Gloria Ferris

What follows is a thread of emails, cut and pasted, from this morning onward to this evening, concerning the Ohio Department of Transportation’s attempt to subvert the public dialogue and in the process spend 5 times more than is necessary, and to achieve a less satisfactory result. Here goes, in a roughly chronological order. I tried doing this in CoverItLive but found it unwieldy and myself out of practice.

***Ken Wohlgemuth:

Hi Frank regarding conversation yesterday sound barrier wall Brooklyn Centre, here is the link to the living walls site.  I have not done any cost comparisons, but I would prefer this type of concept compared to the concentration camp type walls they are considering building.  –Ken Wohlgemuth  

—– Forwarded Message —-
From: Ken Wohlgemuth <kpwogie@sbcglobal.net>
To: brian cummins <bcummins@clevelandcitycouncil.org>; Johanna V. Hamm <johannavhamm@earthlink.net>
Sent: Fri, July 24, 2009 11:48:49 PM
Subject: Living walls-odot

http://www.thelivingwall.net/  Have you seen this.  Ken

 

***Tim Ferris:

Thanks, Ken .

This morning, the first task at hand—

Who will make the calls this morning to ODOT and to the City to find out what is happening and when on I-71, with trees now marked in orange and in red on both sides of the highway between Fulton and Pearl?

We never finished our discussion of how to implement sound barriers, and the living wall needs yet to be vetted.

It feels as though ODOT is shortcutting the process they promised us—survey, study, cost comparisons, natural alternatives, and so forth.

 

***Gloria Ferris:

We were supposed to discuss such solutions with ODOT for our park neighborhood here in Brooklyn Centre. ODOT seems to be avoiding the issue so they can just do what they always do, and avoid saving public money and saving the environment. This link was provided by our neighbor Ken Wohlgemuth.

The Living Wall is a sound attenuation/privacy screening solution that incorporates ecological principals with engineering practices.

The vegetation used in The Living Wall , willow shrubs native to Canada and the US, has the ability to grow rapidly and thus provides an almost instant landscape.

The construction is carefully planned to ensure the controlled growth of roots and shoots. As the vegetation spreads over its biodegradable wooden framework, it matures into an integrated unit that is able to withstand harsh winters and hot summers; maintaining its aesthetic appeal in all seasons.

The Living Wall naturalizes urban and rural environments while providing superior sound absorption and a substantial privacy structure. It is an organic manufacture that has enormous environmental benefits including: photosynthesis, pollution filtration, and soil stabilization.

The Living Wall is 100% recyclable! It is appropriate for large and small-scale usages such as commercial, parkland, and highway installations, as well as individual residential lots.

The Living Wall Is available in two applications privacy screen fence and sound barrier with soil.

–
Posted By Gloria Ferris to Save Our Land at 6/14/2010 09:44:00 AM

***Joe Cimperman:

Director Brown
please advise.
Joe Cimperman

***Tim Ferris

Nothing yet from ODOT—at the link is a blog post regarding the living walls.

***Joe Cimperman:

Ms Hill
Ms Teeuwen
Please help clarify this. As you can see residents are rightfully concerned.
Joe

***Robyn Sandys:

Thanks for keeping me in the loop!

Robyn Sandys

Executive Director

Old Brooklyn CDC

***Ken Wohlgemuth:

Tim, I took the liberty to contact, Living Walls Co.  I wanted to make sure they are a viable company not just a web page, they will forward information regarding a project in Vermont and other projects they are  in Canada, my tunnel vision is not alone on this company but through my searches have not seen any other choices.—Ken Wohlgemuth 

***Tim Ferris:

Right—it’s a starting point to restart the discussion.

 

***Frank Mestnik:

Thanks Tim & Ken.

What’s the location of the wall? I recall Riverside Drive from yesterday, but want to confirm before I start making the calls.

Also, do you have a picture of the X’s on the trees by chance?

Frank Mestnik

Editor – Liberty News

216-373-3265

***Tim Ferris:

Frank—

No, I didn’t have a camera this morning, when I noticed the marked trees on the north side of the freeway. The trees either side of the freeway are marked either in red or orange, and at least between Fulton and Pearl. I noticed the south side this past weekend.

