Grassroots Comments

• fwoodbridge@sbcglobal.net
  Limiting access to downtown Cleveland will have a major impact on the business community. A struggling city doesn't need additional deterants created by no resident bureaucrats.

• sanic0125@wowway.com
  You don't live in Cleveland and it shows how little you care about your fellow man. Consider this; What if someone from Cleveland decided to close 250 which goes around Columbus. All the traffic would have to go through Columbus. What a nightmare. Then all the businesses that had easy access for their customers are now going out of business. Why? Because someone in Cleveland, that wouldn't be affected, decided that would be a good thing. Here in Cleveland we don't care about "Dead Man's Curve." We can live with it. What we can't live with is the inconsiderate closing of ramps that we depend on every day. Thank you for reconsidering.

• davidpoto@gmail.com
  As a CSU student, I use the Prospect exit ramp daily in order to avoid the congestion on the main CSU exit. My time spent driving is long and hectic enough without added frustrations that occur on the innerbelt. With less options for everyone, the gridlock that occurs as is will only multiply with everyone bottlenecked into less exits. Please leave the exits in place.

• Jill_Rabne@yahoo.com
  If you want Cleveland to grow, be profitable and thrive, than it is imperative to have access to the city. The ramps are critical for travel.

• mcdaley@gmail.com
  This is not going to help matters at all! I ride share to save gas and parking fees. We have route to drop off and then go to the garage. Closing the E 9th ramp will make our commute at least 15 minutes longer to navigate through downtown. Get a clue and drive the routes real people do between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and again from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• deanna.studer@att.net
  I use the Prospect entrance to the southbound entrance every day to go to work in the morning. In the afternoon, I utilize the Innerbelt exit, from the northbound direction, to go home.

  It would be extremely difficult, also read time consuming, to have to use other methods to get to and from work every day. There would be more traffic and dangerous with the increased traffic at rush hour. Please, please, do NOT close those entrance and exit ramps,

• lizprice06@gmail.com
  I work at the Cleveland Clinic in the operating room. As part of my job I am required to take emergency call at least once a month. Our policy states that were must be "inhouse" within one hour of being paged to come in. With the opening of our new 89th Street garage, where I park, I know myself and many others use the Carnegie exit ramp off of I90 to get to our garage. I also know that the emergency room entrance is much more accessable for the EMS from Carnegie. By clossing the ramp and with the new traffic route of Euclid (only being able to turn one way and roads not going through Euclid anymore) it would add time onto many people's travel time and in an emergency every second counts. Think of your family, friends and/or loved ones needing to be transfered to the emergency department and every possible second counting towards their survival. Would you want the EMS providers to be able to get there ASAP or have to job around and through Euclid to get to the emergency room? Have all other possiblities really been explored in handeling this situation or is this decision being made because it is the easiest thing to do? Lets try thinking "outside the box" for once!

• mjb5n@hotmail.com
  I am originally from Northern Virginia, so I am quite familiar with heavily congested areas and horrendous traffic. One of the nice things about Cleveland is that the traffic is very manageable.

  I don't know whose idea it was to consider closing some of the exit ramps off of I-90, but I would like to express my concerns. If you close some of the ramps, the same number of cars will be forced to use less exits. This has a bottleneck effect and will cause serious backups and traffic delays.

  From my own experience growing up, the idiots who designed the beltway made the exit ramp from I-495 to I-95 only one lane. These are two major highways. During rush hour, backups would go for miles. Virginia then had to spend millions of dollars fixing the mixing bowl (where I-95 and I-495 intersect).

  I personally have made the commitment to live downtown and have bought a condo in the warehouse district. If Cleveland is trying to redevelop the city and its downtown area, it should be projecting an increase in traffic and usage of these ramps. They already getting backed up, so I would not recommend closing them now. If anything, ODOT should be considering widening the exit ramps or adding new ones, not closing existing ramps down. Closing these ramps seems to me a short-sited decision without considering plans for future expansion or even accomadation of the current residents.

  Please contact me if you have any further questions. My e-mail address is mjb5n@hotmail.com, my home number is 216-583-9228, and my cell phone number is 703-309-6152.

  Sincerely,

  Michael Burdick, MD

• lmcshane23@yahoo.com
  As a long-time resident and taxpayer in the City of Cleveland, I am appalled by the greed and graft that fuels ODOT's efforts to destroy communities and neighborhoods--all to line the pockets of the few controlling this scheme.

  We need to mend bridges and fix our existing infrastructure. The success of the Clinic does NOT hinge on the development of the Opportunity Corridor. This is a crime against humanity and ODOT officials should stop going along with the political machine operating this scheme.

  Respectfully,

  Laura McShane

• julle@yahoo.com
  We do not need fewer people coming into downtown Cleveland is someone trying to kill the city?

• DudleyWudley@aol.com
  My family & I use the Prospect ramp two or 3 times per week

  when we go to church downtown.

• rgrdnrjr@hotmail.com
  Research has shown that the amount of interstate access should depend on the amount of traffic that is served by the access points. The Carnegie and Prospect entrances and exits surely have the traffic volume to support their existence and should be kept to support commerce in downtown Cleveland. An arbitrary limit on the distance between exits is contrary to modern research and should be rejected. At least an economic impact statement should be prepared which takes into account all the various interests in the area.

• glk6@hotmail.com
  I use the Prospect ramps every day for work and the proposed changes would be extremely problematic for my travel. Please do not close these ramps. Separate the two issues so that the access ramps are not affected by the progress proposed for the Innerbelt bridge and Deadman's curve. The two issues are both extremely critical and should not be linked.

• cljustice@mail.com
  This is a major exit for those who work at the Cleveland Clinic like myself and also for patients who are going to CCF.

• mark.maslar@blackpants.com
  Closing the access ramps would deal a severe blow to Cleveland's Midtown businesses, local commuters and our community in general. Access is vital to the local economy.

• trader1vic@aol.com
  Please consider all the folks that use these exit/entrance ramps daily. I would personally be affected by all the closing due to my daily driving needs. As it is we suffer from a large backup of traffic on the ramps, closing more of them would be a mistake and cause even more backup on the freeways themselves. The working class are already stressed out enough, please leave things as they are, why fix something that doesn't appear to be broken.

  Thank you for your time.

• dcuser1@aol.com
  PLEASE do not sever these critical access points. They are a lifeline into the city and provide access for residents who commute daily to and from work, school and businesses.

  Economically speaking, retaining the ramps is much more critical in this process than is providing unobstructed passage through the city.

  Subjecting a "passing-through" motorist to a few more exit ramp decisions doesn't even measure up to the impact closing these ramps would place on the local economy and residents.

• normehel@gmail.com
  What we Have Works !!

  Eliminating these on and off ramps will only add to traffic congestion !

  Please do not remove this access !!!

  Norm Ehle

• Tomdenk@hotmail.com
  I live on the east-side of Cleveland. I've used this off-ramp since moving here and it is the most efficient way to get home after being on the west side. I've done every route there is in my time over here, and it is the fastest route. This is not a broken situation. Your consideration is truly appreciated!

• thagesfeld@gmail.com
  I am appalled that ODOT is planning to close the ramps that I use on a regular basis. Not only will it have negative impact on me personally, but more importantly, it will be another blow to businesses in key areas of Cleveland. We lost businesses during the Euclid Avenue project. At least that was temporary and there is a chance for recovery. This ODOT plan would be a permanent spike in the body of Cleveland’s recovery efforts.

  This seems to be designed to make it easier for those traveling through Cleveland at a very high cost to our community.

  Please act now to stop this from happening.

  My thanks in advance for your assistance in helping our community

• David.sebold@gmail.com
  I work at Cuyahoga Community College - Metro campus. I use these ramps daily and so do hundreds of others. Closing these ramps will only create more problems for downtown commuters.

  If you want my vote in the next election - show you are serious about keeping downtown Cleveland viable and keep these ramps open.

  David Sebold

• interestspatti@yahoo.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. This will push too much traffic to have to drive out of the way farther north to use Chester, wasting time and gas to get there.

• onerhone1@att.net
  Is it all that important to close these such roads. You hould be fixing the roads, Those roads have been there forever, and half of you don't even use 1/2 the road whenever you are in town, leave the roads a lone and fix the broke up roads, what out tax dollars are supposed to do, most of those access ramps help in the conjestion on the freeways, by closing them its not fixing them its punishing the tax payer. Close some of thos roads you travel near your house.

• taklag@ccf.org
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  I pay city and state taxes. I demand that the State of Ohio and the City of Cleveland to provide me this easy access to get to my workplace at Cleveland Clinic.

• louisedan96@yahoo.com
  Downtown Cleveland has enough trouble getting people to venture past their own fears (often unfounded but real for them) that this additional barrier to peoples coming downtown would, in my view, have a negative effect on entities like Playhouse Square and other arts venues downtown. Then there are those of us who still WORK downtown. Getting rid of these ramps is a bad idea.

• sspengler@roadrunner.com
  Even a lay person like myself, not trained in transporation management or urban planning, can see that ODOT's plan for the closure of these ramps makes NO SENSE. Cleveland's downtown area is having enough trouble coming back without this hit. Business HAVE been coming back to the Euclid corridor now that the Health Line construction is complete. Businesses in this area suffered terribly during that construction project; many failed or relocated. But some are coming back and now you threaten this recovery by choking off key arterial access????

  What is ODOT smoking? Or perhaps I should ask what other special interests are being served here?

• shsilk1@yahoo.com
  Closing the Prospect ramp would cause an inconvenience to me and many others who rely on that ramp for freeway access. The ramp is minutes from my home. I am a home care nurse and I daily use those ramps to get from home to patients and back. Closing ramps will cause traffic congestion at other ramps which will place constraints on my time causing a delay in patient care. Please consider the effects your decision will have on those who not only work but live in the area.

  Thank you.

• hey_doc50@yahoo.com
  My office is located at 4403 St. Clair Ave. I have worked in the neighborhood for over ten years. I utilize the

  "Prosepet Ave." exit off of I-90 on an average of eight times daily. I go to the three juvenile court buildings located on East 22nd St., Carnegie Ave., and Community College Blvd. many times on a daily basis. I also use that exit ramp to access Progresive Field and Quicken Loans Arena. I also utilize that exit to got to the YMCA. In addition, I have a client at Huron and Prosepect that I meet with regularly. Also, there are quite a few restaurants in the "point" area at E. 9th St., Huron and Prosepct Ave., which I frequent, including Alesci's, the Winking Lizard, Aladdin's, Doc's, Juniper Grill, Panini's, just to name a few.

  The exit ramp at St. Clair and East 38th St. was taken out. I wrote a similar letter about the importance of easy access from St. Clair/Superior to other parts of downtown Cleveland.

  Governor Strickland had just became the Ohio governor. My letter was never repled to, and ultimately that exit ramp was eliminated.

  I again urge you to not do the same thing to the Prospect Ave. exit.

  Thank you for your consideration.

• daddyklatzko@aol.com
  I have used these ramps to go and come from work on the west side

  for the past 29 years without problem. They are a very convenient

  access and should remain open.

• jmhatch8@gmail.com
  PLEASE consider the life of our city! Sporting events bring life to downtown, and your plans would seriously impair access to our ballpark and arena. So many merchants would be affected! Although I live in the suburbs, I love the city. I volunteer in the city. I believe in what Cleveland can become, but access to the city must be improved, not curtailed. DO NOT take away any of the existing ramps to Cleveland!

• ken@montlack.com
  As a member of Cleveland City Council, I believe that the closings would adversely impact the residents, businesses and economic development initiatives of Cleveland Heights and other eastside First Suburbs communities. Where are the "Turnaround Ohio" priorities that were promised during 2006 campaign? Ken Montlack

• blackrainuponus@aol.com
  These are the ramps closest to my home, it's already a pain for me to see anyone I know from the suburbs since they don't feel like making the trip, at least they can get off the highway near my home so it's not a hassle when they do.

• cochrantim@roadrunner.com
  The ODOT plan will create MORE congestion and gridlock. How can that be denied!!

• rhondaboyko@hotmail.com
  I work at the Cleveland Clinic and drive in from the West Side. These are the ramps I primarily use to get to work. If these will close then I will be forced to extend my travel time and/or have to get off at E.55th street which is not always the greatest place to be (I have witnessed things that I do not care to witness again when I used to take that exit). I really do not see how closing these ramps are going to increase any type of traffic efficiency. It will just back up the other exits more than they are now.

  Thank you.

• dkl3285@acn.net
  Access is crtical to any business district. By closing these ramps, ODOT is simply choking off the rebirth of Mid-town.

  Daryl Langman

  Euclid City Councilman, Ward 7

• dminoff@adelphia.net
  I exit I-90 eastbound at Carnegie at least 3x per week and enter I-90 westbound at Prospect at least 3x per week...this is by far the most direct route bewteen where I live in Shaker Heights and access to 90! Please do not close these ramps!!!

• bebopsmom@roadrunner.com
  I work on Prospect & 36th. There is so much traffic heading west bound on Prospect - it is very hard to get out of our driveway!! It will be worse if these exits are closed!!

• brandonkrek@scbglobal.net
  I agree.

• carol.abraham@hotmail.com
  I am a concerned citizen that opposes the closing of the I90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect ramps because these are vital to all the businesses in this area. Some them might be hurt by the closings and I feel that with the economy the ways it is, why add more problems to those that still exist.

• ivqtoo@mac.com
  Please don't fix that which is not broken!!! Midtown Corridor business will suffer loss if these ramps are closed and make Cleveland a closed city.

• jabraham@priorityvending.com
  The closing of the ramps interferes with access to my job, to and from work. Also could cause some slower business for companies in this area, which could cause them to close or lay-off employee's. The Economy is bad enough!

• marblemadness@sbcglobal.net
  More convenient to come to work

• mjantoon@roadrunner.com
  I am not happy about the potential closing of the ramps. These are used by many of us who work in this area. Please reconsider.

• iriemonn@hotmail.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  I feel that closing the ramps at Carnegie and Prospect are a terrible idea. Closing the ramps will add more traffic to already heavily congested ramps. I use the Prospect ramp daily to go home after work. The Chester ramp is always terribly congested and backed up. Prosect is an easier way to get to the highway. I also like using Prospect when I come downtown for functions. It is much easier to use Prospect than the other congested on ramps.

• shouser@metrohealth.org
  I am an attending otolaryngologist at MetroHealth Medical Center. I have found that the quickest way for me to get to Metro is via the Prospect entrance to 71. At times I need to rush to Metro to stop someone's lifethreatening bleeding, or remove a foreign body from their airway/esophagus. The proposed plan will slow me down a great deal. I will have difficulty arriving at Metro in an expedient fashion. Lives hang in the balance, and ODOT's plan is a serious threat. I urge you to drop this plan and concentrate on more worthy, less damaging, project.

• judithcorey@att.net
  The revamp of the interbelt seems a little short-sighted for motorists coming to downtown Cleveland from the eastside suburbs. The revamp will negatively impact the willingness of people to attend events at the Wolstein Center, Gund, and Progressive Field due to the inability to access these entertainment venues easily. The revamp definitely will have a negative affect on downtown revitalization.

  Also, I work in the Playhouse Square area; and the majority of economical parking is located on Prospect Rd. The Prospect exit provides easy access to these lots, and the majority of my co-workers park in these lots. Closing the exits would be very inconvenient.

  Please reconsider your plan!

• chasek@ameritech.net
  I work in the area, and many volunteers and community members depend on these exits to reach us.

  If work is necessary, please do this one ramp at a time rather than close both at the same time. Thank you.

• ericandkaren@wowway.com
  PLEASE DO THE RIGHT THING AND SUPPORT THE BEST INTEREST OF THE TAXPAYERS WHO WILL BE NEGATIVELY AFFECT BY THESE CLOSINGS

• rakjunktrap-political@yahoo.com
  I dispute the notion that these ramps must be colsed to reduce accidents. In my 50 years of driving and using the Carnegie ramp I have yet to see an accident there.

  Closing the Carnegie ramp will severely restrict access to the Heights and the Cleveland Clinic. Chester is already overloaded and this would make the traffic heaver.

  ODOT's disregard for the citizes using these ramps harkens back to the days of County Engineer Porter who tried to build a freeway through the Shaker Lakes. Luckily he was stopped.

• SCHMIEK@CCF.ORG
  odot's only concern is traffic flow through downtown Cleveland, what about the vast majority of drivers who drive to downtown Cleveland and the ability to exit and get to their destination?

• schmiek@ccf.org
  Please lesten to taxpayers that are actually affected by this closing and to the right thing and keeep it open!!!!!!!!!!

• chipsnow@windstream.net
  As an employee of a business that occupies one corner of E 30th & Chester and observes the local traffic congestion on a daily basis, I fail to see why ODOT would further restrict the current access to our area and surface streets. There are tens of thousands of area employees, Cleveland and Ohio taxpayers, that would have their time further wasted on a daily basis because of the desire to more expediously route traffic through the area. The 50,000 area employees continue to require access to their businesses, fewer ramps & more traffic congestion does not help Cleveland's employer retainage problem.

• djones@cadillacmusic.com
  I oppose the closing of Carnegie Avenue exit. I have worked off of Carnegie for over 19 years. Do you realize how many people actually use that exit, either to go to work or going to the Cleveland Clinic and other area business'. If you have to try & merge on to the E 22nd ramp, not only do you have people coming from 77 and trying to merge into traffic at the same time. Have you ever taken this part of highway during rush hour??? Let me answer that for you..NO!

  I have been very lucky by not getting into an accident at this poorly design merge.Do you have any idea how many buisnesses will be hurt if you close the Carengie ramp? I seriuosly don't think you have thought about the commuters. I am sure that someone is looking to gain alot with closing down one exit & opening another and making this huge inconvenience for people how try to work & support downtown areas. Dare i ask who's pockets will be lined ???

• jbanish@greaterclevelandvolunteers.org
  The nonprofit organization I work for, Greater Cleveland Volunteers, is located on East 46th and Prospect Avenue. Closure of the Carnegie and Prospect entrance and exit ramps will make it much more difficult for people coming to and from our office to get here. Our organization recruits and supports 3000 volunteers that serve our county and many of them come to our office for meetings, trainings, etc. and use the Carnegie and Prospect Avenue entrance and exit ramps to get to our office. Many of our volunteers come into downtown from the suburbs and find it difficult to navigate the downtown area. Closure of these ramps will make it even more difficult to get to our office. Please reconsider your plans to close these ramps.

