Big news for Kent!

First, if any of you have been watching my blog and noticed some random posts coming up and then disappearing, it's because I was moving all my old posts from my old MySpace blog to here and would occasionally forget to put the original date in. I was doing it to create a book of all my blog posts and couldn't find a place that would make a book using MySpace blogs; only Blogger, WordPress, or the other major blogging sites. I had to hide some of my first posts at this site to create the book of just my MySpace posts (as they briefly overlap) but now everything is done. It was fun to re-read all my old posts and realize I've been blogging now to some degree for almost 4 years!

Anyway, Kent got some big news Wednesday that I was very happy to find out about! The Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) was awarded a $20 million grant for construction of the Kent Central Gateway, better known as the "multi-modal facility" I blogged about way back in April 2008 and an idea that has been around for close to 10 years. If you do check that blog post, the facility proposed at that time was considerably larger than the one that was finally approved yesterday. This new facility will only take up about 1/3 the footprint that the initial design had and will occupy land along the north side of East Erie Street between South DePeyster Street and Haymaker Parkway. It will not involve properties along East Main Street.

Any time a large grant is received for something like this it's big news, but especially so here in Kent which has seen so many "plans" for downtown development come and go with no results over the past few decades. Of all the grants handed out, Ohio as a state only got $50 million and $20 million of that was to Kent, so this has already drawn some comparisons to Kent winning the state normal school in 1910 (which became Kent State University) in terms of surprising and landscape-changing events. Obviously a structure like this will change the look of part of downtown, but the biggest reason for excitement is the fact that this project promises to be a linchpin for even more development which, if it all actually happens, will affect most of the southeastern quadrant of downtown bordered by Haymaker Parkway, East Main, and South Water Streets. At long last, we know one of the major projects WILL happen after so many have amounted to nothing and downtown has continued to struggle. With the recent completion of the Phoenix Project last year and now this, it finally seems like downtown is turning a corner from the doldrums that it has seemingly been in since the 1970s.

As I've read the various articles online about this news and the accompanying comments, there are some major misunderstandings and false ideas out there. The most surprising are comments that basically lead me to believe the reader thinks this grant has been won to establish a bus system in Kent through this new facility. PARTA was established in 1975 and has been steadily growing the last decade, so it is hardly anything new. This facility is merely centralizing the already existing bus system, similar to what most transit systems already have. Along those lines, many commentators have wondered about the "multi-modal" moniker that is commonly used to describe the facility. It is "multi-modal" because it will provide a center for four forms of transportation: bus, car, bike, and walking. Bus transportation is obviously the biggest reason for the center, but it will also have a parking deck, which is a huge reason behind it being a "linchpin" for other downtown development as parking has long been a problem there. It will also be a stop on the Portage Hike and Bike Trail, so people can park their car and/or their bike there to access the trail. In addition to the regular local PARTA lines that will use it, PARTA will also operate their Cleveland and Akron express routes from the building and there are at least hopes to someday have a Greyhound stop there. On top of that it will have commercial space, so not only will there be additional activity besides bus traffic, but tax revenue-generating activity as well so this building is far more than just a glorified bus shelter.


One concern, though, I've thought a lot about is the fact the funding comes from the controversial "stimulus" bill, which I have hardly been short on criticism for. I think here, this could actually be a case where the funds stimulate a local economy by creating a structure which not only improves transportation, but spurs other development. So much of the "stimulus" has been to projects that improve something, but do little to stimulate actual economic growth beyond temporary construction jobs. Indeed, only time will tell if this project actually does stimulate any economic activity in Kent beyond the construction jobs to build it, but from the looks, it would appear at least headed that way. And while I still have a problem with the massive amount of debt Congress is piling up, in the end, these grants would've been given out whether I liked them or not, so it's nice to see some of it come back to Kent for once. It is also refreshing to see leadership in Kent that sees the bigger picture of town-and-gown relations and is actually doing something to help Kent and KSU mutually improve for the benefit of both. I've always thought there was so much potential here and now it seems we're finally seeing it. Go Kent!

