Cleveland’s Superior Avenue running through Public Square will remain closed to traffic. The city and the Regional Transit Authority will have to get the federal government on board with the plan.
The Federal Transit Administration gave RTA millions of dollars in 2004 for the Euclid corridor transportation project also known as the Health Line.
The deal required RTA to designate exclusive bus lanes on Superior Avenue through Public Square. But that segment of Superior has been closed since last year.
It was supposed to re-open after the Republican National Convention, but Cleveland’s mayor and RTA CEO Joe Calabrese say they want to keep the road closed to traffic. And they’re working on a plan to convince the FTA they won’t violate the terms of the federal transportation grant.
"Their concern is the investment. Their concern is that we maintain efficiencies through Public Square. So our goal -- joint goal between RTA and the city – is to show them that any time we may lose by not going through Public Square, we can make up in other sections of the corridor," Calabrese said.
Calabrese says RTA can use some of the technologies being used on Euclid Avenue – such as exclusive traffic signals and bus lanes– to improve transit times on St Clair and other parts of Superior Avenue.