  Thank you,

  Joy Banish, Executive Director

  Greater Cleveland Volunteers

  4614 Prospect Ave #205

  Cleveland, OH 44103

  216-391-9500 x.112

• michelhodges@att.net
  Personally I dont' use these ramps to get to my job at 40th and Prospect. I usually take the bus or if I drive I exit at E. 55th. However, anything that interferes with or lessens the ease of entering downtown is a bad idea. Our downtown is already dead enough and closing ramps will just continue the downward trend. And what is the purpose of closing the E. 9th Street ramp to 77? I haven't had a lot of occasions to use either E.14th or E. 9th ramps to 77 but any time I have they have been VERY crowded. It seems to me closing E. 9th will increase the congestion. Thanks for taking the time to consider my comments. Sincerely, Michel Hodges

• dazzlin_j@yahoo.com
  Horrible idea. How could CLOSING ramps that supply traffic with a way out of downtown HELP traffic flow more smoothly. I for one will not want to go downtown for ballgames, etc knowing that I will have to be stuck in a huge traffic jam trying to leave!!!!! THIS IS JUST CRAZY!!!!

• jackie_angelucci@yahoo.com
  This is just a crazy idea, the bottleneck of traffic downtown due to such an unnecessary closure will make people not want to downtown anymore!!!

• jackieglenb@yahoo.com
  Whose brainstorm is this?? If I don't have easy access to leave downtown after an event, I will just stay home!!! If you close the ramps, you will lose millions of dollars in revenue from people staying home!!!!!!

• Michael@Smolsky.com
  The proposed changes to eliminate the Prospect ingress/egress ramps and the Carnegie egress ramp are absurd. These changes will only serve to provide MORE congestion on the surface streets for the alternate proposed interchanges. These alternate routes are in no way equiped to handle the increase in traffic and will only serve to convolute already inefficient movement of vehicles.

  It appears the proposed chagnes are designed to move traffic more efficiently through the innerbelt. While these changes might improve flow during peak hours on the innerbelt, they will only cause an increase in fuel consumption and significantly extend rush hour drive time by negatively impacting the alternate intersections.

  While my comments have been diplomatic, I find it laughable that anyone would propose such changes without a plan to spend hundreds of millions to improve the routes for the proposed changes. Change is inevitable, but change should be for the better and the greatest good. Which is definitely not only for the drivers on the innerbelt.

  Respectfully Submitted,

  Michael M. Smolsky

• moparjackie@yahoo.com
  What are you thinking? This will obviously only contribute to congested traffice and I will just stay out of downtown instead of sitting in traffic for hours trying to get home from a ballgame, etc. THIS CLOSURE DOES NOT MAKE ONE BIT OF SENSE!!!

• chsredskin1981@yahoo.com
  As the deadline nears, hopefully the elected officials will view the correspondence that they have received, and take note of the next election. I can only say that the City of Cleveland won't review anything. They have a history of listening through one ear and letting it go out the other. Don't be surprised if this goes through as planned, then a 'red light camera' is installed at the Chester ramp. Talk about the city getting out of debt. WOW! But there'll be no one entering the Chester ramp at that point because the City would've driven out all companies from within to outlying suburbs. And NO we aren't sharing tax dollars. Why isn't Senator Voinovich included on the recipient list? Last I knew, he was also still our senator.

• hagesfeld@gmail.com
  The congestion this would cause on these arterial routes would be unbelievable, and add much more time than it saves. Those punished would be those of us who have not abandoned the inner ring for the soot grey exurbs.

  Additionally, I would like to encourage ODOT to examine a major overhaul of I-90 as it passes through Cleveland. Any city with as much lake access has Cleveland has, should USE IT. Instead, we run a highway down miles and miles of it. If we could move I-90 to go straight instead of curving towards Dead Man's Curve, and avoid the shoreway portion, we could change the entire lakeshore on the east side of Cleveland into green space and high-rent residential and commercial space, along the model of Chicago with Lake Michigan. We are wasting an opportunity, one made doubly palatable by the presence of stimulus funds.

• erinjc7@hotmail.com
  I use these ramps daily. As a teacher in Cleveland Hts, a CSU post-graduate student, and a mother of two children who attend the downtown YMCA daycare, I feel the closure of these ramps would be extremely detrimental to Cleveland and its' downtown community. It would make my life and many others' much more difficult. I prefer to spend my spare time (the small amount I have!) with my children and students instead of driving longer commutes. Please reconsider your plans. Thank you.

• kasia6901@yahoo.com
  The Carnegie/Prospect ramps provide my best way to and from work in University circle. Without those ramps, the traffic on the Chester ramp would at least double, significantly lengthening my commute. That is a real concern for me, since I am a new mom.

• michelleharrisnn@yahoo.com
  Please do not close the freeway.

• patrice1950@msn.com
  I was born and raised in the city and lived on both the east and west side of town in my adult life. As a life long resident of Cleveland I am deeply concerned about the closing of these access ramps. Anyone who has lived in the city knows how essential these ramps are to moving in and around the city. Carnegie and Prospect link the west side as well as downtown with the east side and facilitate easy access to major institutions in our city. IT took the neighborhood of Tremont 40 years to recover after 71 and 90 severed access to that part of town. The loss of these ramps would have a devastating impact on the city. I have followed the development of this renovation of our bridges and interstate with great interest. It seems that there is more effort on the part of ODOT to move people THROUGH our town rather than TO our town. Cleveland deserves a signature bridge and one that enhances the strength and vitality of our wonderful city. Rather than a limited design that merely corrects dead man's curve, lets see some innovative thinking that contributes to our future. How about listening to people who actually live here? Thank you

• bfrumker@earthlink.net
  It is inconceivable to me that the access ramp closings are still part of the project. Only ODOT wants the closings. Everyone else, especially in the affected areas, is strongly opposed. Why is this awful proposal being rammed down the throats of everyone? How can ODOT disregard all of the well reasoned opposition? This will cause unrepairable harm to Cleveland and must be stopped. With ODOT this seems to have become just an exercise of power for its own sake. Please help to stop these ramp closings. Thank you.

• denisew@suttonhardware.com
  Here we go again with another bad decision for Cleveland. does ODOT realize the impact these closings will have on jobs, tourists and not to mention traffic congestion on the main arteries. We all know too well what jam ups can happen with one car broke down or a bad snow storm. How........do we get to and from our jobs if these ramps are closed?????? People will look somewhere else like they have done for many issues that Cleveland has either ignored or dragged their feet on. Wasn't the Medical Mart supposed to bring more jobs Downtown? How would these people and visitors get here?

• dr_trotter@yahoo.com
  If the intended purpose of a highway includes the encouragement of development and commerce, then the existing Carnegie and Prospect ramps should remain. The neighborhood around these two ramps are kept important primarily because of the highway traffic. Shutting these ramps would cause another chunk of urban decay.

• judicham@aol.com
  Closing the I 90 Innerbelt ramps at Carnegie and Prospect makes absolutely no sense. Does ODOT care about those of us who use these ramps all the time??? Apparently not.

• kbhret@aol.com
  ODOT...

  I COUDLN'T CHANGE THE ABOVE BOILERPLATE.... BUT I THINK YOUR IDEA OF PRVENTING ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND IS AN EXCELLENT OHIO IDEA. IN THE 5 YEARS I'VE LIVED IN CLEVELAND, I'VE REALIZED THAT CLEVELAND'S DISTANT "PAST" IS WHAT KEEPS PEOPLE HERE ETERNALLY OPTIMISTIC FOR THE FUTURE. CLEVELANDER'S CANNOT SEE THAT CLEVELAND'S, AND OHIO'S, GREATEST DAYS ARE LONG GONE. ACCESS TO DOWNTOWN SHOULD NOT, REPEAT NOT, BE EASY FOR ANYONE. WE CAN EFFECTIVELY KILL WHAT FEW BUSINESSES STILL REMAIN IN DOWNTOWN CLEVELAND AND BE YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY OF WHAT "NOT" TO DO. CLEVELAND GETS THINGS DONE BY SCREWING UP.... E.G. BURNING CUYAHOGA RIVER OR #1 FOR POPULATION LOSS... HARD TO BEAT THAT! SO, WHILE YOU HEAR THE PROTESTS... I'M CHEERING YOU ON AND I COMMEND THE "OHIO" DOT FOR HOLDING THEIR GROUND ON THIS. SO DON'T YOU GIVE IN ON THIS POSITION. OHIO TRULY IS A LEADER FOR "THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX," THAT'S WHY I'VE SO OFTEN HEARD THE PHRASE "OHIO IS THE MISSISSIPPI OF THE NORTH," EXCEPT FOR MUCH HIGHER TAXES OF COURSE. AND I KNOW ODOT IS THINKING "OUTSIDE THE BOX" BY CREATING FUTURE HIGHWAY JOBS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN ENTRANCE RAMPS AND EXITS HAVE TO BE "ADDED" YEARS AFTER THE PROJECT IS FINISHED... AT A MUCH HIGHER COST OF COURSE. BUT BY THEN, IT WILL BE TOO LATE. AGAIN, DON'T GIVE IN ON THIS ..... HOLD YOUR GROUND ODOT, HOLD YOUR GROUND. JUST SAY YOU'RE CONSIDERING THE EXIT & ENTRANCE RAMPS, EVEN THOUGH YOU REALLY ARENT. (THEY'LL NEVER THE DIFFERENCE.)

• nonna3107@yahoo.com
  This is not a helpful move for the city of Cleveland. We need to maintain this ramp as vital for freeway access to many areas including those beyond the city. Please do not do this.

• pat.writes@sbcglobal.net
  This "plan" could only be created by someone who does not live east of Cleveland's most narrowly defined downtown few blocks. Please do your homework and re-review how these Carnegie and Prospect exits feed into Cleveland, and also into the inner ring east suburbs.

  This plan is terrible, and will cause unnecessarily clogged traffic patterns that forcing people to go deeper into the city before they can head where they need to go, and causing more gas to be used and more polution.

• ericandkaren@wowway.com
  How about serving the public's best interest??????!!!!!!!!

• miraclejackie2yahoo.com
  I am a single mother of 3 boys, and I work in the downtown area. It would make my situation even more challenging if the ramps are closed. Timing is everything when you have to drop children to daycare, and flow in thick traffic. Some days I might have to stop when I'm at my door to leave my home because one of my children have gotten sick and I'm slightly delayed. As a single mother, that's part of my job; however, Being able to continue my day as planned as close to possible as my schedule is highly needed. Having to take a different exit and the extra minutes it might take, could make all the difference in the world to someone who is trying to hold on to her minimum wage paying job as long as I can. Sincerely, Jacqueline Hardges.

• peteb@suttonhardware.com
  I am deeply concerned about closing the ramps at Prospect and Carniege Aves and the impact it will have on allowing emergency vehicles to assist motorists during accidents.It would be a shame if someone died during an accident because of limited access to the innerbelt.It would also keep people from coming downtown.

• schmiek@ccf.org
  This is ridiculous to close this!

• badmeza@yahoo.com
  The three largest employers in north east Ohio will be adversely affected by these closures. Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, and Case already have access issues, why not make it easier to get to our cultural center. Not cutting it off.

• lanceambrose@yahoo.com
  If the Prospect Ramps close, I will be moving my nine employees out of Cleveland. ODOT can then easily drive past an empty city.

• msherman@att.com
  I use the Prospect entrance to the southbound entrance every day to go to work in the morning. In the afternoon, I utilize the Innerbelt exit, from the northbound direction, onto Chagrin, to go home.

  It would be extremely difficult, also read time consuming, to have to use other methods to get to and from work every day. There would be more traffic and dangerous with the increased traffic at rush hour. Please, please, do NOT close those entrance and exit ramps,

• psherman@ameritech.net
  Closing these ramps will not only decrease access to the midtown area but will create significant additional traffic jams at the remaining exit ramps. The current exit configuration of I-90 spreads exiting traffic out over three major E-W streets. The proposed configuration eliminates two of these exits, claiming that the remaining exit and the existing E 22nd Street (a N-S street) exit will handle the volume of exiting traffic.

  I do not believe that ODOT (the Ohio Department of Transportation) has properly examined the use of the 22nd Street exit. This exit is only a little over 300' from the I-77 ramp feeding traffic onto I-90. This short stretch of highway has large volumes of traffic entering I-90, trying to accelerate to merge into the I-90 traffic stream and avoiding vehicles entering the acceleration lane to slow down and exit I-90 at the E 22nd Street exit. I expect that forcing the existing Prospect and Carnegie exiting traffic to use the E 22nd Street exit will create a high accident area that will block traffic during rush hour a significant portion of the time.

  Carnegie and Prospect Avenues are, respectively, two and three traffic lights away from the East 22nd Street exit ramp. I don't believe that it's possible to put the Carnegie and Prospect rush hour exiting traffic through two to three intersections with traffic lights and not create backups that will extend onto I-90. When this happens, this will back up both I-90 and I-77 because this will also block the I-77 to I-90 ramp.

• sandrewn@usa.redcross.org
  I live in Vermilion and work in Cleveland - it is an hour drive one way when the traffic is light! Closing the Carnegie and Prospect ramps will make it a nightmare to get to and from work in a timely manner!! Please don't close these ramps - it takes me long enough to get to work and back as it is!!!

• servicewetgrinding@yahoo.com
  We use the Prospect ramps all day long for deliveries throughout Northern Ohio. If ODOT closes the Prospect ramps we are going to move the company out of the Cleveland area. No need to be were we are not wanted.

• zulatrust@yahoo.com
  Whenever Any innerbelt ramp is closed, downtown becomes gridlocked.

  Our trucks use the Prospect Ave ramps.

  If these ramps are closed, our business will leave Cleveland.

  ODOT is based out of Columbus and must want Cleveland to die.

  RIP

• aklein@dreyfuss.com
  I have read Patrick A. Bauer's comments/opinion regarding the closing of the Downtown Cleveland ramps and it is obvious that Mr. Bauer has never driven the Interbelt himself. I have worked in downtown Cleveland for the last nine years and the closing of these ramps WILL IMPACT traffic flow both during morning and evening rush hours. I ask that ODOT not close these ramps or if you do close them, that you have Mr. Bauer's job changed to Downtown Cleveland so that he may enjoy how convenient it is to travel to and from Downtown Cleveland on a daily basis without these ramps.

• scfrizzz@hotmail.com
  After moving to Cleveland from another city, I must say that trying to drive in Cleveland (especially to/from Cleveland Heights) is quite frustrating and time consuming. I have actually found that the access/exit points at Prospect and Carnegie are the ones I use the most. The other points (E 55th and E 30th) are already congested...especially at rush hours! It would take about 15-20 minutes to simply go one mile. Closing the Prospect and Carnegie ramps would make this congestion even worse. Perhaps there is another way that the issues can be smoothed out. It seems to me that the 2 access points (Prospect and Carnegie) are the least of the problems and closing them would only seem to make things worse. I have yet to experience any slow downs or congestion in these 2 areas.

• achambers@amhigley.com
  I received an email response from my last message stating that the Carnegie and Prospect ramps would be closed because it would only cause the people to travel an extra two or three blocks to get to the Chester Ave. ramp and this would not impact traffic overall in the area. I would like to make you aware that it is not the distance being traveled - it's the NUMBER OF CARS TRAVELING THE DISTANCE SIMULTANEOUSLY that will have an impact. I invite those responsible for making this decision to accompany us as we depart our business at 30th and Chester during normal traffic, let alone after a snowfall of a couple of inches or another voter registration drive up the street at 30th and Euclid. If the rest of Midtown and the Trench are trying to get to the Chester ramp at the same time we won't be able to get out of our parking lot. Please think about what you're doing. Think hard.

• ballm1@ccf.org
  I am once again writing to all of you to please stop the closure of the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps. I work at the Cleveland Clinic and use Carnegie avenue everyday. I don't think our community/patients/visitors are being thought about at all!!! It makes no sense and Chester or East 22nd is not a good alternative, I will not be forced to drive down a road with poorly timed lights, nor will I drive through unsafe areas simply because a better solution cannot be thought of. And on another note, I received the "response" email from Patrick Bauer and associates. What a complete and total disregard to our thoughts. I don't think our emails/posts/comments were ever really read. So I'm once again putting a post up. Please do not do this you will hurt our city and make Downtown even less attractive.

• bbenedict@applied.com
  It has already been proven that the Chester Avenue entrance and exit cannot handle the increased traffic. When work on sections of Euclid Avenue prevented us from crossing Euclid Avenue to get to the Prospect entrance, additional traffic was routed to the Chester entrance and exit. Traffic backed up for blocks trying to get to the entrance. The problem arose that if you were close to the Chester entrance, you could not turn onto Chester because traffic was already backed up past where you are trying to turn onto Chester. Everyone suffered thru it because we knew it would only be temporary. It was a major problem that was brief, but would become a permanent problem if the Prospect and Carnegie entrances were closed. It is not a matter of driving a short additional distance. It is a matter of being able to drive that distance without spending 20 minutes to drive one block. Traffic can also back up at the Chester exit because there is a short distance between the offramp and the traffic light. Forcing more traffic to exit at Chester will force that traffic to back up onto the Innerbelt.

• cbalata@applied.com
  My company, Applied Industrial Technologies is located on Euclid Ave. I've already had to alter my route because of the brainiac idea of not allowing you to cross over Euclid because of the buses. Now we are facing all of the ramp changes. Please stop this from happening.. I can't even imagine what visitors to our city think of all these brainiac ideas.

• debbie.andrews@vocon.com
  As an Eastsider working in Midtown Cleveland (Prospect & E. 30th)limiting the amount of exits on the I-90 Interbelt will cause huge traffic tieups for people who work in the Midtown Cleveland area and downtown Cleveland area including CSU.

  At present the Chester Avenue entrance to I-90 east his a major tie up between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM. Getting through the light on Chester & E. 30th St. creates a huge backup on Chester backing up traffic to E. 36th. Sending all traffic that normally uses Prospect and Carnegie Avenue exits and entrances would become MAJOR TRAFFIC PROBLEMS!!!! IF WHOMEVER THINKS THERE ARE PROBLEMS NOW....BATTON DOWN THE HATCHES BECAUSE THIS WOULD BE CREATING MORE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS AND HUGE HEADACHES!!! NOT TO MENTION AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. IS CLEVELAND PREPARED TO HANDLE THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC A POTENTIONAL ACCIDENTS THIS COULD CAUSE BECAUSE OF IMPATIENT PEOPLE.

