In Down Economy, Port Plan Debate Not Exactly Red Hot

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Topics: Economy, Politics
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Recent calls for a speedier, more regional approach to moving Port of Cleveland operations away from the downtown lakefront have at least one Cleveland City Hall official taking notice. Ideastream's Bill Rice reports.

City Council member Joe Cimperman, whose Ward encompasses much of downtown and the port, says he has no doubt the port should be moved.  But, he says…

Cimperman:  “As always, the devil’s in the details.”

The current plan from the Port Authority itself would move port operations to the lakefront at E. 55th Street, displacing a long-established marina.  The port’s presence there would also impact the upscale Quay 55 apartments that are less than a decade old.  Cimperman says he’s concerned about these and other issues: for instance, he wants the port to get specific about how it plans to save nature preserve at nearby Dike 14, a now-closed repository for dredged material from the Cuyahoga.  Cimperman also finds fault with the timeline the Port Authority has set for the move - more than 20 years, because the land at E. 55th would have to be created with 20 years of river dredgings.  He says redeveloping the downtown lakefront needs to happen a lot sooner than that. 

Cimperman:  “We know what happens when the Rock hall has an event, when the Great Lakes Science Center has and event.  Yes, it’s those attractions that bring people there, but it’s in the perfect spot - it’s right on the water.  The more we can open that land down there, the more I think people are going to realize they can fall in love with their lakefront all over again.”

BR (on tape): “Is 20-25 years too long to wait?”

Cimperman:  “Way too long.  We don’t have that kind of time.”

Earlier this month Hunter Morrison, head of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at Youngstown State University, called the time line “unacceptable” in an op-ed piece published in the Plain Dealer.  He suggested the Port enter into a regional partnership with ports in Lorain to the west and Ashtabula to the east, both of which currently have an abundance of dock space.  Plain Dealer Columnist Brent Larkin endorsed Morrison’s ideas in last Sunday’s paper.

The articles are creating some buzz over the issue, but Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson isn’t persuaded.  In an interview Monday on 90.3 he suggested the Port Authority’s 20-year plan is adequate, and he’s ready to implement it.

Jackson:  “If these decisions would have been 20 years ago when they shoud have been nade, the we would be living on a new lakefront and this wouldn’t be a question.  The fact that people want to have ideals… that’s nice and I’d like to engage in that, but we have to do things now.”

And while Councilman Cimperman is eager to discuss other possibilities, there is no groundswell of dissatisfaction among council members with the port’s plan - at least not right now.  Several long-simmering projects are now finally getting underway, and in today’s economy, some say, that’s impressive enough. 

Bill Rice, 90.3