Below I included a link to a map of the area now for reference. The marker "A" is the end of Erie Street where it currently dead-ends at Haymaker Parkway. The new building will be to the left of the marker on the north side of the street. The other pictures I included came from PDF files of PARTA's presentation materials to get the grant, which were included on Kent city manager Dave Ruller's post "Beating The Drum" on November 11, 2009. I cropped and labeled both pictures with street names and the red oval on the conceptual map and captions on the building renderings.


View Larger Map

Guess who was in the Stater today?

Well, not only did I get a new digital converter yesterday, but I also made a quick stop at Kent city hall to look over potential plans for what has been referred to as a "multi-modal facility," tentatively planned for the area bordered by Haymaker Parkway, East Main, East Erie, and South DePeyster Streets, adjacent to downtown Kent. The area is currently home to a row of fraternity houses on East Main and a few small businesses on East Main and South DePeyster. It's also a very hilly piece of land. Anyway, this multi-modal facility is better defined as a transportation hub. Basically, it will be a small parking deck that is surrounded by retail and also has a bus stop and places to leave bikes. It can serve as a transfer point to the various transportation systems in Kent, which are PARTA (Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority), the Portage Hike & Bike Trail, and of course cars and walking. I wouldn't be surprised if PARTA decided to route one of the campus buses up there too along with the Interurban line that runs between Stow and Ravenna.

Anyway, so I went to this public meeting at city hall, which was basically a chance for the public to see four possible schemes and to have the opportunity to leave comments on what they liked and didn't like of each one. Schemes 1 & 2 were almost identitcal as were 3 & 4. The differences were in which direction the traffic entered and exited the facility and 1 & 2 had a small amphitheater-like part on the east end of the facility and 3 & 4 had a more open end. The company doing this also had a meeting at Kent State earlier in the day to get feedback from students in the student center. While I was at city hall, a reporter from the Daily Kent Stater, KSU's student newspaper, interviewed me about it. If you'd like to read the article, click here. I thought it was a pretty good article, though my brother wished there had been some more background on the project and some pictures included. I guess the Stater figured that most of its readers would know that stuff since this is not the first article on it. I thought, though, that I'd include some background info on the project as best as I know, and of course, some of my own thoughts. The one thing I didn't like about the Stater article was that it made it sound like Kent was trying to implement an entire new transit system with this project. Like I said earlier, this is being built as a hub to an already exsiting transit system tying together bus, bike, car, and pedestrian.

The first time I ever heard any reference of the "multi-modal facility" was in the early part of the 2000's when the city released the Bicentennial Plan, which had an overall plan to address some of the city's struggling areas with plans for redevelopment. Among them was the controversial "Campus Link" neighborhood, which is the neighborhood sitting in between downtown Kent and the KSU campus, most of which is rental houses and some small businesses along East Main Street. Part of the Campus Link plan was to construct a hotel and conference center and what was deemed a "multi-modal facility" which basically looked like a parking deck next to the hotel. Campus Link became very controversial because it involved such a change in the makeup of the neighborhood and many people, landlords in particular, were opposed to a major change like that. The overall idea seemed to die (I'm not sure on the actual status of the Bicentennial Plan right now), though the hotel/conference center idea is still alive for other possible locations (and still very much needed in my opinion) and the multi-modal one is as well obviously. The Bicentennial Plan, which was done by 2005, can be seen in its entirety here and the Campus Link visual can be seen here. The "multi-modal facility" is identified as #3 on the map, which describes the facility as a "600-space parking structure and transfer facility for reconfigured bus routes and the Portage Trail, a planned regional bike route through the City of Kent." The "Portage Trail" is now the Portage Hike & Bike Trail, which is still being built in phases. The phase through KSU is done and part of the trail through the city is being worked on now to connect the KSU portion with the portion running along the Cuyahoga River.