  Closing the Prospect Entrance and Exit ramps would also be a huge mistake.....Please reconsider this proposal.

  Limiting how people get into and out of downtown will only discourage people from attending events downtown. Do you really want to discourage people from coming to Downtown Cleveland!!!!!

  Who's idea is this anyway? Are the people proposing this idea using these exits and entrances on a daily basis to actually know and experience what the potential problems would be by limiting the amount of exits and entrances??

  HELP~~~~~DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!

• emily.shacklett@fairportasset.com
  Even after reading your letter, I still oppose the closing of the ramps.

• JBrewer@AMHigley.com
  Who will want to work in this area (as I now do) when it's going to take me twice as long to get to work and twice as long to get home? So much for keeping jobs in Cleveland.

  I drive through downtown on the innerbelt and have never thought of it as overly congested. I have never come to a complete stop while on the innerbelt in my two years of working downtown. However, I daily come to a complete stop on I90 West or I71 North (depending which route I take to work). We should address those issues first.

  This closing makes no sense.

• jreed@wcof.net
  I both live and work in the downtown area of Cleveland and utilize these ramps and the inner belt on a daily basis.This is a time where Cleveland needs to enhance more business and bring more people to downtown and not look for ways to quicly move them past the city. Both my clients and myself will find it more difficult to exit and go to downtown/midtown for business and personal visits. I do not understand how an agency and people who do not live in the city of Cleveland can think they know what is best for the city of Cleveland. Easy access is a key to further developing Cleveland and not making it more difficult to visit my office or recreational sites in the city.

• karaceleste20@yahoo.com
  Cleveland struggles as it is to unite the suburbs and the metropolitan/downtown area - don't kill off our city by closing the roads! Please protect our vibrant city.

• kittyrohr@cox.net
  This city is hard enough to get around in without the exits that circumvent the traffic jams. You need to rethink any decision to change these exits.

• KOSMYNJ@ccf.org
  I feel your response to our group's prior concerns was totally blown off. Have any of you in the planning process seen how busy the side streets are now? I often wait 2-3 lights to get onto the freeway as is. With construction on 77 ongoing for who knows how long, my 17 mile commute will take over an hour during peak times.

• mike@confast.com
  I will move my business to North Olmsted if this happens.

• rjensik@amhigley.com
  As a registered Professional Civil Engineer in Ohio (that studied Transportation engineering at length), I have to wonder who is making such illogical decisions as eliminating several of the most used ramps in downtown Cleveland.

  Besides discouraging companies & visitors from wanting to do business downtown, it will add an incredible over-burden on the remaining ramps!!

  As a life long resident and tax payer of Ohio, I ask that this plan be abandoned, or at least greatly curtailed.

  Thank you,

  Robert Jensik, P.E.

  License #E-52816

• sam3@uakron.edu
  Please don't be afraid to admit that your plans are wrong! I can't believe that public officials can be so unresponsive to the people who drive these roads every day. Please restore my faith in civil servants (with emphasis on servants.

• smckenzie@applied.com
  Recently an email was sent to a list of concerned citizens that were opposing the elimination of these ramps. Their reasons were to improve safety and traffic flow would be improved. I profoundly object to this plan because it will do just the opposite. Less ramps, the more traffic funneled to fewer exits and ramps. This will cause more back ups on the ramps extending into heavy traffic causing more accidents, rather than reducing risks as they are proposing.

• wsmith*applied.com
  Do not close the ramps

• jps_bugsy24
  My husband and I own a business in the Midtown area. Closing of these ramps will cause a hardship for us and affect access to our business negatively. We have been in Midtown for about 15 years, and decided to purchase a property there because of the easy access to our business from any direction, inclkuding the airport.

  I urge you to reconsider closing these ramps.

  Thank you.

• littlechrissyf@att.net
  I work at St Vincent Charity Hospital. Please explain how

  closing the closest access to a hospital will help the

  community and it's employees. Why would you want to congest

  already busy ramps with more traffic? Commuters will be more

  aggitated, stressed and aggressive than usual. I've had to take alternate routes before and have waited through several light

  changes at one stop to make a simple turn onto a pothole riddled

  street. The focus on street repair should be a priority not

  removing vital access to local hospitals

• coppolaf@ucc.org
  This is my second message to decision-makers. I received the generic response from Patrick Bauer to my first message indicating that plans are moving ahead. My response back to the generic message is that I will remember this next election day. If there is an inability to listen to what the voters want, then the voters need to elect politicians who will consider what is in the best interest of the people. If you don't live in the Cleveland area, then you don't understand the issues.

• d.ulmschneider@msn.com
  Closing these access ramps would be devastating for the thousands of daily commuters who need access to the Cleveland Clinic and UH.

• kochb@ccf.org
  The data ODOT presents is faulty and it will be to their embarrassment to if they proceed based on the this data. I use all three of these ramps on a rather frequent basis several times a week. (CCF employee traveling/from work and traveling to several other CCF facilities regularly). The people using these ramps will not decrease ( and probably increase with Midtown success). simple math says the remaining ramps will have to take more traffice. Their Midtown connector no matter how cleverly designed will not make onload/or off load any easier. Pushing traffic to fewer locations means the Midtown connector will become just and extension of the ramp traffic and we will wait there or at an extra light etc. This will make the "ramp" traffic data look acceptable, but the reality is, we in the car get extended waits. It just happens to be that we will be backed up their midtown connector not on thier ramp. This is not a user improvement.

  Starving Carniege by eliminating this ramp is wrong. ODOT's own letter of 8/4 to "Whom it may concern" admits that the Chester traffic will be degraded, "but not significantly" This is an unqualifed statement. They have carelessly devalued what 400 ft and a light means to a commuter in rush hour situation.

  It is also apparent in their 8/4 letter that they expect or anticipate that people will backtrack to Carniegie, to patronize businesses. Thus discounting the value of routine traffic to these businesses. This is not realistic and again it is a statement that is not qualified or studied. Their biased opinion wrongly used as part of their justification/explanation.

  ODOT is charged with building and maintaining infastructor to support us. A plan which does not support our city, and degrades the progress made in Midtown needs to be stopped and re-evaluated.

  Bob Koch

• alberjen@usa.redcross.org
  I am an employee of the American Red Cross. Traffic at the end of the work day is normally heavy and wait times to get to the Prospect ramp can be long. But if that ramp didn't exist, I am sure the wait to get out of towntown would double. This is especially true in the winter months, when the traffic is worse. Please do not close the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps. They are vital to so many employees working in the Mid-town area.

• kassandraspates@hotmail.com
  The Carnegie & Prospect access are the most convenience ramps when leaving n entering Cleve Hts. It prevents me from getting caught up in Downtown traffic. Closure shuts out suburban residents as well as businesses and neighborhood residence. It would cost more to close them!

• michael.bloom.mail@gmail.com
  I and my business depend on the Carnegie exit. What does ODOT have against the people of Northeast Ohio and its businesses?

  The Carnegie exit must be maintained.

• dark3581@sbcglobal.net
  As a courier in greater cleveland, i use these ramps as fast means to access the highway. As the old saying goes "TIME IS MONEY" and closing these ramps will cause me to reroute and lose precious time, and lose money. Not to mention my customers will not get their products on time. Its not a good idea to close these ramps. Put the money towards something else like fixing the existing streets, they are horrible, or building a new innerbelt bridge, or widen I77 south. so many other things to use that money for. not to mention all the businesses that rely on commuters exiting and entering the ramps to see the buildings. business will fail, they will be forced to close their doors, and cleveland will lose more tax dollars. perhaps more than the city officials lost on the ameritrust deal. {40 million} DO NOT CLOSE THESE RAMPS THEY ARE VITAL TO THE CITY AND THE PEOPLE THAT WORK AND LIVE IN IT.

• divingcop@cox.net
  I use this ramp daily. Due to longer routes and waiting time I will use more fuel. My budget is very tight with the bad economy and cannot afford any additional expenses what-so-ever. Please find it in your heart to protect the working class and save this access to the important institutions of Cleveland. Thank You for your attention.

• hellothota@gmail.com
  The proposed closing of Innerbelt ramps will disrupt my commute to work severely. Hence, I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

• kjsneary@yahoo.com
  Closing the ramps would make it more conjested on the remaing exits into the city. There is enough traffice and conjestion now.

• marktoth@live.com
  I am most certainly in agreement to replacing the current interbelt bridge!!!!!!

  I am not seeing a good reason to eliminate the exits as proposed. It seems that those closures would make it that much harder to access things down town/mid-town.

  This very well could also lead to a negative economic impact as well.

• michael.daltorio@gmail.com
  These exit ramps are the most convenient access to the south and west side from University Circle. Closing these ramps is a detriment to the midtown corridor, Cleveland Clinic, and University Circle areas.

• jclarkb@cox.net
  The proposed closure of the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps makes no sense to those of us who drive to University Cirle from the West side daily. The closure of these would certainly have a negative impact on traffic as well as on the local busisnesses. I hope this decision is not a final one. Please move forward with the rest of the plans, but I ask you to please not close these two exits from the innerbelt.

• kasmo79@yahoo.com
  Carnegie and Prospect are two exits that help ease traffic into the Cleveland Clinic area. Closing these two ramps would in turn cause Chester to be a problem every morning and evening, as this would be the only way to exit for the Clinic. It will cause frustration for employees of the Clinic and also patients.

• tmartin@pepcleve.org
  I think closing the Carnegie and Prospect ramps would end up increasing congestion and the frequency of accidents. I use the Prospect access ramps both going to and leaving work. If the Prospect ramp was closed, all of us who currently use it would have to drive on surface streets to another ramp (e.g., Chester), which would simply cause the Chester ramp, and the streets leading to it, to become congested. Commuting times would increase, and I think "fender-bender" accidents would increase too, as people start cutting in and out of lanes in response to the frustration of waiting in a long line to get onto the highway.

  Please keep the Carnegie and Prospect ramps which currently meet the commuting needs of those of us who work in the Midtown area.

  Tom Martin

• donnatizzano@sbcglobal.net
  I think the proposed closing of these donwtown access ramps will hurt the city,businesses and the Down Town hospital ST.Vincent Charity Hospital. This decision shoul be reconsidered.

• elizannedavis@gmail.com
  I am a resident at Walker Weeks, a historic apartment building adjacent to this ramp. I am committed to living downtown and being part of a revived urban community, but the convenience of where I live would be markedly diminished if the ramp were eliminated. I 90 provides a quick link to the Steelyard Corners project, as well as the Tremont area, both of which I would like to continue patronizing. As nearby Cleveland State University becomes a more residential campus, this ramp will also be increasingly important to the student community. The ramp also provides ready access to Playhouse Square, the YMCA, and the Wolstein Center; and to several businesses around the CSU campus, including Global Village.

• heidithomas@go.com
  I work at the Cleveland Clinic, go to school at Cleveland State and worship at Trinity Cathedral. I use both the I 90 Innerbelt ramps at Carnegie and Prospect for work, school, worship and the occasional social outing.

  I have even considering moving closer to the university (in one of the buildings under construction) in the future; however, limited access would quash those ideas.

  Carnegie, Prospect are vital access ramps to/from Cleveland. Do not close them! Please! Access is critical to that neighborhood's survival/revival.

• koerber@ccf.org
  I have worked at cleveland clinic for 14 yrs and have driven this way for yrs do not close the ramps. I also take call and drive this way all hrs of the night. Please do not shut Carnegie & Prospect ramps

  Rita

• lyonsd@ccf.org
  To close these exits is ludicrous. These are the most common exits utilized by both employees and patients. The fact that exiting at Carnegie at about E. 30th is a straight shot eastward on Carnegie to several main garages and building entrances. I don't see anything beneficial to this - only detrimental results.

• smas10_03@yahoo.com
  Those of us who have always regarded the Cleveland East/West divide as unneccesary and customarily travel frequently over the River will be hugely inconvenienced by the loss of the Carnegie, (and in my case, the Chester)ramps. Further, businesses close to the ramps will be damaged by loss of long-standing and potential new customers and much greater difficulty in their operations in terms of shipping and receiving, etc.; hardly desirable with the economy already in bad shape.

  I'm not very enthusiastic about "smoothing Deadman's curve" for the sake of doing it, regarding it as less important than spending the same resources on repairing deteriorating infrastructure that is unsafe even for careful drivers. There will always be reckless drivers who endanger themselves and others; "smoothing" Deadman's curve won't alter that.

• cynthia.day@uhhospitals.org
  Cutting off our current exits would cause a tremendous headache for a lot of people. I am a westsider and have been commuting to UH for many years now and without the exits it will prolong my commute and I belive this will only congest I90 even more than it is now. Please reconsider.

• gnamason@gmail.com
  Closing the access ramps during great change, growth, and challenge is poor timing. Midtown has a long record of supporting the heart of Cleveland, heralding enduring hope for over two decades. Small businesses have invested tens of millions just on Euclid Avenue, and the Cleveland Clinic has invested tens of millions more in development, and construction alone. Would you now reward them by limiting access to these vital connections between University Circle and Downtown Cleveland? While maintenance, upgrades, and traffic services are increasingly expensive, ODOT may also appreciate the increasing demand for small businesses, patrons, patients, doctors, and other medical professionals along the I 90 (Carnegie and Prospect) Midtown access ramps. Please reconsider based on the notable tax payer's investments.

• jross271@hotmail.com
  Trying to turn left(toward highway) onto Prospect at 5:00 each day is nearly impossible with the constant flow of cars heading west.

  There are vehicles turning onto Prospect from E 36th as well.

  How can you choose to close a ramp that has such high volume.

  MANY businesses depend on this easy access.

  Closing this ramp will only create more congestion on the alternatives.

• lildancerxoxoxo@att.net
  as a long-time CSU employee coming from the west side I have had to run the gauntlet that is the E. 22 exit off the innerbelt. Increasing the traffic at this exit will be a disaster. E. 22 north to Chester is already fraught with construction workers,busses, drivers dropping passengers off, a loading zoe for the residence hall etc. The light controlling traffic at Euclid and E. 22 allows 2-3 cars through at best each turn on most days. Again an increase in traffic here would cause gridlock going back to the hospital. due to the one way/median system on Chester accessing those entrance ramps often requires going around several blocks or U-turns @ Chester. I go over to the Carnegie entrance as it is all right turns - even though there are multiple lights and traffic already backs up due to the health line having the right of way. I think some further research is called for here.

• lsebek@applied.com
  I am deeply concerned with how this will impact the drive to/from work (especially in inclement weather) for all downtown motorists as well as the overall impact to all businesses in this area.

• davidday1104@sbcglobal.net
  This would make getting to work much harder and more time consuming for me.I need to get home to pick up child from daycare before it closes and this will delay that and cause more stress for people in similar situations.

• wsmith@applied.com
  These 2 access ramps do not need to be closed due the fact

  that we the people have to use them each and every day.

  To and from work. With out these 2 access rampa People will have to find other ways to work which will take much longer

  then if the ramps are to stay open. Also this move will probley

  put people of work.

• a-crobert@att.net
  Closing the prospect ramp, which I take on a daily basis, will only succeed in increasing traffic through the city by forcing all users of these ramps, like myself, to take city street to the next alternative entry/exit point. ODOT should take the time to evaluate the number of vehicles taking these ramps on a daily basis to come to the clear conclusion that they will generate a lot more city congestion with this decision.

• bdisterhof@clevelandrmh.org
  As someone who commutes every day - these ramps are a necessity. Most of the other downtown ramps are congested every day and adding these commuters to that mess will be a disaster. Please don't close them.

  Thank you,

  Barb Disterhof

  Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland

• kwiatkal@gmail.com
  As a commuter to work within University Circle, and with exsisting roadway struggles and conditions, the purposed plan appears to not solve any problem and yet cause further frusteration. I would advise ODOT to listen to the people they are making improvments for. Listen to the people, and you would hear that your plan is not meeting their needs.

• glouis@correctiveeye.com
  I use these exits EVERY DAY and so do my 20 employees! If they are gone the other exits will be swamped.

  PLEASE SAVE THESE RAMPS!

• Philip77us@yahoo.com
  We have made great strides as a local community to improve our district, making it appealing for business and residential use. It is clear to me that as one who has lived in the MidTown area (E. 40th and Euclid) for the last nine years that no one who is planning these changes has ever actually used the roads in and out of this area. Your proposal will stiffle development and simply clear a path for people and commerce to avoid MidTown, Downtown, St Clair-Superior and the Quadrangle neighborhoods. Your bridge proposal is silly enough. There are ways to adjust this unreasonable plan to promote safety, traffic flow and urban development. Please use your engineering skills and find solutions that benefit the entire scope of this once in a life time project.

• danadane182@aol.com
  I work at the cleveland clinic and it would be a terrible inconvenience to have those ramps closed. I use both of them on a daily basis and I'm sure not only would it be a huge problem for employees, but also for patients.

• balazse@ccf.org
  Do you know how congested the Chester ramp will become if Prospect and Carnegie are closed? Chester already gets backed up onto the highway many times in the mornings. Ongoing ramp from Chester to the innerbelt is ALWAYS backed up during rush hr., which is why I often use Prospect. Someone from ODOT has not done their homework. There will more trafic tie-ups and accidents if the 2 proposed ramps are closed. Listen to people who use them everyday!!!

• brittina.helgeson@bchfs.org
  I'm sure you are taking into consideration the needs of all of the members of those who live and commute to downtown Cleveland. Please make sure to hear everyone's opinions and weigh them accordingly! Thank you.

• brw9@case.edu
  I really believe the congestion this will cause, especially in rush hour morning traffic will cause such a problem and uproar and this situation will have to be revisited.

• citrarm@ccf.org
  have you lost your minds..what about the thousand of people who work at THE CLEVELAND CLINIC, UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS AND CASE WESTERN...THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO NEED THE CARNEGIE EXIT..HAVE YOU DRIVEN DOWN CHESTER..GOOD LUCK..IT IS APPARENT WHOEVER IS MAKING THIS DECISION DOES NOT LIVE HERE!!!!!!!!!

  GOD HELP THE DECISION MAKERS THIS IS WHY OUR STATE IS IN THE CONDITION IT IS IN....ARE YOU THE SAME FOLKS WHO MADE THE EUCLID AVENUE CHANGES. THAT IS A COMPLETE MESS..