We were not done talking about putting in natural barriers at 1/5^th the cost of the concrete-wall installation, and way less ongoing maintenance and replacement cost.

ODOT is premature, and probably dealing in bad faith. They are on site with trucks

***Frank Mestnik:

Good Afternoon,

Per ODOT- They are clear-cutting and installing a concrete sound barrier on I-71 between Fulton Rd. & Pearl. Their interpretation of the public meeting is that residents wanted the sound barrier. A survey was sent out and they are reporting that the results of the survey prompted them to move forward with the project. However, she noted that they did not receive as many survey respondents as they would have liked.

The Living Wall/green barrier idea was rejected because it, “has not been tested or used in Ohio and does not meet ODOT specifications.” This, in my view, does not represent innovative solutions for a green city and a green state.

I have requested a copy of the public meeting minutes and survey results. On my question regarding whether this could be turned into a pilot project, she said it could not, because the plans were already set.

I have a call in to the Living Wall group. I see they have been active in Toronto and other parts of Canada which would certainly be a similar climate. In order for this to turn into an innovative pilot program and stop the clear-cutting, higher level involvement and leadership is required.

Heading out to take photos of what is currently green space and what may be clear-cut in the next day.

Thank you,

Frank Mestnik

Editor – Liberty News

216-373-3265

***Tim Ferris:

We were there; the indigenous population were, for the most part, up in arms and did not want the installation of concrete barriers. The “interpretation” is loose and self-serving, at odds with the spirit of the meeting.

Bear in mind that the community has united twice, in 2005 and again in 2009, to tell ODOT that the community finds it offensive to have these walls foisted off on us, a turn-of-the-prior-century park neighborhood of the city of Cleveland. From the point of view of design, most preferred a natural, green, solution consisting of trees, bushes, and berms. From the point of view of cost, most were outraged at the waste involved in the concrete walls, estimated at being 5 times the cost of more sensitive, more sustainable natural solutions.

Our design contingent of the community thinks the concrete walls are tacky and tasteless.

Our historic preservation crowd thinks they will detract not only from panache but also from property values.

ODOT’s version of the meeting verges on fraudulent.

***Johanna Hamm:

Good afternoon,

We will be meeting with Tom Sorge and Mark Carpenter from ODOT on Thursday of this week. From what we have been told so far, the majority of residents on Riverside and Poe, with the exception of Smith ave., wanted the concrete sound barriers, even after we revised the original survey to include a green option. We have asked multiple times to see the returned surveys to verify this and hope they are provided this Thursday. We also have asked to see the final plan to ensure a minimal amount of trees are impacted and that the walls transition smoothly at their ends.

————————————-

Johanna V. Hamm

Executive Assistant

Ward 14 Councilman Brian J. Cummins

(216) 664-4238

(216) 664-3837 – fax

jhamm@clevelandcitycouncil.org

***Tim Ferris;

Johanna—

Did anybody in any position to do so give any assurance that no cutting will proceed until after the meeting, and until after the results of the survey are verified?

What are the guarantees here?

I also recommending thoroughly auditing any results they have to make sure the questioning wasn’t slanted to give ODOT the answer it wanted to hear. I do know from our experience on this same issue of barrier walls in 2005 and again in 2009 that the neighbors, with very few exceptions, were opposed to the tall concrete walls.

Remember, too, that these walls impact our entire neighborhood on each side of the freeway, not just those few properties that are contiguous to the right-of-way. We should not frame the issue too narrowly. The crumbling walls by the airport, for instance, are an embarrassment to the region, not merely to the property owners whose land is next to them.

When we mentioned this marking of trees to our councilman over the weekend, he did not mention a meeting with anybody from ODOT? Is this a recent arrangement? Who is attending? Again, we don’t want to limit access.

***Joe Cimperman:

Ms Hamm
Thanks for your diligence. When and where is the meeting?
Joe Cimperman
216 215 6765

***Brian Cummins:

We’re in the process of finalizing meeting details between our office and ODOT – it will likely be on-site by the I-71 access ramps.  Note that our office has received the plans and completed resident surveys pertaining to the noise wall issues for the area of I-71 between Fulton and Pearl in Ward 14.  We’ll be reviewing that information with ODOT as well as doing some field work with them to review the plans.

