Cedar Lee streetscape improvements are underway

This map shows the location of parking areas in the Cedar Lee Business District south of Cedar Road. Courtesy Cedar Lee SID.

Merchants, stakeholders and city officials gathered on April 28 to learn about the highly anticipated Lee Road streetscape improvements. Alex Mannarino, director of public works for the City of Cleveland Heights, and representatives of S.E.T. Inc. led the meeting and answered questions.

The 1.2-mile project, spanning Lee Road between Superior and Corydon roads in the Cedar Lee Business District, will be split into two phases. Construction for the first phase, the west side of Lee Road, began May 9 and is scheduled to last three months. Construction will then shift to the east side of the street.

The project will focus on paving roads, lighting (79 light poles), brick pavers, new sidewalks in certain areas, ADA-compliance construction, trees and traffic signals.

City-owned lots #5, #16 and #17 are tentatively scheduled to be repaved the first week of June.  That will take about three or four days, and the Meadowbrook-Silsby lot (#16) will be done in two parts to minimize inconvenience.

S.E.T. construction representatives said that their team will typically work Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Fridays designated as rain days.

Because valet service cannot operate in construction zones, the three Lee Road valet stations have temporarily relocated: to Kensington Road near the Tavern Company, to Lot #16 near The Wine Spot, and to Lot #5 behind the Cedar Lee Theatre.

S.E.T. representatives said that access to businesses and sidewalks will be maintained, as will access to side streets; however, there may be temporary closures.

Investigator Quintero Mack, business liaison for the Cleveland Heights Police Department, said the department will relax parking regulations on side streets and in the parking garage, and would do its best to be flexible regarding parking issues.

Vice City Manager Susanna Niermann O’Neil said that the city will test a mobile payment smart phone app for its parking meters beginning in July. The app will enable visitors to pay for and manage parking using their smart phones. Vistors will still be able to pay with quarters, if they choose. The city plans to test the app for six months in its three city-owned garages, including the one in Cedar Lee. If the pilot is successful, the city will launch phases 2 and 3, in city-owned lots and at on-street meters.

O’Neil said that the city will conduct an information campaign to update the community on the project. She also stated that the city would like to post signs with parking instructions, and planned to print maps and renderings for merchants to display.  

The repaving portion of the project has a completion date of Oct. 31 and the electrical components, which include street lighting and traffic signals, should be completed by Dec. 20. S.E.T. representatives said that unknown obstacles and weather-related delays could negatively affect the timeline.

More information can be found on a “current projects” page of the city’s website, www.clevelandheights.com/index.aspx?page=1692, and on the city’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/clevelandheightsoh. A Cedar Lee Streetscape button on the city website’s homepage links directly to the project page. Residents can e-mail questions about the project to pwd@clvhts.com.

Sruti Basu

Sruti Basu is the director of community-building programs for FutureHeights.

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Volume 9, Issue 6, Posted 11:48 AM, 05.17.2016