• joeherman@msn.com
  This needs to be thought about more. These access roads have businesses that would be permanently affected by these closures. Making traffic get off at East 22 St, would make a mess of the cars entering from I-77.

• michellehamilton@ameritech.net
  I think that the closing of the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio is a horrible idea. If anything, more access is needed, or at least both onramps and off ramps at each exit. I can see where this may help people who are driving through the area, but it completely cripples those who actually live and work in the city and use these exits every day. Chester is already an incredibly congested exit. Unless this idea was paired with changing chester into a high spped (at least 50 mph) with limited exits (possibly one at 55th, the clinic, and ending in University Circle) this will make my commute unimaginably long and I will seriously consider moving and changing jobs.

• agoodwin@correctiveeye.com
  I work right off of the Prospect exit on 22nd. Closing would add additional time to my already long long drive to work.

• amysekel@hotmail.com
  I am an employee of the Cleveland Clinic and I feel this will be a major inconvenience and disservice to patients and employees traveling to the clinic from the west side of Cleveland. Please consider other options.

• bvolle@bchfs.org
  I also believe that closing these exit ramps would greatly decrease rush hour productivity.

• csherman@bchfs.org
  I work in this area and am gravely disappointed in ODOT.

• eagle4744@oh.rr.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  I travel this way to work everyday. We need to keep our access. I work at e36th and Euclid for Applied Industrial Technologies.

  It will hurt business in the area and it will hurt me personally every day when i try to get to work. In any economy and especially in this economy i don't think the prudent idea is to hurt businesses, and the people who still have jobs and work for these businesses.

• Elizabeth.Swift@bchfs.org
  My office was moved to 3235 Prospect just this past Monday and the only good thing about the move was the easy access to and from Prospect Ave. My office will be moving again in a few months to Carnegie Ave and if that ramp is closed too then my daily commute will become, in a word, a nightmare. Please don't do this to me and all the other hard-working people who need for these ramps to remain open. Please, life is tough enough.

• enelson@bchfs.org
  This will seriously impact our business at Berea Children's Home and Family Services on Prospect and Carnegie

• Kelly.Kulon@bchfs.org
  The possibility of this will greatly affect Downtown traffic flows, particularly on Chester. As a daily commuter through the area, this limits the options I have to getting to and from work easily.

• kgrey@applied.com
  Closing Prospect would cause severe backup on the Chester and E.21 ramp onto the freeway, especially in winter. The decision to close the Prospect ramp would effect a tremendous number of people negatively and would be very frustrating. Many of us spend 45 minutes to 1 hour on the road to get home. Closing the Prospect ramp would increase that amount of time. ODOT should be giving us better access to our jobs, not less. Who pays their salaries ? We do !

• kwolcott@bchfs.org
  Having a daughter who utlilzes Cleveland Clinic facility downtown, it is important to me to have easy access to the hospital. We visit the hospital for necessary services about 3 times per month or more.

  thank you,

  Karen Wolcott

• leanne.zidick@bchfs.org
  This will make my communte to work longer!!! Please do not close ANY ranmps

• Mike.Albertone@mmoh.com
  The Prospect ramps are my source for getting to work and getting home from work. If you eliminate these ramps, based on your proposals, it will definitely add time to my commute to/from work. I am sure I am not the only one. It would seem that the people going to/from work would have the higher priority than the people simply passing through the city. Besides, I think the improvement for those passing through the city by eliminating these ramps would be minimal, while the detriment caused to those who use these ramps everday would be great. It just doesn't make logical sense.

• pboyle@bchfs.org
  Having just moved from the suburbs to a downtown office, I find the fact that I can exit at Prospect and drive two blocks to my job a wonderful perk. Please do not close this ramp.

• b.pandy@mhjf.org
  I cannot think of any good reason you would have to close these access ramps. Please if anything else you should be adding a ramp. I work downtown and have spoken to many people and not one of them have a complaint about the access ramps being there BUT everyone said closing them would be horrible and many other adjectives. Getting around downtown is not the easiest thing to do so for many of us we ask that you LEAVE OUR ACCESS RAMPS ALONE. Thank you for your time.

• crd11@case.edu
  I use this exit everyday. It would be a huge inconvenience for myself and many of my east to west, west to east traveling friends. Please rethink this plan.

• irish_007@yahoo.com
  I drive my wife to work at St. Vincents Charity Hospital, and the Prospect exit & entrance ramps are ideal for us to access I-90 East. If they are closed it will cause much inconvenience and added time to our journey; which is already a minimum of 30 minutes one way, barring accidents/backlogs. Consider people like us who pay taxes in order to receive representation in government; and not to be "told" what's going to happen to our road system just because you people in power (put there by us) feel it would be better for downtowns business community! Heed us or it may be a lonely election next time around!

• mitechclub@gmail.com
  Honestly, how does any of this make any logical sense? I exit onto I-90 at Prospect which makes all that traffic fairly easy. By closing Prospect exit will force all that traffic to go farther west into the already clogged downtown. If I go back to Chester it too is heavily, heavily clogged as well. What this is going to do is clog the already over tasked exit ramps at E9th St and S. Broadway Ave going west bound on I-90. What are you thinking??!! I don't get it. This is some of the most awful city planning I’ve seen. Who makes these ridiculous decisions? Obviously, you don't drive through these areas during rush hour so you could care less. Why must you burden the rest of us who drive this 5 days a week?

  Please, rethink this and do the right thing. Aren’t there bigger and more important issues in this city you can deal with?

• mwillis602@yahoo.com
  I wish that they would leave the ramps as they are and not remove them this would be very detrimental to all that live work do business and out of towners and in towners who use the ramps to get to their destinations its enough that people are inconvenienced with access to their home or businesses when temporary roadblocks are up but permanent roadblocks means more loss of population and loss of businesses.Please dont make the mistake of allowing access to our homes and livelyhood.

• ray.depuy@usa.net
  Closing these ramps would cripple the traffic during busy times of the day. In addition, when an event at Progressive Field or Quicken Loans Arena is taking place, it will be even worse. Please keep these ramps in operation. Thank you.

• gsneperger@minutemeninc.com
  I use this road daily, this would cause a hassle to myself as well as the rest of the drivers on the road.

  Thank you for your consideration!

  Gina

• gzamostny@applied.com
  I currently work in the MidTown area of Cleveland and believe the proposed closing of these ramps by ODOT will greatly lengthen my daily commute and add to traffic congestion especially during rush hour. Please reconsider this option!

• k.saur@hotmail.com
  I live on Prospect Ave and work downtown on the corner of E. 14th and Euclid. I am a Clevelander. Not only would the closing of these ramps be extremely inconvenient for me personally, I can see it as a potential burden for people that work downtown and commute. These ramps are used extensively at all hours of the day especially during rush hour. They help to take some stress off the E 14th street ramps. The area of Prospect I live in is really quite nice, it has a lot of well-kept businesses, apartment buildings and Cleveland historical sites/houses. It is not primarily a residential neighborhood. The ramps off Prospect and Carnegie are beneficial to these up-and-coming neighborhoods. They play an important supporting role in that as people drive by, they can see that areas immediately surround downtown Cleveland can be pleasant.

  Dead man's curve has always been an enigma to me. I've had people visit me in Cleveland from out of town and everyone asks why the 90 makes a 90 degrees turn (ironic)...I never have an answer for them.

• ktlch@aol.com
  It seems that with all that downtown Cleveland has to offer, we would want as much access to the Downtown area as possible. Exit ramps allow people to get to the places where activities are being held. The on ramps would allow for traffic to flow more smoothly when these events end.

  I use these ramps on a daily basis and would like them to stay open. I do believe a new Innerbelt bridge is necessary and would encourage a way to avoid accidents at Deadman's cure.

  Laurie Holmes

• mcdonnm@ccf.org
  Hi, I am a RN at the Cleveland Clinic. I also help lots of patients navigate there way to the Clinic and parking. The best and easiest route is down Carnegie Avenue. Thank you for considering not closing the ramp.

• NORMANMILAVEC@YAHOO.COM
  I also would like better notification of closures and changes to traffic flow at night. Working 3rd shift is hard enough but to be rerouted 3 times in one night is too much! Some advance notice of closures to accomodate workers to allow us to leave earlier would be great.

• pmarotta@centralbeachwood.com
  Save are ramps, easy access to Central Cadillac-HUMMER

• seingersoll@sbcglobal.net
  As a native Clevelander, I am resentful of the fact that ODOT is not listening to the people who live and work and play in Cleveland. ODOT is reasoning that keeping the Carnegie and Prospect ramps would be going against current federal highway regulations. However, the Innerbelt was designed and built before the federal highway regulations were put into place. Unless ODOT can design a brand new highway and ramp plan for the city of Cleveland -- which it can't and won't because it is too impractical and too expensive -- then exceptions to the federal regulations should be allowed for the Innerbelt and its current ramps. The economic survival and vitality of our city depend upon the Carnegie and Prospect ramps remaining open just as they are. ODOT must listen to Clevelanders who would have to deal with the traffic headaches if these ramps are closed!

• smsdr1@gmail.com
  My 20+ employees & I use these ramps almost daily to facilitate patient care, as we travel from Euclid to Downtown & back--for decades.

  The changes would add 5-15 mins to each trip.

• spisakw@ccf.org
  any decision to close those ramps would further make the navigation of the city of cleveland impossible to any visitors. the carnegie off ramp going east is a major throughway for those who work on the eastside while live on the westside.

• malah26@yahoo.com
  These ramps are frequently used as an entrance and exit for getting to the Eastside of downtown Cleveland.

• sandywelches@gmail.com
  The traffic on E. 22nd OR on Chester Ave. will be a nightmare for rush hour travelers to all of the Heights communities. Chester is already packed at busy times. You are also limiting access to the Cleveland Clinic. What can you be thinking? And closing the Prospect exit too? It's an outrageous plan to encumber working people just to "enhance the driver's" passage through this part of I 90.

• vpmc@sbcglobal.net
  I am amazed and dismayed at the plan to close the I-90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland Ohio. What an economic development disaster! The primary purpose of this thruway should NOT be to hurry "through" traffic along, but to allow visitors to Cleveland, as well as local residents and business people, to easily access the downtown and midtown areas of commerce, culture, and entertainment. The outerbelts (e.g. I-271) are for bypass, not the in-town freeways.

  I support the Cleveland Clinic/Midtown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with the new innerbelt bridge and smooting Deadman's curve.

• ajbelle007@hotmail.com
  Being a delivery person, these ramps are vital to help me complete my deliveries on time.

• dmshoemaker@adelphia.net
  I am an employee at CWRU and live on the east side. I have lived here since 1989. The improved ramps at East 9th and Ontario greatly improved the access and to and from the inner belt bridge. Eliminating these ramps and others would severely hamper traffic throughout the city and movement through it. Increased access should be the goal of citizens and government that serves them. Money should be spent improving the Opportunity corridor and turning the freeway east of Dead Man's curve into a boulevard similar to Lake Shore in Chicago. Our leaders should be concerned with improving usage of the city not increasing the speed of hotrodders who blast through the city. We should be concerned with traffic flow, not allowing those who use the existing bridge as a Daytona speedway. The speeding traffic is the main security issue that I have encountered. Traffic cameras have alleviated much of the problems through the city and the addition of the Healthline on Euclid have made the city much safer. If safety is ODOT's concern then slowing and improving access should be the goal.

  I also use many Midtown businesses and do not want the progress that neighborhood has seen to deteriorate. I love living in my city and working here. I have no interest in moving out to the suburbs or fleeing a beautiful community that I enjoy and has greenery and cultural institutions that are world class. Our regional and state government should be striving to bring back our cities and championing their assets to the world, not trying to kill them.

• hnoth@sbcglobal.net
  Closing these ramps does not make sense for anyone living in Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights and for all the workers in the Clinic / Case, who come from the suburbs. All of these exits need to stay open to have flowing traffic and proper access to the highway system. It takes already more than 15 minutes to get to a highway from the Heights area.

• tromco1214@aol.com
  i live in the heights and carnegie is always the exit I use which is closer to where i live. I also enter the freeway at prospect because it is easier with the long entrance lane, Chester is too dangerous to try to enter traffic.

• 16800bob@gmail.com
  One or two suggestions. Set aside enough money to plow under the vacant buildings, abandoned by the businesses that found easier access in Columbus (could that be an ODOT motive?) and enough money to reforest what was once a thriving metropolis. Oh, and for a plaque to be set on a small obelisk in what was Public Square: “On this site once stood the seventh largest metropolis in the United States, now restored to a forest primeval. By a series of engineering experiments and snafus, the work of the hallowed souls and calloused hands that raised this city on the shores of Erie was choked and successfully transformed into a transportation corridor for people and businesses going elsewhere. Governor Ted Strickland”

• clstalker@cox.net
  Closing the Prospect access ramps (90W to Prospect & Prospect to 90E) would make my daily commute to work intolerable. I live on the west side of Cleveland and work in University Circle. I have tried alternate routes when there has been construction and all of them add 15 to 20 minutes onto my already 35 minute commute. If these closings happen, I will have no choice but to seek employment outside of the city of Cleveland. When compared to other cities and states that I have lived in, one of the few things that makes living in the Cleveland area palatable is the relatively easy commutes by comparison.

  Additionally, when traveling from the west side to the east side outside of rush hour, the only viable option is to take 90W to Carnegie. Closing this ramp will only reinforce the tendency of surburbanites to stay in their suburb rather than venture out into the city of Cleveland. If ODOT wants to help make Cleveland even more of a ghost town, then closing these ramps will definitely complete the job. By the way, I VOTE!!

• lucymatz@gmail.com
  Please reconsider your idea to close these ramps.

  They are vital to the city's economy...which if you didn't know already, is one of the worst in the nation.

  It will be more difficult to attract tourists to the downtown areas/attractions with less access, and it will also be hard for commuting drivers to get to work where they need to get off...now they will have to backtrack --

  And this is all to make a "smooth" pattern of driving? NOT WORTH IT.

  -An irritated Clevelander

• bshiels@applied.com
  How does closing ramps achieve the objective of improving access? Of course, it probably cannot. It will only add congestion to the other ramps.

  How does closing ramps relate to a new bridge or smoothing of Deadman's curve? It does not seem they are related.

  Therefore, if we are rational people, does logic not tell us to proceed where there is no objection, and pursue better answers where the solution may be worse than the problem?

• emonroe@applied.com
  Business in this area has been hurt enough due to recent RTA

  "Upgrade" changes which impede traffic flow to Midtown businesses.

• eowen@applied.com
  Although I do not use these ramps for my commute, the majority of our Associates at Applied Industrial Technologies do. This is of major concern to me. It is not my top concern, however. There are many vital businesses (including 2 MAJOR award-winning hospitals)that utilize these ramps. It is unbelievable that this is not being considered when making this decision.

  Thank you,

  Erin E. Owen

  Applied Industrial Technologies

  Cleveland Heights Resident

• gary_schumacher@cainparkbicycle.com
  The Carnegie and Prospect access ramps are critical for near East side suburbs like Cleveland Heights. Access via these ramps allows our residents the only reasonable access to I90 for those who live East and work West.

  Leave it Alone!

• gregory.althans@fairportasset.com
  As a business owner in MidTown, these ramps are used almost daily. A closing would incent us to move our business out of the MidTown area to an area that had better access to highways to the East, West, and South.

• krohr@applied.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

• limantz@applied.com
  I have been traveling the innerbelt to work for 40 years without incident. I would think that by closing the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps we will see MORE conjestion on the innerbelt because MORE traffic will be forced to exit at fewer ramps... in particular Chester Ave.

• linid@ccf.org
  The ramp you should be closing is the E.22nd ramp. Has anyone making these decisions actually driven the route to see what it is like. Probably not. There are several near misses every morning from cars coming off of I77 and people trying to exit on E.22nd. If you close the Prospect ramps then you will have a bottleneck on Chester and Carnegie to get on the freeways. How about making the Carnegie exit accessible to exit right and left insted of only one way. Maybe the answer should be rather than closing the 2 ramps, possibly creating others on I77 to lessen the volume of cars coming right into the interchange. I invite any of the individuals listed below to do a few ride alongs with a normal commuter during the rush hours to see the actually flow of things.

• marybistak@yahoo.com
  Those entrance and exit ramps make that area of downtown accessable and keeps it from becoming desolate, which could be a safety issue. Leave things as they are.

  Respectfully, Mary Bist

• Rrobbins60@yahoo.com
  I work at the Cleveland Clinic as an OR nurse. I use the ramps that you want to close to and from work every day as does a lot of people. Who also uses those ramps are ambulances going to the Clinic and to University Hospitals. Eliminating those ramps will put a lot of people's lives in jeopardy, maybe killing some of them. Many people can not wait another 3-5 minutes it would take to go down Chester Avenue to get the the hospital ERs. Chester Avenue traffic will be extremely horrific and will hold up the ambulances trying to get through. Some people can survive the extra minutes it takes to get to the hospital. To others, every second can mean a difference between life and death. Taking away these ramps may mean taking away people's lives. Sincerely, Raymond Robbins RN

• rroth@applied.com
  I have been driving downtown to work from Avon Lake since 1977. The Chester entrace to the Innerbelt is backed up to E. 30th and sometimes halfway to E. 36th most days, beginning before 4 PM. To force additional drivers onto it by closing the Propsect entrance is irresponsible and not a viable option - especially in the winter. It will make evening commutes unbearably longer as well as unsafe. I have often (OFTEN!) been forced as it is to find ways other than these ramps to get to 90 West from E. 36th. If you need to widen the area in order to accomodate and improve the ramps then do so. There are plenty of vacant buildings that can be torn down to make room for an intelligently designed system. If you don't, there will be many more empty buildings in the area because businesses will close or move and jobs will be lost. Is that what you want?

  In addition, forcing more vehicles to go across-town - meaning accross the new Euclid Avenue MESS - is insane. Do you have any idea how long it now takes to travel across Euclid from Chester to Prospect, or vice-versa, over 30th or 36th? It sometimes (3-4 times a month) takes me 15 minutes NOW just to get to the Prospect ramp. These single lane surface streets cannot handle that load now, and would be worse if it were possible to bring more businesses into the Mid-town area. In fact it may be preventing businesses from coming here.

  Do what you're getting paid for and THINK about this!

