be done without some public conversation."

Too many people's lives are being affected by a decision of this magnitude, for @CleCityCouncil not to discuss it in a public forum. pic.twitter.com/w4qzBdIvdO — Zack Reed (@zachreed12) November 21, 2016

Reed rides the No. 3 - a bus rerouted around Public Square - and said he sees the hardship closing Superior to buses has on riders. On the No. 3 route, for example, the last stop on Superior before West Sixth Street is at East Second Street.

"It's just unfair to them," Reed said.

Reed hopes the hearing tomorrow will foster communication between city council, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and members of the city administration who will be in attendance. And if not, he's willing to take legislative action on the issue.

"If we go down this pathway we're going down right now, I'm not going to be opposed to passing some legislation that would move those buses down Superior," Reed said. "If we can't have a public conversation about how this is going to come about, then we may have to have a legislative conversation about how this is going to come about."

While Reed isn't opposed to closing Public Square for certain events like Winterfest, he doesn't think buses should be kept off that stretch of Superior all year long.

Likewise, Councilman Brian Cummins expressed disappointment about the decision made by the Mayor's Office to prevent buses from crossing Public Square.

In an email sent to city council members, Cummins writes, "It is concerning that the city and our partners have spent $50 million on this project, addressed the issue of transit only operating through the Square in the 2012 Nelson Nygaard study...and there has been no council hearing on the subject. Since August I've received multiple communications from concerned transit riders and no communications from constituents that supported the elimination of buses from the square."

When the mayor announced the city's decision about Public Square, he said there had not been any formal polling to gather public input on whether Superior Avenue should be closed to buses, but that his office had received a lot of calls from people in favor of a closed Public Square.

But many local advocates of public transit, including the riders' organization, Clevelanders for Public Transit, have rallied publicly against blocking buses on Superior.

The group will be holding a rally 3 p.m. Saturday on Public Square to ask the mayor to reopen Public Square and to share stories of affected riders.

After hearing the mayor's decision, CPT called on riders to time how long the delay around Public Square takes so that the organization can forward that information to the Federal Transit Administration.

The federal agency - which gave money to RTA to create a "downtown transit zone" that ended in Public Square as part of the HealthLine's development - put RTA "on notice" in August over claims that RTA is not upholding its end of the deal by not using Public Square as a hub.

During the Nov. 15 press conference announcing the Public Square decision, the mayor and RTA CEO Joe Calabrese said they would be submitting a new plan to the FTA that details how the closure would not impede bus traffic through the Downtown Transit Zone, which stretches from West Third Street to East 18th Street on Superior Avenue, and West Third Street to East 12th Street on St. Clair Avenue.

"With this closed, is there an impact, No. 1? I think there is. If there is an impact, what else can be done to mitigate that impact?" Calabrese said during a later interview.

RTA spokeswoman Linda Krecic today said nothing has been submitted to the FTA yet.

Daniel Ball, assistant director of media relations for the city, did note that "the city and RTA have been in touch with the FTA throughout this entire process."

The Downtown Cleveland Residents Association, which has not yet taken a stance on the Public Square issue, also is conducting a survey requesting residents' opinions on the closing of Superior.

In a note to members, DCRA writes, "As a voice for downtown, we have been asked for input, and we would like to officially ask you, downtown residents and stakeholders, your opinions to present before City Council this Wednesday."

The survey asks residents information about how often they use RTA, how often they participate in Public Square activities and about alternative solutions for Public Square.