So in the last few months the "multi-modal facility", now known as the Kent Central Gateway, has gained some momentum as a firm was actually hired to come up with a best location and get some designs out. It's been going on well over a year with public input from the very beginning as well as cooperation with city, university, and PARTA officials. Here are some of the stories that covered it, all from the Record-Courier by Matt Fredmonsky:

29 March 2007 Multi-modal facility plans move ahead

26 April 2007 Multi-modal idea gaining momentum

3 November 2007 Kentites to view Gateway plans

8 November 2007 KSU, Kent seeking public input on plan for multi-modal facility

9 November 2007 Kent community gets look at multi-modal projects

11 April 2008 Kent Public viewing of multi-modal plans set for April 24

25 April 2008 Open houses showcase plans for transportation facility

What do I think about all this? Well first, let me state the important fact that although Kent is so liberal politically, it is remarkably conservative when it comes to development. There is this core of residents who have a hard time with any type of change, but especially in development and even more so when that development involves downtown and/or Kent State is involved. There is a faction of residents who seem to consider Kent State the "evil empire" trying to push its will on the city, though I will be the first to admit that KSU has acted at times as if this were the case. That aside, at long last both city and university seem to finally see the benefits of working together versus the "go it alone" approach both have taken for so long. I think this project specifically is a good one, mostly because it isn't just a parking deck/bus stop like I initially thought it was (the College Park, Maryland METRO stop came to mind: a rail and bus stop connected to a parking deck), but includes retail and will extend downtown. On top of that, the retail surrounds the parking area, so it won't be obvious at all. Let's be honest, one of the bigest drawbacks for downtown is the general lack of parking close to businesses, so this will be a big help. I was surprised somewhat when I read quotes in the Stater from another Kent resident interviewed who said she wanted to see the parking deck more underground. Did she look at the plans correctly? The garage won't be visible much at all because it will be virtually surrounded by retail. On top of that the facility will be on the side of a relatively steep hill, so if it's too far underground, it won't be accessible from one side of the development. The plans also include a pedestrial/bike bridge over Haymaker Parkway. While I have already stated that the parkway is hardly a barrier for students to get downtown, if that aspect is built, it should help, plus it will make biking easier for those using the trail.

The scheme I liked best was #1, which included the amphitheater feature on the east end. I liked it best because it was the only layout that did not direct traffic onto Haymaker Parkway or E. Erie Street. I'd like to see E. Erie be more pedestrian friendly in this development and Haymaker is already a 5-lane road, so adding entrances for buses and/or cars would just add more obstacles. I say keep Haymaker more of a through street and direct the traffic onto S. Depeyster and E. Main. That way it will be easier for both buses and cars to get in and out of the facility and won't require adding another traffic light to Haymaker.I also liked the terraced area that looked like an amphitheater on the east end because it fits with the land there and would provide a nice community area.

It's nice to see some momentum on downtown Kent development. I see so much potential there, yet for so long it has languished. I try to shop there when I can, but most of what is downtown are things I either don't need or can get at a substantially lower price elsewhere. I've always thought that increasing the amount of living space would help as would more offices and just today I saw some long-awaited plans to do that to a few buildings along East Main in the heart of downtown. What a thrill to read that! This, along with the plans to redevelop the block bordered by East Erie, Haymaker, South DePeyster, and South Water show signs of improvement and hope. I just hope they all happen and don't go by the wayside as so many other projects have downtown. If only we could get that old hotel taken care of too...

Notes on the pictures: 1. A picture of downtown Kent looking east from the Main Street Bridge, taken by me in December 2006. Another thing I'd like to see is Huntington Bank restore their historic building to fit in better and actually look as old as it is. It's the one with that green stuff all over the upper level right near the center of the picture. It used to be a stately three-story building...not sure when the third floor was removed and the coverings added, though it looks very 60's...2. View of scheme 1 from Dave Ruller's blog showing the upper level (all three levels were shown at the open house). 3. a 3-D view of the same scheme. The arrows indicate the traffic entrances for buses (orange) and cars (blue).