• touschner@yahoo.com
  My office uses the Prospect exit every work day. The ODOT proposed change would greatly inconvenience us greatly then and at other times we go to downtown events. Drivers have no problem getting through Cleveland on the freeway system now, except for dead man's curve.

  I would like to know how many, if any, of the engineers designing and improving this ODOT plan haveexperience using these exits frequently.

  If ODOT must close the Prospect exit as it presently exists, heading from the East on I-90, why not have 1 exit to a long ramp starting around Superior (without lights or stop signs that could exit on Chester and then Prospect, and then Carnegie. A similar ramp on the other side could allow entrance onto I-90 heading east from these three streets.

  This is so important that it should be put to a vote of the people in Cuyahoga and the surrounding counties. They are paying for it.

• achambers@amhigley.com
  It already takes me an average of 10 minutes (with ideal weather conditions and normal traffic) to go three blocks to access the Prospect ramp to go home at the end of the work day. Closing this ramp and forcing traffic to the Chester ramp would be miserable at best and completely unacceptable at worst during poor winter weather. Closing these ramps will NOT improve traffic flow.

• bmcelhannon@centurytel.net
  I use the Carnegie exit ramp to travel to the Cleveland Clinic for Dr appointments. It is the best way to travel there. I also use the Carnegie exit ramp to get to Cleveland State and a few other businesses in the area. Not having access to the Carnegie and Prospect exit ramps would cause traffic issues that just aren't necessary and complicate getting to the downtown business located off these exit ramps, very difficult. PLEASE DO NOT CLOSE THESE RAMPS. THEY ARE VERY MUCH NEEDED.

• christine_devor@yahoo.com
  What rocket scientists are we dealing with now? This is one of the dumbest and unnecessary moves needed in this town. I totally oppose this change.

• ckillius@aol.com
  At this time of recession we should not take actions that will have a negative economic impact on the City of Cleveland by restricting access to businesses and our downtown university.

• coppolaf@ucc.org
  I am a frequent traveller of these roads and I use these exits/entrances at least 15 times a month. If they close, it would cause me to go miles out of my way to travel resulting in more driving and use of gasoline -- causing me to spend more money! Leave our accesses open. Also, downtown needs all the traffic it can contain. Have you not noticed the depressed state of downtown Cleveland (where I work)? Why would you want people to bypass the downtown? What are you thinking?

• cortiz@applied.com
  I've been traveling from the West side of Cleveland for over 30 years now and have very few options as far as coming into the Midtown area... Closing these ramps will add congestion to the already congested areas such as Chester and Prospect... And don't let the weather be severe.. we will never get out of the area.... Please dont close our ramps...

• csell@stratos.net
  I work at Cleveland State University and the access ramps on and off the innerbelt - the Prospect Avenue and the Carnegie ramps - are critical use ramps. Students, commuting workers, city and emergency vehicles all use these ramps because they need to access the businesses and services that are near to them. This decision puts one in mind of the ill-fated notions of Robert Moses and his plans for freeways through Manhattan - cutting the commuters off from NYC and cutting NYC off from access to humanity. Please remember that the Tremont area was completely isolated by freeways that gave the citizens no access - now, at quite an expense there is access - it was discovered that the area could not be truly redeveloped unless people could get to and from Tremont on freeways - is the intent of this plan to do even more damage to the city of Cleveland than that which has been done already by other state plans and regulations? Please do not do this - it is an unthinking, uncaring decisions and an unimaginable error in judgement and planning.

• czerwony@aol.com
  You may be unaware of how many employees of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation you will be effecting (since this is Cleveland's largest employer). Traffic re-routed from the Carneige and E 89th street garage will be flooding Chester, making an already hectic rush hour even that more harried and longer. The closing of these exits will disrupt all traffic and it will not make traveling to downtown any easier.

• dbeaver@applied.com
  I take a stand against these changes because I feel they are insensitive to the needs of the businesses located in MidTown, and would serve to isolate the area and severely

  harm the neighborhood in which I work. The closure of these ramps would also hurt the economic prosperity of the City of Cleveland, making it even more difficult for suburbanites

  to work, shop and enjoy the city.

  Vote no to the elimination of these ramps!

• deshawnrob@gmail.com
  I strictly oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve. I work at E. 36th & Prospect and traffic has already been congested enough by the Euclid Corridor project which we were told would make traffic better. Now you guys are trying to tell us the exact same thing. By removing these access ramps you will only cause more congestion in the traffic within the area. Anyone who regularly drives around this area will tell you this is a really bad idea. Not only will it affect businesses but it will make it much more difficult to access the Mid Town area. I am strongly against closing these access ramps when it will only cause more problems by doing so. I really do not think people realize the severity of this situation. These ramps need to be maintained no question about it.

• dgazdecki@applied.com
  I do not feel closing ramps and forcing commuters to go through other areas of the city will be beneficial to anyone. It will just add mileage, gasoline expense, and more traffic congestion to a lot of people's work day.

• dholahan@chancelloru.edu
  I take I77 in and out of the city daily. I work on Chester at E. 40th. I go to the Prospect ramp to get on the interbelt south in the evening because of the terrible backup getting on on Chester. This would make it twice as bad.

  I get off the interbelt at Chester. this would force me to driver further thru city streets and out of my way.

  Please do not do this. If you thinks this will make things better, you are wrong. the bus system thought changing the Euclid corridor would help business and all it did was to put people out of business.

• eguritza@applied.com
  As an employee of Applied Industrial Technologies (MidTown Cleveland), you might think that my biggest concern for closing the Carnegie and Prospect exits to MidTown is that it would negatively impact my commute to and from work. However, I am mostly concerned about Cleveland’s reputation and where we will be in the aftermath of this threatening decision.

  Cleveland is known for mistakes that have thwarted businesses from thriving and surviving. A short runway and short sighted view limited Hopkins International from supporting direct international flights pushing executives at BP and TRW to pull out of Cleveland. And, the city held out hope for steel long after its rival Pittsburgh, PA gave up and began reinventing itself. Cleveland lost time for critical development and planning to build its business and employment base.

  Most recently, Cleveland’s E55th and Cedar, a MidTown neighborhood, has been nationally recognized as one of the most dangerous places to live. If anything this part of Ohio could use some help and revitalization.

  MidTown has long been the gateway to the world's finest medical care. From the UAE to Japan, world travelers come to Cleveland to experience the best in healthcare. It's perplexing that Cleveland would spend millions of dollars to develop a health line on Euclid Avenue to streamline our visitor's path to medical care and concurrently propose cutting off access to the same destination. The logic is incomprehensible.

  I think that you will agree that we have a right to be heard. It’s a mistake from all angles to close off access to MidTown corridor. Like so many other mistakes, this one is avoidable. Please hear our concerns.

  Sincerely,

  Elisa Guritza

  Applied Industrial Technologies

  1 Applied Plaza

  Cleveland, OH 44115

• fortolani@applied.com
  The city of Cleveland and the Mid-Town corridor in particular will be devastated by this plan. This would render the Euclid Avenue project a big white elephant. The city has, over the years, received enough black-eyes. We do not need another!

• garyzorn@gmail.com
  I use these ramps daily to access work, and to transport my wife to her doctor’s appointments several times a month.

• gbohland@applied.com
  Too much of a back-up now at Chester. You need more ramps to alleviate the traffic, not fewer. You people need to come down at "rush hour" and try to get off and on at these exits. Chester is a mess even with Prospect and Carnegie open. Closing these two and you might as well hang it up.

• gfreund@prodigy.net
  Please reconsider closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps.

• jaxdeco@aol.com
  The proposed closure has made me decide to retire from my job in Mid town as of December 31, 2009. It will be too difficult for me to get to work with the ramp closure. I pay Cleveland over $2000 per year in city income tax. Once I retire. Cleveland loses this income.

  Furthermore, go ahead and close the ramps and I'll just take my business to Akron instead of Cleveland. I'll utilize Akron General Hospital instead of the Cleveland Clinic. I'll make my purchases in Akron instead of Cleveland. I'll attend the Akron Aeros games instead of the Indians. Cleveland loses. Akron gains.

• jdickinson@applied.com
  PLEASE!!! do not close the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland Ohio. It would make it much more difficult for me to get to work in the morning and to get home in the evening. These access ramps are vital to the MidTown Cleveland district.

• JLayne@Applied.com
  I use these ramps daily on my commute to & from work in Midtown.

• jnosek@ameritech.net
  I am writing you to express my opposition to the closing of the Carnegie and Prospect Avenue access ramps in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. These ramps are crucial to the businesses operating within this district.

  It is not necessary to close the ramps mentioned above to proceed with building a new Innerbelt Bridge and smoothing Dead Man's curve.

  Thank you,

  John Nosek

• joe@joethecouponguy.com
  So let me get this straight. ODOT wants to give fewer options for ramps to people coming downtown and the Midtown area because it will help traffic flow and reduce congestion?!?! Ridiculous!

  There is gridlock now with the exits that are there. The one westbound exit on Chester is so backed up at the end of the day at rush hour that people going east can't get on the freeway until it slowly clears.

  Getting to the hospitals at University Circle will take longer because there will be less exits.

  Businesses will get turned off wanting to build in the area because they know their workers will be late because they will be stuck in traffic.

  What if there is an accident on or near the Chester ramp? There will be a back-up that will make ODOT look foolish for their decisions.

  And once ODOT realizes that they made a bad decision, money will be wasted redesigning and building new ramps that should've been in the original plans.

  ODOT's decision to make traffic flow better won't happen because there will be a back-up on the freeways. There needs to be more exits and not less!

  Should there be "unexpected" back-ups, there should be fines levied against those making the decision that will affect their pocketbooks as it will affect the pocketbook of those that work and live in the area. It's obvious their interests are not those of Clevelanders.

  ODOT's bad decision negatively affects business, traffic, residents, and employees. Do it right the first time!

• jurcagr@ccf.org
  I have been working in downtown Cleveland for 19 years. I exit at Carnegie east toward the Cleveland Clinic and enter to go home at Prospect to 71 south. Not only will the change of access prove to be a burden to the businesses and commuters it will also effect our ability to detour our routes in the event of traffic accidents. If we are all forced to use only one or two exits the traffic delays and tie ups will be ridiculous. I understand ODOT's position and appreciate the gravity of the construction that they are about to undertake, however, I am extremely concerned about the negative impacts that these changes will cause. Further investigation into alternatives must be completed before a resolution will be acceptable.

• kgartner@applied.com
  Closure of the Carnegie and Prospect ramps would severely hurt area businesses and drive traffic onto already overwhelmed Chester Avenue entrance/exit. Come down to Chester Avenue between 6-9 a.m. and 3:30 - 6:00 p.m. and see the traffic backup. This is without the Carnegie and Prospect ramp closures. Every person that works in the Midtown area, goes to Cleveland State University and lives in the Midtown Cleveland area that I've talked to is against this decision to close these two ramps yet ODOT still persists. Our employees, customers and suppliers come to our company Applied Industrial Technologies and use those exits. Our company may have to relocate and take our company to a more traffic friendly site thus taking our taxes and a $2.1 billion dollar corporation out of this area.

• kurzh@ccf.org
  I am very strongly opposed to closing the I90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Clevenad, OH support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  Living on the Westside, this is the best access for us who work at Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals - getting home would be a nightmare as it is already but it would be worse - Fix the Innerbelt Bridge but LEAVE THE ACCESS RAMPS ALONE - WE ON THE WESTSIDE NEED THEM

• lgruszczynski@applied.com
  I work in midtown and the Chester road entrance to 90w/77 south is already a nightmare. Currently I get on at Prospect. If you close that ramp, it will take me an incredible amount of time to get home using Chester, or E 21st.

• martbauer@hotmail.com
  The Prospect Road ramps are vital to may of the 6,000 employees and nearly 15,000 students who work at or attend school at Cleveland State University. The Chester Road ramp is not acceptable due to the parking configuration at CSU and the current master plan for the North Campus which will close a significant of the current portion of available parking spaces.

• mbarrick@applied.com
  Big mistake! The Chester exit/entrances is backed up every morning and evening. If you close the other near by exit/entrances the Chester exit would be overwhelmed. I'll have the exit back all the way into morning 90 traffic and the entrance will have a mile long line going down Chester in the evening. It just doesn't make any sense.

• michaelinez@aol.com
  If you want us to come into the dowwntown area to work and play, then INCREASE the user-friendliness for communters not reduce it!

  This is just another reason why hard working tax payers are going to "virtual offices", taking jobs away from downtown and even leaving the CLE area altogether.

• mmmeyer@applied.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  People who now access the innerbelt south to I71 or I77 from Prospect would now have to access from Chester Ave which already has an issue with backups at rushhour. Wouldn't the closing of Prospect Ave make this worse?

• mperry@applied.com
  The Chester ramps are already clogged during rush hour. forcing more people to use the chester ramps is insane.

• mreese@applied.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  By doing this I feel it would only harm the economic future of Cleveland. I would think the goal would be to have MORE access to the city of Cleveland and the business that bring in revenue for the city. This disruption in easy access to several businesses in the Mid-town area would only hurt these business.

  In these tough economic times I feel this is a very inappropriate decision and I strongly oppose this plan.

  Mary Reese, concerned citizen

• mremetzler@yahoo.com
  There is a reason for the access to downtown streets, effiecency.

  The problem are drivers driving too fast and not paying attention at ramps.

• nstephens@applied.com
  Closing the Prospect entrance ramp will only add additional burden to the already overburdened southbound Chester entrance ramp. Explain to me how you are going to help alleviate the current Chester ramp congestion with the new plan and I will support the proposed changes.

  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

• pebbs12@gmail.com
  ODOT is making a big mistake. The City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio need only positive things to happen in order to survive. Closing these ramps is by far the biggest ODOT mistake to date. Please do not cripple this city anymore!

  Thanks!

• pfox@applied.com
  I often wonder about the thought processes of people making decisions about circumstances which they do not participate in.

  This is one of those times.

  It is bad enough that Cleveland messed up Euclid Avenue with the Euclid Corridor project. Now, if ODOT closes/eliminates or in any way restricts access to the innerbelt at the subject access ramps, the impact on other access ramps will be outrageous. These access ramps need to stay in use as they reduce the traffic volume on other access ramps. If you have never experienced the westbound traffic on Chester, when you are trying to get to the innerbelt heading East, you have no concept of how damaging removing the subject onramps will be.

  ODOT, and all those in decision making positions need to really reconsider the impact their decisions will have on commuters. Do you think about how much fuel is wasted by having to wait in the traffic that forms on these ramps now? Do you consider how many businesses may choose to leave the area as a consequence of closing these ramps?

  DO NOT CLOSE THESE RAMPS.

  Thank you. Phil.

• rbernhardt@applied.com
  I commute 130 miles each day to my office on Euclid Avenue. These ramps are critical to my ability to access my place of employment.

  This is another political decision, made by mindless bureaucrats, which will continue to drive more business away from the City of Cleveland. Mayor Jackson must think the unemployment rate is too low.

  Robert Bernhardt

• rbernstein@applied.com
  ATTENTION, all surronding suburbs of Cleveland and their economic and marketing advisers. Take note. City of Cleveland to lose major businesses because their employees can't get to and from work with ease. I would think some of the suburbs could use, and accomodate, some of these businesses moving into their community.

  The decisions that the State of Ohio and the City of Cleveland make are like watching a Laurel & Hardy comedy. After all the engineers and politicians are done, what's left? COMMON SENSE, people. COMMON SENSE! Don't close these ramps if you want to reap the benefits of these businesses staying where they're at.

• rperruchon@applied.com
  The closing of the ramps will cause undue travel and financial hardship to the businesses in the Midtown area as well as ADD to the congestion problems for those who drive to work in those areas. Those exit ramps help spread out rush-hour congestion, removing those ramps will in my opinion (commuter for 8 years using those ramps) funnel traffic onto the remaining ramps, adding untold idle time minutes and wasting huge amounts of fuel, sitting on the ramps or traveling out of the way to enter-exit the highway. PLEASE BE SENSIBLE, KEEP THOSE RAMPS.

  THANKS

• ryingst@hotmail.com
  Closing the Carnegie ramp would further limit access to the near east-side suburbs. It would be a shame to further cut off our highway access.

• ryowell@thecitymission.org
  I work for The City Mission and I use this exit almost daily. It needs to stay open so that our clients and we can get to The Mission in a most efficient manner. Thank you for keeping this exit on Carnegie and Rt. 90 open.

• sam3@uakron.edu
  If you actually drove daily in this city, you would be aware of the insurmountable problems that the ramp closings would cause. Please listen to the people that DO drive in this city daily and at all hours.

• scmckenzie@verizon.net
  The closing of these ramps is detrimental to the local businesses in these areas as well as every customer and citizen employed in that area. The voters and citizens of the area require that these ramps stay open.

• seanbyrne1124@yahoo.com
  I take this access every day for the past twenty years. At the present time during rush hour the ramp backs up somtimes adding an half hour to my drive time. If you eliminate these accesses an place us on other ramps already conjested just think how much of a TRAFFIC JAM you will create. For all of you elected officials, if don't try and prevent this poor decision of closing these ramps from happening I assure you come election time I will make a lot of noise of all the poor decisions made by you in recent times.

  Sincerely,

  Sean C Byrne

• smckenzie@applied.com
  The closing of these ramps is detrimental to the local businesses in these areas as well as every customer and citizen employed in that area. Please consider keeping these ramps active.

• spp4@case.edu
  This statement explains it all:

  Since ODOT performed its traffic studies, the Cleveland Clinic constructed over 3.3 million square feet of new space, including the Miller Pavilion, an enormous complex that required the largest building permit ever issued by the City of Cleveland. University Hospitals also constructed a new cancer center and emergency center. The Cleveland Clinic will also shortly construct a new reference lab that will employ 3,500 new staff. Finally, the Stokes VA Hospital at University Circle will, due to the consolidation of other area VA hospitals, grow to become the fifth largest VA hospital in the nation. The magnitude of this new growth renders ODOT‟s traffic models and any study based thereupon inapplicable to presently known and demonstrated facts and, again, demonstrates that a single interchange at Chester Avenue will not adequately service the traffic needs of MidTown, the Cleveland Clinic, and University Circle.

• studio105@roadrunner.com
  In my opinion the ramp closings this will be the equivalent of Cleveland's "second Urban Renewal " project! We all know how that action improved the quality of life for those of us who still live in Cleveland . Why don't we instead build a wall preventing access to the Mid- Town area, it will have the same effect. Why are we making passing through Cleveland so easy for commuters at the expense of the city??

