A Beautiful Day for a Walk in the Neighborhood
The Cuyahoga Land Bank welcomed local residents and members of the East Cleveland community to join together for a Walking Tour of the Circle East District focus area. Starting at Mickey’s building, over 15 participants walked and talked together as we envisioned future improvements for green spaces, sidewalks, and public art.
The Walking Tour took place on a warm and sunny weekday evening in May.
Wednesday, May 24th
5:30pm | start time
Mickey’s | starting location
12550 Euclid Ave
Starting at the Mickey’s building, attendees were welcomed to enter the space and see progress on renovations of the building’s interior. The large glass storefront windows offered a unique, sweeping view of Euclid Avenue—an ideal setting to envision the neighborhood’s future. After fueling up on snacks and refreshments, attendees were given an overview of the Walking Tour stops and routes.
Participants for the Walking Tour begin to gather inside the Mickey’s building.
Participants could choose one of two routes: one along Penrose Avenue and a second along Woodlawn Avenue. Each route extended to Forest Hill Avenue, then returned to Mickey’s on Euclid Avenue. Both of these streets are within the Circle East District and the focus for initial stages of redevelopment work. The half-mile loop offered opportunities to stop at multiple spots along the way to discuss specific placemaking ideas together.
In order to capture feedback from participants, a few different options were made available. A survey was provided in both print and online digital format with questions about preferred crosswalk designs, public art themes, and green space amenities. In addition, participants could also share their thoughts through video recordings conducted along the tour. Each attendee could contribute their priorities and preferences in the mode they found most comfortable.
The first stop on the Walking Tour asked attendees to imagine a new public art mural on the eastern wall of the Mickey’s building. This is one of the only large blank canvases in the neighborhood suitable for mural art. Based on community feedback received during the first public meeting, three different mural concepts were shown in the survey. Each mural concept visualized a different theme: Historic/Performing Arts; Bold Patterns/Afrofuturism; and Cardinal/Children’s Illustration. Not only did participants see images of each option in the survey, but they were also invited to view each mural as an Augmented Reality (AR) image. The AR images could be viewed through a mobile device screen and showed each mural on the Mickey’s wall as if it was really there. This enhanced visualization tool provided a more realistic experience to help participants choose their preferred mural option. The three mural options are only concepts intended to gauge community preferences and support efforts to identify an artist to create a future mural.
Above: Example of survey question with visual examples of three different mural themes.
Above: Augmented Reality (AR) visualization of the “Bold Patterns/Afrofuturism” mural option on the Mickey’s building
After the first stop outside Mickey’s to discuss mural options, participants began walking down their respective streets. Whether walking down Penrose Avenue or Woodlawn Avenue, participants were encouraged to talk about the design of crosswalks during the tour. The design of crosswalks for the side streets as well as across Euclid Avenue could be important improvements for neighborhood safety and identity. The survey included a question with three different design options for crosswalks: Traditional red brick, Modern gray stone, and Colorful patterns.
As participants walked away from Euclid Avenue down either Penrose Avenue or Woodlawn Avenue, the focus of the survey shifted to questions about a potential greenway and park space. As they walked, groups could talk about their perceptions of the sidewalk conditions, tree canopy, and other features of the physical environment. The beautiful weather and conversational atmosphere provided many opportunities for residents to ask questions about the placemaking process and share ideas prompted by the places they saw along the walk. East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King also stopped by to speak with residents about their experience on the Walking Tour. Engaging with other community members in the actual environment being reimagined helped create a clearer understanding of where future investments will be located.
Taking advantage of the vacant lots connecting Penrose Avenue to Woodlawn Avenue, a proposed greenway could provide a needed green space, as well as improve walkability in the neighborhood. Residents discussed their ideas for a greenway, sharing various preferences, such as tree shade, bench placement, lighting, and landscape plantings. Located at the midblock, a greenway path could shorten the distance required to walk to a friend’s house, encouraging more neighborly socialization.
Before returning back to Mickey’s, the walking tour paused at the end of Forest Hill Avenue to discuss the possibility of a new gateway entrance to Lakeview Cemetery. Some of the walking tour participants were long-time residents, while others recently moved to the area or lived in other parts of East Cleveland. So, the tour provided a valuable opportunity for individuals with different experiences to share their thoughts and hear fresh perspectives. Comments were documented through the surveys and video recordings, which will be processed by the consultant team. The feedback gathered from the Walking Tour will help guide placemaking design concepts and will be presented at the second community event in July.
Thank you to all community members who participated in the Walking Tour. We hope you can join us for the second Public Open House on July 14th, 2023.
If you’d like to stay informed about upcoming opportunities to engage in the Connect East Cleveland process, please make sure you’re on our contact list. Simply click the link below to share your contact information.