We’ll follow-up with a public meeting to share this information as soon as we complete our review.

If anyone has questions please contact me.

Regards,

Brian.

216-333-5453 cell

***Joe Cimperman:

So the time of this meeting is?

***Tim Ferris:

I’m not comfortable with scant representation; we have two or three councilpeople impacted by this proposed work, and they all should be present.

Public meetings recently have been less than satisfactory, with guys from ODOT saying they’re going to do this anyway regardless of what we taxpayers want. There’s some real dysfunctionality in all this that needs to be rooted out.

I’d suggest that at the outset we engage all who are concerned with sustainability issues, with green issues, with initial cost/benefit analysis, and with long-term maintenance costs and how they’ll be covered—we have a lot of government offices we pay to fill this role, as well as nonprofits, and I would like to see them step up and do that for which they are designed—promote the public interest and safeguard the public trust.

***Frank Mestnik:

Good afternoon-

From my viewpoint, this looks like a great opportunity to study and, if viable, cost-comparable or superior and practical, implement an innovative green solution that may very well be superior to the cement barricades. This may turn out to be one of those grass-roots solutions that lead to annual multi-million dollar savings to the taxpayer if this can be implemented and scaled up state wide – or this could be yet another missed opportunity for Ohio and Cleveland to lead the way.

At the very least, it’s worth a feasibility study, possible small scale pilot program and after-action analysis. I would find it highly unlikely residents would prefer a concrete barricade to a tree-wall if the facts revealed the tree-wall was superior or comparable. I have a crew canvassing businesses this week, but can certainly re-direct a few of them to those streets to do an independent door to door survey.

Whichever way this turns out, the residents will have the information and independent analysis published in the paper.

Thank you,

Frank Mestnik

Editor – Liberty News

216-373-3265

***Tim Ferris:

Frank, this is certainly a reasonable proposal. We need to analyze cost, delineate benefits, and look at the impact now and later on people who make government possible and necessary, values of all properties that constitute the built environment, and the natural environment.

The Zoo should weigh in, too. They reminded us years ago that they are the outgrowth of the “park neighborhood” called Brooklyn Centre.

A few people have agreed to suggest  to Strickland and to Fisher that this heavy-handed behavior on the part of ODOT may prove a liability to each of them, as the state and the national level, respectively, in this election year.

***Joe Cimperman:

Councilmen Brancatelli and Kelley,
Fyi.
Joe Cimperman

***Ken Wohlgemuth:

Map of area  in question from July 2009 meeting. [this can be sent to you if you ask for it]

***Brian Cummins:

Councilman Cimperman,

Are you aware that the noise barrier walls being discussed in the thread below pertain to the area solely within Ward 14? – the part of I-71 with the access roads bordering 1)  Riverside Avenue to the south and 2) Poe and Smith Avenues to the north.  There are no other Wards being impacted by this specific project.

If you have an interest in this issue, as it pertains to Ward 14 or otherwise and would like to discuss it, I again ask that you please call me directly on my cell phone and I can fill you in on the work done to-date and being planned.

One of the biggest challenges we face is that there have been requests by residents FOR a noise barrier wall for portions of the access roads (primarily the eastern portions), whereas residents on the western potions, and some vocal residents throughout the area are AGAINST walls.  We’re working with ODOT currently to delineate where walls will be installed and how we can ensure resident interests are well represented.

Please call me to discuss, as from your emails today it appears you are very interested in the issue.  If there are any constituents from Ward 14 or otherwise that have/are contacting you, that would like more information, please direct them to me via my cell.  Regardless of where any new walls go within this segment of I-71 in Ward 14, I’m confident that there will be an interest from residents and local groups to ensure significant additional green buffering and in that case our two wards and the communities involved could benefit from each other’s work.

Brian.

216-333-5453 cell

***Joe Cimperman:

Councilman Cummins.
As you know this area also impacts Ward 3, and I bet residents from wards 13 and 12 are interested as well.
At any rate, it was great working collaboratively with you on the Scranton Library and look forward to this meeting as Mr Ferris and others have included us on the email.
Cheers!
Joe Cimperman