• T_FARACE@MSN.COM
  This is a huge economic mistake. Less access to the city makes no sense.

• theboyofspewn@gmail.com
  I don't understand how any report could state that the Chester exit can handle ALL of the traffic from the trench. The Chester on/off-ramps are overwhelmed NOW, with the Carnegie and Prospect ramps still there.

  A better plan would be to:

  1. Widen the trench by at least 1 lane both directions to allow for better on and off-ramp overflow protection from congestion.

  2. Enlarge all 3 ramps, to allow for more fluid flow on them.

  3. Work on the streets themselves to allow a better flow of traffic onto and off of the highway.

  If the Chester and Carnegie on/off-ramp systems are properly configured, closing Prospect could even be possible without adversely affecting the economy of Downtown and Midtown Cleveland.

• tmartin@applied.com
  Having travelled daily to and from the MidTown area for the past 25 years, I feel that the closing of I-90 Carnegie and Prospect access ramps would pose a significant hardship for myself, along with other employees, clients, and customers of the surrounding businesses. I would ask you, to please consider the full-impact of this decision before proceeding with your plans.

  Thank you.

• tmikut@applied.com
  It is hard enough with congestion that is currently occuring to using these on ramps, It will only make things worst by closing them. If you close these accesses it will only deter businesses from moving into the area because it would cause a lack of access to and from the highway and the businesses which are currently there will consider their own options of moving out of the area.

  Please consider NOT closing these entrances and exits this city has enough problems with loss of jobs and companies. We cannot afford to make it harded for companies to consider to come to Cleveland.

• tssafarina@yahoo.com
  I leave work from Chester and E 30th to the I 90 Innerbelt any time between 3:30 and 5:30 Monday through Friday. Although I go North I can see that the Chester ramp going south is often congested. If your plans to close the entrance to Carnegie and Prospect go through the overflow will partially effect an already congested Chester entrance.

  Therefore, I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  These ramps are also used by many to access the Gateway complex. Prospect is my preferred ramp going to and from a Gateway event. Your plans will effect an already struggling downtown area as well as the MidTown area of Cleveland.

  I encourage you to reconsider your proposal. If your plan is intended to eliminate a downtown and midtown area of Cleveland, then by all means continue with your plan to relocate many prominent business to the suburbs.

  Regards,

  Tony Farina

• tstuewe@applied.com
  I do understand how closing these ramps helps speed anything up. I only live 15 minutes from downtown and it already takes me 30-40 minutes to get there daily. This would just force everyone to wait in the same long line to get into town, how does this help our city? It's like going to the grocery store on a Saturady to find that they only have one cashier checking customers out. We are customers of Cleveland, if they want this city to recover they can't make it harder to get in.

• tweitzner@applied.com
  As a lifelong resident of a suburb of Cleveland and an employee at a company headquartered in MidTown Cleveland for more than 10 years, I am strongly apposed to the plan to close the Carnegie and Prospect ramps which I use daily to get to my place of employment. I am a working mother of young children and time is precious. The closures would add a significant amount of time to commute because I will need to find alternates to my regular route. I expect many others will, too, which will cause congestion on other ramps. I don't see the necessity to close the ramps. I may need to find employment elsewhere to avoid a longer commute than what I have now.

  I also see the ramp closings as a major economic hit to the city - one it cannot afford. MidTown businesses rely on easy access to their locations including the Cleveland Clinic to not only maintain but increase business to the city.

  I am hoping ODOT will reconsider its plan to save this area of Cleveland.

• uniebuhr@applied.com
  My company has been at 36th and Euclid since 1923. I have worked here since 1977 and lived in Cleveland since 1957. Closing these ramps will severely hamper my comute to and from work as well as many others in the midtown corrider. This is just another bad decision that spurs people and busineses to leave the area.

• wendy-mullin@sbcglobal.net
  I can only assume closing these exits, will create extra traffic and wear and tear on the current exits. Please leave the Carnegie and Prospects exits open.

  Wendy Mullin

• ak517969@yahoo.com
  Has any thought been given to the fact that this would cause even more congestion, by having backups on the other on ramps. It may cause even more problems in the future!

• bertinm@ccf.org
  Chester ave is already too congested at rush hour. I spend an hour a day to get to work at the Cleveland Clinic. The proposed changes will add to my commute time and be a nightmare in winter.

• cwilber@jencen.com
  It seems like very irresponsible planning on the part of our leadership to continue to take away things from their public. This will only result in a complete gridlock of the area around Chester Ave if EVERYONE who works and makes their living in the Midtown area if forced to bottleneck at the same on/off ramp... not to mention the impact on the businesses located in the areas suffering from being less accessible. This is a terrible idea and we will all remember the mess when it is election day again...

• heykar@ccf.org
  Yet another example where we must stand up for the interest of the city and region and not allow the state's myopic attitude to damage our region. This plan would divert traffic away from downtown and only make it more difficult for peolple to get into Cleveland. Please help in opposing this plan. Thank you.

  R. Heyka M.D.

• jwhiteman@thecitymission.org
  I use the Carnegie exit every morning coming to work and have NEVER seen signs of an accident. In my estimation, the E22nd ramp is the tricky one.

  Carnegie is obvioulsy a main artery to many businesses and closing it would not be in the people's best interst.

  I urge you to go with Midtown's proposal.

• mkmayer@roadrunner.com
  My commute time home is deceased by at least 15 minutes by using the Prospect access ramp. I can only envision the congestion that will with adding increased traffic on Chester Ave during rush hour.

• natalieneff@gmail.com
  I use the entrances and exits at Prospect to get to and from downtown for work every day. Closing these would add ten minutes each way to my commute and make me sit in traffic longer instead of getting immediately to my destination.

• pglozer@hpmfg.com
  Easy access is needed to get to the many businesses in the affected area.

• reboger@gmail.com
  I have really tried to rationally think through the decision process which has been set forth by ODOT representatives. Frankly, there is not one once of common sense issued by the parties involved. To close these entrance/exit ramps will not only impact thousands of drivers daily and add to the already congested commute into downtown Cleveland, but will alienate the remaining Clevelanders who have "put up with" our roadways in the past. If I were a visitor needing access to the Cleveland Clinic or University Hospitals because a loved one is a patient there, and I had to be forced into this lame attempt at getting me to the hospital(s), I would definitely not come back to this town... ever. Do the decision makers realize that the majority of employment left in this town is directly tied to the Clinic and University? What are they trying to do - force even more people to abandon an already emptying region? So much for revitalizing Cleveland... let's make it a near impossible commute for anyone attempting to arrive or leave SAFELY into or from the city. I am all about building a new and safer Innerbelt Bridge (which has somehow been severly neglected over the years until now). But to do this, is it really necessary to continue with the ramp closing plans vs. really using your common sense and collectively designing a more suitable plan instead of a knee jerk reaction that someone has somehow passed through to this point?

• susanc@yahoo.com
  I use the Prospect and Carnegie ramps 5 days a week to get from my home in Seven Hills to work at University Hospitals, as the only real alternative to the horrendous congestion on Chester. Closing these ramps will only make the problem worse by taking away all alternatives to overloading already congested roads. ODOT seems to be doing its best to cut off the already poor access to University Circle and the Midtown Corridor and make our cultural and medical institutions inaccessible for visitors and workers. I urge you to intervene and stop this plan.

• tami@jencen.com
  I think it is great you are going to do something that should have been taken care when freeway was built, but closing the Prospect and Carnegie ramps are just plan suicide for this area of Cleveland.

• c.l.schwab@gmail.com
  As a pastor of a church in Midtown, a home owner in the Central SPA, and one who works with people throughout the Downtown, Goodrich-Kirtland, St. Clair-Superior, and Hough SPAs, I am dismayed by this proposal. Beyond the necessity of maintaining strong and easy access to vibrant business along Carnegie, Prospect, and their tributaries, this move would also further limit the mobility of Cleveland residents, making the prospects of working, shopping, and enjoying the city that much more difficult.

  If the leaders of this city, state, and nation want to improve the fortunes of Cleveland, they ought to be looking at the economic development of the roads and neighborhoods flowing from I-90 rather than closing access to them. Why not make Carnegie and Prospect (the latter, especially, with its rich history) destinations and attractions? They are well-developed and full of promise. Less money spent on development (than on ramp closings) will reap greater benefits: prosperity, jobs, and hope.

• c.l.schwab@gmail.com
  As a pastor of a church in Midtown, a home owner in the Central SPA, and one who works with people throughout the Downtown, Goodrich-Kirtland, St. Clair-Superior, and Hough SPAs, I am dismayed by this proposal. Beyond the necessity of maintaining strong and easy access to vibrant business along Carnegie, Prospect, and their tributaries, this move would also further limit the mobility of Cleveland residents, making the prospects of working, shopping, and enjoying the city that much more difficult.

  If the leaders of this city, state, and nation want to improve the fortunes of Cleveland, they ought to be looking at the economic development of the roads and neighborhoods flowing from I-90 rather than closing access to them. Why not make Carnegie and Prospect (the latter, especially, with its rich history) destinations and attractions? They are well-developed and full of promise. Less money spent on development (than on ramp closings) will reap greater benefits: prosperity, jobs, and hope.

  Secretary LaHood, I am an Illinois native. I grew up in Bloomington, and only came to Cleveland about 3 years ago. Growing up in Central Illinois, I had no-idea of the troubles and frailties of places like Cleveland. Bloomington has always been about what will be the next thing to make life easier and smoother for the citizens. But in Cleveland, there is a collective dread of what will be next taken from us. Cleveland is a city full of resources and talents, loaded with the potential to regain its crown as one of America's great cities--if only we can get the leadership to be forward-thinking and on our side. All Clevelanders can ask for is a chance. Closing these ramps will close a chance.

• cbena@audiocraft.com
  

  Midtown/Cleveland Clinic must have easy access for their

  clients. We do not need detours & road blocks.

  thank you

• char55@prepaidlegal.com
  MidTown is all about Economic Developement, that means bringing businesses and people into the area not detouring them around the area!! What's so hard to understand about that?

  Let's look at the picture and Save Our Access!!

  Thanks,

  Char Clemson

• chris.tunison@lyondellbasell
  I, as an east sider like many others, use the Carnegie and or Prospect Ramps when coming from the west side of the State to come home or when we take Cargnegie down to midtown for retail,arts,medical etc. and then need to proceed west.

• cledawgpound86@sbcglobal.net
  Closing these exits will result in decreased access to local businesses. It will force traffic through more dangerous areas and create bottle necks as a higher number of people will be using certain exits. Our main concern is traffic. Closing these exits will increase traffic by three times as all traffic from carnegie, prospect, and chester will be filtered through one ramp, instead of three. Chester avenue will be a nightmare.

• hejnye@ccf.org
  Are you guys nuts. Yeah let's limit access to the Cleveland Clinic, the area's largest employer and healthcare provider!

• kathleen.kaul@grainger.com
  I commute every day between Brooklyn Heights and Cleveland Heights. I utilize the Carnegie exit ramp on a daily basis.

  I believe if these ramps were to be closed especially the Carnegie exit ramp, the already existing conjestion on Chester. Prospect and Carnegie during rush hours would not improve but worsen. Please do not close Carnegie exit ramp!

  Kathleen Kaul

• keithlisaogg@yahoo.com
  I travel from the westside of Cleveland where I live to the eastside where I work and these closures would affect the route in which I take daily and add time to my already busy commute!!!

• kfleming@acadiaholdings.net
  I have been a successful commercial real estate broker in Cleveland for over 30 year and have helped numerous companies locate to MidTown and the St.Clair/Superior area. Easy access to MidTown, CSU and the entire business area east of downtown out to University Circle is absolutely critical to the desirability and health of the area. I URGE you not to close the Carnegie and Prospect ramps. It will have a negative impact on numerous companies and adversely impact their decision and ability to remain in the area.

• kosmynj@ccf.org
  Getting to and from work is already challenging enough. Closing the ramps would significantly tie up other ramps during the morning and afternoon shift changes at the local hospitals.

• kroyer@jencen.com
  Currently, South/West bound traffic can enter and exit at Prospect, but North/Eastbound traffic can only enter, with Carnegie serving as an exit only. If a change is in order, it would be to create a Noth/East bound exit at Prospect, to replace the Carnegie exit.

• Marcusm2@ccf.org
  Traffic is congested as it is. With high gas prices, this additonal cost is unnecessary. Traffic is backed up near these exits as it is. We need more access ramps, NOT less!!!

• sumit.parikh@gmail.com
  I along with many west-siders who work on the near east-side commute via this route daily. Not having this access would extend our commute by 20 minutes each way.

  It would impact gasoline use (waste), child-care, level of productivity at work as well.

  Sincerely,

  Sumit Parikh MD

• rwherley@roadrunner.com
  Carnegie is THE east-west thoroughfare for the east side of Cleveland, local businesses, the CLINIC, and the suburbs. Closing the Carnegie ramp, which operates very smoothly, and routing MORE traffic to the E. 22 exit---which is already the most crazy and hazardous exit on the innerbelt, situated virtually on top of the I-77N merge---simply makes no sense.

• Vmaxcobra@aol.com
  This would make more traffic backup in the inner city. The traffic is bad already, don't make it worse. It would probably take me double time to get home and to work due to everyone waiting at the same exits and the on-ramps. It is bad enough having to work in Cleveland as it is.

  I currently use the Carnegie ramp to go to work and use the Prospect ramp to get back on the I-71 to head south.

• zikarro@hotmail.com
  ODOT has no clue how bad the plan to close these ramps is. Live in Cleveland and drive these roads for awhile and then they will have a better understanding. Simply going by "numbers" is idiotic at best.

• ambroj@ccf.org
  I live in Elyria and work at the Cleveland Clinic main campus. I currently use the Carnegie Avenue exit to get to work every day and consider it a HUGE inconvenience if this exit would be eliminated.

• araber@roadrunner.com
  In the eight years that I have worked in midtown, I have used both the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps to travel to and from work every day. Even though I make an effort to avoid peak rush hour times, these ramps are still crowded with other commuters. I can't imagine rerouting this traffic to the proposed access ramps without terrible congestion and inconvenience. I also don't see why improvements to the Innerbelt would actually include taking access away. It doesn't make sense to reduce access and I believe this will result in more accidents and rush hour congestion. Every person at my company who lives west or south feels the same. I hope you listen to your constituents and help us stop this proposal. Thank you.

• bdunn28180@yahoo.com
  With Cleveland Clinic being one of the largest employers in the area, there are many of us who use these very ramps to get to or from work. I was at first very hesitant to leave my western suburb of Westlake and accept employment at the Cleveland Clinic. I thought it would be a hassle, and a time-consuming drive to arrive at my job. I have been pleasantly surprised that it takes me less than 25 minutes to arrive for my third shift job. Not only that, but I feel resonably safe being a woman driving alone at that time of night. I hope you will not close the Carnegie ramp.

  Barbara Dunn

• belsitj@wowway.com
  Closing the access ramps at Carnegie and Prospect is RIDICULOUS!!!! This is going to cause more of a bottleneck. We are supposed to be getting more fuel efficient. This will have a negative impact.

• dmrachko@snider-cannata.com
  I am the leasing director for a real estate firm with holdings in the MidTown district. The proposed closure of the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps will have a negative impact on the business district. Highway accessability is a critical factor in the marketability of any commercial real estate property. Closing the Carnegie and Prospect ramps reduces the highway accessability of all the commercial real estate in MidTown, thereby reducing its desirability to potential occupants. Ultimately, fewer businesses in MidTown will result in fewer jobs and less tax revenue generation. Closing these ramps will further erode the tax base. Closing the ramps is a fiscally irresponsible decision.

• gilrond@ccf.org
  I take these roads every day and have for years. Your plans will make things smoother for people passing through downtown but you are creating a nightmare for the thousands of people who actually need to go downtown.

• gneuroaccounts@yahoo.com
  DO IT FOR AMY MAN

• hossp@ccf.org
  These ramps are the most commonly used ramps by employees and patients of the Cleveland Clinic. Closing them would be terrible mistake. Please keep them as is!

• jbird47@yahoo.com
  For the remainder of July let's pretend those exits are closed every Wednesday and show ODOT how this will impact traffic! What do you say Cleveland?

• klipfee@ccf.org
  I see no advantage of closing the Carnegie exit from 90. I work at the Cleveland Clinic and need to take 77N to 90E to get off at Carnegie. This route in no way interferes with the Innerbelt Bridge. Carnegie is the fastest moving street from downtown to CCF, so by diverting traffic to the side streets (E.30th exit) will increase congestion, further destroy those already very damaged roads to get to Carnegie from E. 30th exit, and make it more difficult for patients and employees to access the largest hospital and employer in NE Ohio, not to mention make us drive through even rougher neighborhoods at all hours of the day. Will there be an increase in police force patrolling these areas to help ensure our safety?

  Limiting the number of exits into downtown will discourage people from going downtown and spending money at businesses. In weak economic times, that is the worst thing you could do. You all should be doing everything in your power to encourage people to come to Cleveland for work and play to help boost the economy. Instead, it seems as though you wish to drive people away from Cleveland. Whose bright idea was that?

  PUT CLEVELAND AND ITS CONSUMERS FIRST!

• lesquire@email.com
  Those ramps are needed to prevent congestion on city streets and to permit easy access to and from the east side of Cleveland.

• mad4mst@gmail.com
  I use the Prospect Ave. entrance to I-90 West every day on my commute home from work. I fear that closing that entrance and the Carnegie entrance would cause an extreme bottleneck at the Chester Ave. entrance (and it's already backed up at that entrance nearly every weekday as it is). Please keep those entrances open!

  ~ Noelle J. Milewski

• maddoxnewton@sbcglobal.net
  I oppose these closings. The current fad of making life more difficult is hard for me to understand. When the innerbelt was built, the population of Cleveland must have still been close to a million people. Now, as population is decreasing to close to 400,000 the ramps are incorrect. Duhhhhhhhhh!

  ODOT is supposed to be serving the citizens of the State, not the other way around. The insurance companies are also here to serve us and we are not here to bail them out.

  Also, if safety is the issue, why not enforce the speed limit? I drive 50 mph and get HONKED AT. Today law enforcement lets the bad guys go free and often penalizes the good ones.

• mattnchris99@aol.com
  If there are fewer exits and entrances, won't there be more congestion on them. Thus causing more congestion on the freeway and city streets. How does eliminating exits and entrances make traffic flow smoother if the amount of traffic using them is not reduced? The Cleveland Clinic employs 35,000 people. The area and exits are already congested during rush hour. With fewer ways to access the Clinic, congestion will only be worse.

  Christine Rivera

• mike@liquid-image.com
  I own a business on Prospect Ave. And wanted to know if any one in Cleveland or if ODOT has done a study on the impact on the amount of semi"s that will now have to travel the surface streets in Cleveland to get to those of us who own buildings here ? And what that will do to the streets and cost the City in repair. I alone will add a minimum of 8 a week. I think HP MFG next door to me could add 4x that many. If any one else has regular deliveries via truck please post how may you receive so we can get a true #

  Thank You

  Mike Wiertel

  Liquid Image

  216-458-9800

• morelap@ccf.org
  There are 10,000 employee's that work at CCF and more right next door of another major hospital as well. Please reconsider closing exit ramps that will lead to major delays to work and extra miles. A new bridge should be built next to the interstate 90 bridge and this should have been started years ago. Cleveland is already hurting this will only make it worse. This was extremely poor planning route 71 one has had construction going on for years going to Columbus why wasn't something done to help this part of the state?

• NehalJ@ccf.org
  I oppose closing the I-90 Innerbelt ramps at Carnegie and at Prospect in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. I support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve. These issues are important enough on their own merits to be considered individually.

  Beyond the personal inconvenience of these ramps closing and the resulting change to my commute to the Cleveland Clinic, closing all of these ramps simultaneously effectively cuts off the midtown corridor to highway traffic. The ability of patients to get to the Cleveland Clinic (and many come in from far away for cancer treatments, operations, and all kinds of specialty care) will be compromised. This city, county and region of the state can ill afford to negatively impact one of the few enterprises that continues to thrive in this economy - both in terms of providing health services and in moving basic research outcomes all the way to patentable and marketable devices and procedures.

  We depend on people for everything we do and accomplish, from the tens of thousands working on main campus to the patients and visitors who are depend on us and on whose continued trust we depend for our revenue. Please consider options that don't make the midtown corridor an urban island for several years. This economy makes it all the more vital that people be able to find us, have a good experience at the Cleveland Clinic and in Cleveland, and are able to recommend Cleveland as a positive experience in their journey back to health.

  Thanks -

  Jason Nehal

  Senior Grant and Contract Specialist

  Office of Sponsored Research and Projects

  Cleveland Clinic Foundation

• samiaben18@yahoo.com
  I oppose to closing the innerbelt exits because of the inconvience it will cause to neighboring businesses and people that have to access those ramps to get home such as myself.

• santamr@ccf.org
  Most people who use these highways are not interested in passing THROUGH the city. Most of us are trying to use the freeway to get onto one of the streets to get to work or to appointments. The people who live here use the accesses that you seem to feel are superfluous. Improve the city accesses for the people who live here; not for the people who are passing through!

• tbouali@srprocessingcenter.com
  This does not work the idea of closing the exits in the interbelt is crazy, i live right off of superior ave. you will be sending alot of traffic through the city. What about the kids. How many will die because of the increase in traffic in the neighborhoods.

• tfoley@wcof.net
  it is hard enough to do business in Cleveland as it is. One more obstacle could be the one that closes many small businesses. Please reconsider.

• wolfe6715@roadrunner.com
  I have worked at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for over 21 years. I come to work from a Western Suburb, and have , within the last 7 years, exited on Carnegie Ave. because my parking lot is on Cedar Rd. and 100th St. I also take Carnegie Ave. to Prospect Ave on my travel home. Rush hour traffic is so heavy, I find this route is the best. Everyone traveling west or south from downtown Cleveland will be affected by this.

  With Concern,

  Dorothy L. Wolfe R.N.

• yorka@ccf.org
  This is not a good idea. You have caused more confusion and reduce business to the local establishments. Not to mention that most people use the Carnegie or Chester exits to get to one of the major employers of the city, Cleveland Clinic. The Euclic corridor is terrible and too confusing as it is and taking Carnegie away will only add to the inconvenience.

  Please reconsidder.

• aelliott@centralbeachwood.com
  This closure will cause a major interuption of business and access to businesses,hospitals and schools in our area.

• amy@simbionixusa.com
  Eliminating the I-90 Eastbound Carnegie exit makes no sense. I exit there everyday and everyday the exit is full of cars. Elimination of this particular exit will cause major backups and frustrated Clevelanders, the idea makes no sense. Furthermore Carnegie is a safe street for me to drive down in the inner city. Please do not take that away from me and others.

• balmuta@ccf.org
  This is a horrible decision to close these ramps. Whoever thought of this must not drive downtown during rush hour. This will be a HUGE mess

• bob@bob.com
  I don't use those exits nor do I recommend visitors coming to Cleveland Clinic from those ramps, but, closing those exits will make the exits I do use more congested and also make my patients LATER for their appointments than they already are.

• bugnroo@aol.com
  Closing these exits will chnage driving times for myself and many manothers in trying to get to work at the Cleveland Clinic in a negative way. This will make our commutes longer and much less direct, forcing poeple who already drive in from a distance to reconsider if the commute is worth it???

• bunchd@ccf.org
  Making it easier for people to drive through the city is not going to help the viability and expansion of business's in the Cleveland area. You will be accelerating the decline of Cleveland by doing all this mess. How can people in charge not see this? This city has enough obstacles to over come without new added pressures.

• cole@audiocraft.com
  I have worked in the MIDTOWN district for 20 years on Carnegie Avenue . . . if you close my exit, it will be a major inconvenience to me personally. There will be HUGE problems when any sporting event is in town, everyone who is not attending an event most likely chooses the Carnegie or Prospect exit to avoid congestion in the event areas. The Carnegie exit is also a desired exit to reach the Cleveland Clinic effortlessly.

  PLEASE SAVE OUR EXIT RAMPS.

  THANK YOU.

  Michelle Cole, Office Manager

  AUDIO CRAFT CO., INC.

• deepwoodtwo@sbcglobal.net
  As I spent some of my valuable time last afternoon with a protest sign in hand, standing on Prospect at one of the ramps slated to close, I really realized the scale of use and the dislocation of drivers from the Clinic and UH and other large

  employers will encounter.....do the bridge, do the curve but leave the trench alone.

  Bill Miller

  216.535.1825

• gallagl@ccf.org
  Traffic is already difficult enough at rush hour. The closing of these ramps will make it even more difficult to get in and out of town. We at the Cleveland Clinic have patients coming from many directions, many of whom are not from Cleveland, and they would have a difficult time getting to the Clinic. I truly support the fixing of the bridge, but do not support the closing of the ramps.

• gchambers@jamiesonricca.com
  I work in Midtown, along with thousands of others. Our building is a neighbor of Cleveland State University. Are you trying to destroy the entire area. It's really ridiculous to make it easy for drivers to pass the area (including downtown Cleveland)instead of trying to promote more people to come to our fine city.

• glong740@yahoo.com
  Please do not close the ramps, they are very important passage ways to get onto I-90 without causing unnecessary traveling for pedestrians.

• gmwhatley98@yahoo.com
  As a Cleveland Clinic employee I frequently direct people from all over the country to the Clinic. The Carnegie and Prospect exits are vital exit points in assisting patients to arrive in a timely and safe manner. Pease reconsider your proposa.

  Thank you,

  Toni M. Whatley

• graupms@ccf.org
  Please don't close off the Carnegie exit. Traffic is absolutely horrible when there is an event downtown at Jacob's Field and other such attractions taking place. Most of the vehicles exit using the E 9th St. The ability to exit from Carnegie is truely helpful. If I were to get off at Chester I would have to sit in more lights before being able to get BACK on Carnegie to get to the parking garage I have to use on 89th st.

• hustonr@ccf.org
  Closing these ramps will make it harder for patients, families, and employees of Cleveland Clinic, and University hospitals to have access to the medical institutions.

• jbowser@centralcadillac.com
  Will cause more traffic issues than current roads.

  Will impact business in the area.

  Will cost more than just repairs.

• JSeifarthD@aol.com
  This would kill Cleveland' revitalization, destroy businesses,eliminate jobs, etc. It would make it more difficult to enter and exit Cleveland during special events such as concerts at CSU, ballgames,restaurents. We are already limited on entering and exiting Euclid Ave., especially in the event of a snowstorm or major accident in the downtown area. It would be a FIASCO!!!!!

• kehresj@ccf.org
  Getting to and from work at Cleveland Clinic is already horrendous during rush hour and those are the only two ramps I can use to get home!!

• kmathews@centralcadillac.com
  what are you thinking?

• mrigo@centralcadillac.com
  why would you want to close access ramps to local area businesses?

• paflasn@CCF.org
  Thanks.

  Nick Paflas

  Cleveland Clinic Finance

• paynes2@ccf.org
  I have tried many other routes to the Cleveland Clinic and the Carnegie ramp is the most convenient way. 55th street is already congested and 21st street is out of the way. If Prospect and Carnegie are closed down that will probably add a half hour or longer to my hour and fifteen minute commute due to congestion. I honestly can't believe this would make Cleveland "better". It will make 77 and 90 a disaster. We are already waiting in line to get to our exits. Can you imagine if instead of 4 optional exits, Prospect, Carnegie, 21st Street and 55th Street, we only had 2? Those exits are the key to two of Clevelands major hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital. People from all over the world come to Cleveland seeking out the best medical treatment available. We should be welcoming them with open arms, not making it even harder than it is for them to get around the city of Cleveland.

• ppivato@wcof.net
  This is just a bad idea that has not been thought through at all. The negative impact on an already challenged area will cause too much damage financially and not help the traffic flow. ODOT should focus their efforts on something else.

• sgraupman@gmail.com
  I use this exit every day to get to and from work. Please don't close off route. Traffic is absolutely horrible on game days and everyone is using the E 9th St exit. I can get to work that much faster by bypassing these vehicles and getting of at Carnegie.

• slabys@ccf.org
  I oppose the closing of the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps! I have traveled to work using these accesses for the last twenty some years. If they close, businesses will suffer and more people will become frustrated in how to access downtown and its surrounding areas. I thought we are suppose to improve our city in a positive way, not a negative one.

• sts4u7@aol.com
  How can you cut off all of the businesses that built around the ramp for ease of access? I work at Central Cadillac and we would have to move 5 years after a complete remodel (5 mill +) of our facility. I can think of 10 different businesses off the top of my head that would be negitivly impacted by the closings. What about the Clinic? What about CSU? Why not find a way to keep the exits and repair the bridge?

• toveyd@ccf.org
  the cleveland clinic is the biggest employer in our area. we need to make sure patients and employees maintain access to cleveland's most vital resource.

• ttorres@wcof.net
  This will eliminate the easy access to our business thus causing a decline in our in access and visibility to our clients and prospective clients. I greatly oppose the decision to close these access points

• vanovea@ccf.org
  While I understand the need to temporarily close the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps for construction ensuring the safety of travelers on I90, closing them permanently would be a detriment to travelers going to the Cleveland arenas, Tower City, and other major local points of interest. It would reduce commerce and increase congestion on local roads. Please do not close these access ramps.

• wmccaskey@centralcadillac.com
  what about local area businesses?

• blooml@ccf.org
  It is already difficult to obtain access to Cleveland Clinic and University Circle in the current traffic arrangement in Cleveland. The closure of these ramps will further congest traffic to these important areas.

• buck2slady@aol.com
  Due to the EXTREMELY unsafe surrounding areas, closing these ramps would put likely get people lost putting them in danger. The local surrounding areas have a VERY high crime rate and many of our own employees have been attacked, etc. No one has stepped up to make these areas safe, by closing these ramps you will be FORCING us to enter areas that are violent and unsafe. Not to metion the major traffic problems that will have to be diverted and controlled.

• cloughc@ccf.org
  Closing these exit/access ramps is going to cause a very large backup at the Chester Ave exit and access ramps. As a Cleveland Clinic employee who drives 36 miles one way (72 miles round trip) to work every day this is a major hassle. By closing the Carnegie exit I am going to be adding at least an extra 15-20 minutes onto my already hour long commute. Please reconsider these closings. The impact that closing these ramps will have on the Cleveland Clinic and midtown Cleveland will be huge.

• cohenb2@ccf.org
  This letter is being written with the greatest respect. I belive this is a nearsighted proposal that will negatively impact the economy of Cleveland and further erode the image of the city. Of course, this situation has been created by the people whose chairs you are now sitting in and were trusted to do the right thing 20 years ago, but did not. I moved to Cleveland in 1989 and the innerbelt was a mess then. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, the medical systems in Cleveland (Cleveland Clinic and UH) are about the only large item left going for the city right now. Cleveland has lost United Airlines, BP, much of the banking and investment industry and TRW (to name a few) and are on the verge of losing Continental Airlines. Closing these ramps will make it harder for patients and employees to get to and from these hospitals, and cause a further clog of the arteries in and out of the city. Any new employer thinking of opening offices near downtown will take a look at the traffic mess and decide to go elsewhere. If the ramps are not safe, close them today. IF they are safe for the time being, build an alternative route and them tear them down. This is why we pay road taxes. (I buy my gasoline at 30th and Carnegie). The current proposal will put the blame on the next administration and the financial burden on the administration to follow, so walk up to the plate and do what you were elected to do: manage the situation. Please do not walk away from it and leave it to the next politican and administration. Frankly, the current plan is a Bernie Madoff idea -- just push the problem a few years down the line and hope you are not around to deal with it.

  Sincerely yours,

  Bruce H. Cohen

• desnoyr@ccf.org
  The Cleveland Clinic is an absolute lifeline for the city and closing these ramps would be a huge detriment to the employees and visitors who rely on them for access to the Clinic. There is no way these ramps should be removed.....

• garrit@att.net
  I could understand closing an on ramp (not that I approve the onramp at prospect), but the concept of closing an offramp makes no sense at all. if the intent is to reduce congestion, and avoid problem areas, than allowing people to get off at more points is a positive. To decrease the number of exits just adds to the problem, not helps it.

• gizmocc@msn.com
  This is very important to people traveling east on Caregie and Prospect.

• glych@aol.com
  As it stands now, getting to University Circle from the beltway is a major hassel. Taking away the carnegie exit ramp will make this extremely more difficult, will cause traffic backups, and potentially will prevent safe travel for emergency vehicles as well. I strongly encourage you to come up with a more feasible approach to the proposal htat does not involve closing these ramps for extended periods as described.

• golemd@ccf.org
  Please do not close the Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Cleveland, Ohio. Traffic is backed up plenty now for those of us commuting each day to Cleveland Clinic.

  Thank you,

  Denise Golem

• gpcowan@roadrunner.com
  As a resident of Cleveland and an eastside commuter I vehemently oppose the shutdown of these ramps. The closing will only serve to inhibit access to the Innerbelt, create congestion on the remaining open ramps, cause traffic jams on the streets accessing these ramps, and hurt the merchants and vendors in the area by limiting their accessibility.

  This seems to be an attempt to solve a problem that doesn't exist. I know because I travel the Innerbelt and use these ramps every day. Please compel ODOT to leave our streets alone.

  Thank you,

  Glen Cowan

  Citizen of Cleveland

• greg_afanador@yahoo.com
  This is rediculous. Yet another smart move to make Ohio cities even less desireable for new businesses.

• grundfs@ccf.org
  Closing the highway access at Prospect and at Carnegie will seriously impede traffic to midtown Cleveland and force much of the traffic onto Chester Avenue which is already clogged at rush hour, especially in winter. Euclid Avenue is already a nightmare for drivers with the new RTA system. Patients at major institutions such as Cleveland Clinic and patrons of many restaurants will find it difficult to navigate. The decision to close these ramps is ill considered.

• hanulaj@ccf.org
  Carnegie Ave. is a main road to access Cleveland Heights. We travle to the west often, we live in Cleveland Hts. it is so easy to jump off the highway at Carnegie and come straight up the hill.

  Also I am an employee of the Cleveland Clinic, giving directions to patients from out of town would be a nightmare if they could not exit at Carnegie. We are not located in the best area of the city, it is a straigt shot off the highway.

• hocevab1@ccf.org
  I use the Carnegie exit everyday to get to and from my workplace. There is a large volume of traffic along with me. I forsee closure of these two exits as causing MORE congestion at the Chester exit, backing out onto the freeway; I don't understand how you think that diverting all of that traffic to 1 exit will occur without serious consequences to flow off/on the freeway with potential for incresed accidents secondary to back up (similar to what I see at the 176/I 480 merge area by the State Road exit--traffic at a standstill to accomodate those exiting the freeway).

• horvatc3@ccf.org
  Which engineer designed Deadman's Curve? Let's put him in charge of re-engineering our city....you have got to be kidding about closing these ramps. One of our greatest resources is our hospital systems and access to these areas is absolutely essential to the vitality of Cleveland. As a Clinic employee I travel in and out of the area 2 - 3 times per day for my job and access to these ramps is important for getting out to my sites. Let's re-think this process - not only for the employees and staff but for our patients and their families. Hey government are you listening????

• huelsms@ccf.org
  I use these exits to go to and from work

• huffmak@ccf.org
  Since moving to a new parking structure on the campus of the Clinic, my first option for parking access was to take Chester Avenue to work. This has increased my commute time by 12 - 15 minutes each way. The lights are terribly timed, the right lane is usually flooded and I do not feel as safe as I do on Carnegie. After traveling this route for a couple of weeks, I went back to my comfortable, safe, and less crowded Carnegie Avenue. The time it takes to get from the exit ramp to the Clinic is usually six minutes while traveling between 35 and 39 miles per hour. I feel much safer traveling the business route, and it is much easier to give directions. The clinic employs 40,000 people, not all at the main campus of course, but we certainly contribute to the overall payroll taxes to the city of Cleveland. Between the construction projects and the Euclid Avenue Corridor project, we have lost many of the entrances and exits to the campus. More time and energy for patients and employees will be expended with these changes, not only because we have to drive out of our way to get to our destination, but the added congestion will lead to longer commutes. Please reconsider this option, the East 22nd exit is not built to handle the additional traffic, I have also taken that exit down Central Avenue (which by the way is a much nicer drive now that the road has been repaired). Thank you.

• j_sutkus@yahoo.com
  Closing these proposed ramps will only cause more traffic in other areas...I am highly against this and it will not be good for the Clinic, nor any of the businesses in MidTown. I drive from Lorain county every day...not having to drive through downtown is very wonderful and saves a lot of time and sanity.

• jamesdudt+soa@gmail.com
  Please reconsider this plan.

• johnsm@ccf.org
  

• klepacb@ccf.org
  As I understand ODOT's position, the goal in to preserve the "Intactness" of the trip THROUGH Cleveland, from one suburb to another. How exactly is this going to revitalize downtown? The goal should be to improve the access to city streets not limit that access. My husband and I both use I 90 to get to work and oppose this plan. The entrance ramp to I 90 south from Chester is already backed up two to three city blocks for hours in the afternoon, the proposed closings would only exacerbate this problem. Are there any plans to alleviate the congestion on the streets where ramps will still be open? If the same thought process that brought us the current plan from ODOT is employed (none), there are no plans. Has any one thought about street parking on Exit/Entrance streets, snow removal?????

• KNIPPEN@CCF.ORG
  I am a voting taxpayer in your district. I oppose these closings as in the best circumstances the flow of traffic in these directions are constipated and could use a good cathartic

• korosir@ccf.org
  I oppose the closing of Carnegie and Prospect access ramps as this will cause major problems for both local and visiting traffic. My main concern is the patients who come here for their healthcare. Many come from outside of Cleveland and have so many concerns already before they even arrive. At present, these exits provide a simple way to access our healthcare facilities. Getting lost in any city can be a nightmare (even one's own) and I think most people would prefer to just get to the most direct exit to their destination as it is now, with as little in town driving as possible. Please consider the human factor in all of this-the patients, the business owners, and all of us Clevelanders who hate to see one more negative aspect added to the city we love! Thank you for listening to our views.

• kvanczd@hotmail.com
  This is a great plan to continue the further decay of the downtown areas of Cleveland by making access even more difficult to those businesses and other venues who despite the economy and flight to the suburbs during the past few decades have been sucessful in maintaining and in limited cases growing their businesses in these core areas. In addition, limiting the exit ramp options of those who commute to Cleveland Clinic or University Circle so that ALL of this traffic will flow on a reduced number of secondary roads makes no sense at all, especially given that this area is one of the FEW job growth areas of our region. There is no doubt that building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve is needed, in addition to building the 490 extension east. (Now there's a solution which would actually help with reducing traffic congestion in the downtown highway area with Clinic and Univeristy commuters.) But ODOT's continued insistence on the Prospect and Carnegie ramp closures make no sense and will guarantee the further flight of businesses to the suburbs and accelerate inner city decay.

• lesliej537@yahoo.com
  I agree with this statement "When you get right down to it, all ODOT cares about is having traffic move smoothly through downtown"! To me ODOT really doesn't care about people only traffic! It is scary to hear that ODOT wants to close a main exit to a major hospital! What if one of ODOT's family members needed to get rushed to the Cleveland Clinic and oops Carneigie is closed....tack on an extra 5 minutes or more now for EMS! There is more to this situation than just traffic.....Human lives are at stake!

• Luckysven13@yahoo.com
  To whom that it may concern, I use both of these exit ramps all of the time. It would hamper growth of the city if less exits were closed. We should do more for traffic then trying to make more traffic. This city already has enough problems, we don't need another. Keep both exit ramps open.

• lycz@aol.com
  I have worked at Cleveland Clinic for 30 years and live by Hopkins Airport.

  I work the 7:00 AM shift. I exit the Innerbelt at Carnegie at 6:00 AM. At this early time there are already a countless amount of cars exiting the Innerbelt and going to either the Clinic or UH hospitals - using two east bound exit lanes stopped quickly only by a stop sign at Carnigie.

  I can't imagine how many more cars exit at 6:30 or 7:30 AM just before the shifts start! Exiting at E22 and sitting at that immediate stop light, to make a left turn towards Carnegie only to be stopped again before making a right turn, would be ridiculous! The cars would back up and literally be stopped on the Innerbelt!

  Are these the same ODOT people who OK'd the Grayton Road east bound entrance to 480/71? Here countless people risk their lives every day having to immediately cross two high speed lanes, sometimes very crowded, to get to east bound 480.

  Same going west bound. Here two high speed lanes must be immediately crossed to exit at Grayton.

  Concerning the free flow of traffic through the Innerbelt that eliminating these exits/entrances would accomplish, if ODOT wants really free flow, it should eliminate ALL entrances/exits of the Innerbelt!

  That way downtown would be cut off to all who want to go there - but there would be a free flow of traffic!

  In this regard, ODOT should eliminate the dangerous Grayton Road exits/entrances also that it approved. That way many people would not be able to get to the Airport - but there would be free traffic flow and many less chances for accidents!

  In conclusion, ODOT's attempting to eliminate these Innerbelt exits/entrances gives new credence to why all communities should shudder when there is a knock at their door and the person on the other side says "Hello, I'm from ODOT, I'm here to help you!

  Thank you

  Edward J. Lyczko

• macdowelllisa@yahoo.com
  To whom it may concern,

  I oppose the "Plan" to close the I-90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect Avenue access ramps in and out of downtown Cleveland and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge.

  The access ramps design needs thoughtful and thorough research and planning and can continue to be worked on while the plans to restructure the bridge move forward.

  The simplest way to explain the complete gridlock you would cause, in addition to destroying the MidTown business corridor, by funneling everyone off at Chester Avenue to go to the Clinic for employees and patients coming from the West Side, or the more massive gridlock of funneling everyone to one exit ramp to leave (e.g., 30,000 employees who work 9 - 5), why doesn't an ODOT employee pretend that he or she is either an employee or a patient coming to the Clinic and try to arrive at the Campus without using the Carnegie exit, and then try to go home without using the Prospect access ramp.

  The second issue is, are you really trying to worsen Cleveland's economy by closing businesses who live or die by the Carnegie exit ramp, or is that just a side thought you really don't want to have to worry your heads about. Heck, if it's really not that big of a deal, you could just eliminate all the access ramps to the City and just have drive bys and call it a day.

  Good luck. Try your bad idea on yourself, and then you'll see what we're all up in arms about.

  Sincerely,

  an employee at the Cleveland Clinic

• mflickinge@aol.com
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

  We need to make it easier to get to University Circle and the Clinic not more difficult.

  This could negatively affect jobs and visitors to these areas.

  The state is supposed to be about job creation and making it easier for people and tourists not more difficult and hurting jobs and commerce.

  Michael Flickinger

• mldkrausss@roadrunner.com
  Hello,

  I do oppose the closing of these streets with access to the Cleveland Clinic. The Cleveland Clinic is one of the viable working forces in Cleveland. It is one of the biggest employers STILL OPEN in the Cleveland area. This is one of the areas that has not had lay offs due to economic downturn. Closing the entrance ramps would severly damage the ingegrity of the Cleveland Clinic. Considering Clevelands future at this point with all the areas in confusion, it would be in injustice to a group who have maintained integrity, and revenue to Cleveland in all the areas they contribute to. We can help our city stay beautiful and working. We love Cleveland and have watched it grow over the years, and we have grown also with it. We would like you to reconsider this proposal and reconsider what damage this move would do to such a contributing force. Please reconsider this and give a thumbs up for CLeveland and the Cleveland Clinic.

  Sincerly,

  An employee of Cleveland Clinic and a citizen living in Cleveland.

• monicadeadwiler@msn.com
  To exit at 22nd or continue through congestion and exit at Prospect is not desireable. Twenty Second street exit provides an undesireable view of the city as it offloads the traffic directly into a city project. Also, there is congestion and numerous lights. Carnegie exit is free flowing and is not hampered by a myriad of lights and turns. It provides excellent access to downtown and to the midtown university circle corridor.

  ALso, this provides access to the heights areas - Shaker, University and CLeveland Heights. These areas already lack significant access to the interstate system.

  Please do not close Carnegie and Prospect exits.

  Serve the community the community should not serve a highway system.

  Regards

  Monica Deadwiler

• mthorne06@gmail.com
  Please do not close the Carnegie ramp off of I 90. It is the primary road for employees of The Cleveland Clinic to get to the garage that most of us park. It would make our lives & commute more stressful in the morning. In addition many visitors and patients use Carnegie because it is convenient as well.

• murphyte@windstream.net
  I also want to protest what you have done with Euclid avenue traffic. You have made it unsafe for me to cross Euclid avenue to go to work. I work at Clevlenad Clinic. Several times when crossing with the light, inside the crosswalk I have come inches from being run over by cars that do not understand that the crosswalks are set so far back from the corner. It is extrememly dangerous. I am sure you would not appreciuate it if you had to risk your life several times a day to work. Something must be done avout this, please do not wait until poeple get killed by traffic. Your jobs are on the line....

• nzalany@jencen.com
  did you guys lose your mind?!

  Did you even try exiting in the morning rush hour from I90 onto Chester??

  WHO the hell is your urban planner you morons??This is how you want to attract people to work and live downtown??

  NO WONDER CLEVELAND IS LOSING POPULATION...because of incompetent

  uneducated, politically appointed so called "experts"

  Maybe it's time to get real experts

• obriens2@cf.org
  I support the Clinic because there are alot of people that this will affect. There has to be better solution.

• ojunction@hotmail.com
  Trying to get on the Innerbelt WITH the ramps is difficult enough, especially during rush hour. ODOT claims they are closing our access because of too many accidents? Ramps don't cause accidents, people cause accidents. First of all, there are accidents because of poor design of the entrances, only providing a minimal amount of merge lane entering into 50 mph traffic. In addition, people go above and beyond the 50 mph speed limit. I do the 50 mph and most others fly by, weaving in and out with no consideration to other drivers. Their speeds are way above the limit and this needs to be stopped in order to eliminate the accidents that are supposedly caused by the entrance ramps. There MUST be more police presence / patrol to stop the speeders!!! THEY cause the accidents!!!

  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

• pagelrosa@aol.com
  I routinely use the Carnegie exit every day in my drive to and from work from the far west side. Taking any other exit will just increase my already long commute to my work place. (50 minutes to over an hour).

  These exits are the heart of the inner city. You will be disrupting not only the traffic flow of inner city workers, but also the vitality of some of the most longest standing businesses along the Carnegie and Prospect routes! This make absolutely no sense.

  Unless you travel these routes on a daily basis, you should not be making these decisions.

  Thank you for this opportunity to add my comments.

  Josanne Pagel MPAS, PA-C, RMT

  Director, PA services, Cleveland Clinic

  Resident of North Ridgeville, Ohio

• petersb@ccf.org
  The closing of the ramps would add more confusion with patients, family members, and friends coming to the Cleveland Clinic. This would also affect employee traffic. This closing would be a dumb move. Also, how much traffic would be deverted to downtown Cleveland area businesses. Just think of the lost revenue for many people.

• PETERSM2@ccf.org
  These ramps, especially the Carnegie ramp, are vital to the connected access for so many businesses, as well as Cleveland State University. My children both attend or have attended CSU, and always found it best to exit the freeway at Carnegie and then take E.30th street across to CSU. It is far safer than the East 22nd street exit, which involves crossing traffic on I 90, and maneuvering much more traffic and changing more lanes to access CSU. Chester Avenue exit does not provide this ease of access, and becomes very congested, especially during peak times. Cleveland needs to support it's loyal businesses by maintaining these access ramps. Cleveland Clinic employees and patients come from so many areas and need this access also.

  There is just NO good reason to close these ramps, and all the good reasons to keep them open!

• punkandjim@att.net
  Do NOT do this. You will end up with a huge backup of cars all attempting to get to the Cleveland Clinic, Case and University Hospital. You will cause even more of a traffic hazard (think Cedar exit at 271 north X10). This is ODOT not thinking this issue through. They do not understand that the majority of the working west siders use these exits/entrances. Why make our live more miserable? Think before you act.

• rashleighrm@gmail.com
  As an employee of the Cleveland Clinic that lives on the west side of the city, I strongly oppose this plan, as it guts my ability to get to work in a timely and efficient manner. Downtown and midtown access is vital for both residents of this city as well as visitors! What good is smooth traffic through downtown, if no one can actually get off the highway to experience it?!?

• rkoch3958@hotmail.com
  I am a daily user of these ramps. A decision to close the ramps would be embarrassing, and comparable to the "burning river" incident. Our sister cities in Ohio and the national press would recognize that Cleveland stood by, while ODOT invested big tax money to make it easier to travel quickly THROUGH (not TO) our city.

  We have 3 major highways systems that feed into our city. To eliminate or reduce those downtown accesses would be like performing a poorly planned gastric bypass on an underweight patient. Not only would it be restrictive to areas that have shown growth, The plan will also be punitive by concentrating traffic to the other areas. It is wrong to push any more traffic on Chester. There are no gas stations, fast food, or businesses on my stretch of Chester. Carnegie has people/businesses that committed to Cleveland and didn’t leave the area for the suburbs. I’m not ready to starve them of the traffic that was there when they made the decision to locate here.

  The plan is blatantly short sighted. The opportunity we should not miss is one to develop a cost effective yet signature styled bridge that represents the gateway access to our city, not an improved fly-by route for people going to Ashtabula.

  Any plan that pushes more traffic into fewer streets (and the wrong streets to boot) is flawed, no matter how they try to sugar coat it. The priorities are wrong. Our taxes should go to a highway that is designed as an infrastructure element to support us, not the other way around.

• rlazaris@cox.net
  will it really take SEVERAL years to fix a road! if they work 24/7 wouldn't it only take a year if that? i think its a bad move. fix it if you will, but really SEVERAL years,come on!

• ryandrrt@verizon.net
  As a Cleveland Clinic employee and frequent user of the Carnegie Rd. Exit I am firmly against this action and request you reconsider.

  Thank You

• senses213@aol.com
  We are trying to entice people to come to Cleveland, not give less access to the city. Take a trip to Chicago where entrances and exits take place from each side of the freeways, giving easy access from each and every ramp. I strongly oppose this proposal!

• shieldm@att.net
  I work at the Cleveland Clinic, and it would be a big inconvenience to close either ramp for me.I use both daily. It is hard enough to get into and out of the city, as it is.

  I can't imagine the nightmare it will be in inclement weather with either of the accesses closed. Please Don't!!!!

• soviesls@hotmail.com
  I am a Chester user. I am concerned that thought has not been put into how the Chester enterances would be able to handle all the additional traffic during heavy travel times. I am very interested in your thoughts of this downstream effect of the project.

  Sheryl Sovie

• stephanievujas@yahoo.com
  due to these closures i will have to travele down E55th st which is a very unsafe area to travel and causing more traffic onto and off of E55th causing backups and inconvience for me an othe moterist.

• stinesd@ccf.org
  Closing these exits would cause just a terrible backup on Chester exit or East 22nd. This would be a terrible mistake for Cleveland and businesses in the area that cannot suffer any more down turns.

• tomihairs@yahoo.com
  You have to think about the businesses and people who will be shut out with this proposed closure; it is not necessary

• vyrstal@ccf.org
  I use these ramps every day to get to and from work. If you close these ramps then there will be way too much traffic on the other ramps. I used to use the Chester on and off ramps for years, but getting home would take forever. I would sit there and wait for 10 min before I can get to the highway. This is unacceptable.

  Closing the ramps you want to close is just wrong and a bad idea. Those who want to close these ramps do they actually use them? Do they know what they are talking about or are they just making this decision based on looking at a map.

  Closing the ramps you want to close is just wrong and a bad idea.

• WEISENM@CCF.ORG
  WHAT IS ALL THE FUSS. THE EUCLID AVE HEALTHLINE CERTAINLY HAS IMPACTED ALOT OF INCONVENIENCE. CONSTRUCTION TIME WAS A TRUE EXPERIENCE IN NAVIGATION. UPON ITS COMPLETION IT REMAINS AS SUCH, DUE TO BECOMING ONE LANE ROAD IN EACH DIRECTION AND THE CONFUSION OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS FOR AUTOS AND THE BUS SIGNALS ALSO INABILITY TO MAKE LEFT HAND TURNS.DAILY EUCLID AVE TRAVELERS HAVE LEARNED TO ADJUST BY " AVOIDING" THE AREA! VISITORS HERE ARE OVERWHELMED BY ALL THE CONFUSION. THAT PROJECT WAS CALLED PROGRESS. BITE THE BULLET PEOPLE....BIG MONEY POLITICS ALWAYS WINS IN THE END! I AM NOT OPPOSED.......THE CURVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A PROJECT YEARS AGO WHEN THERE ACTUALLY WAS BIG BUSINESS IN CLEVELAND!

• amasterson@centralcaillac.com
  Please reconsider the negative impact that losing the freeway access will have to the entire midtown area. I do work for one of the businesses involved but I am also concerned for the area as a whole including the residents. It seems that limiting the access ramps will cause more congestion and make it more difficult to get to the many businesses and points of interest east of the innerbelt. This is a pivital decision that could make or brake the efforts to revitalize our city. As a life long citizen of Cleveland, I beg of you to reconsider. Thank you.

• angelacapretto@hotmail.com
  With a struggling economy and a lackluster downtown area, why would ODOT close two exists that are throughputs to major access areas?

  Does ODOT intend to product statistics on traffic volumes during business days to justify their decision to close 2 main exits?

  Not only are professionals effected in their downtown commute, but locals are effected and downtown businesses too. There is no gain in this decision.

  The state should consider what is best for the City of Cleveland carefully.

• baileym4@ccf.org
  I use both of these ramps 5 days a week and it already takes me a long time to get to the Clinic and home living on the Westside. I used to have to travel Chester and it is brutal on your car. The road is in terrible condition and there are to many lights and the lights are very long. Conjestion on this street would be worse than it is now and create massive back ups on the highway.

• borowsa@ccf.org
  University Hospital, Cleveland Clinic and case Western Reserver are extremely important to the face of Cleveland. Shutting down access to these centers will only be seen as another black eye for the city.

• brownk@ccf.org
  I leave downtown at the Prospect exit because the Chester exit to 71S is already congested. This plan will cause unimaginable congestion on the downtown streets, which are already a mess in the mornings and evenings.

• caronis@ccf.org
  Again, some brainiac came up with this??? As quoted from a very famous movie....you guess which one if you can.....YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!!

• cynthia.difrancesco@gmail.com
  There is no way the closing of these ramps will not impact the commute of everyone who uses this route to get to work!

  There has to be a better solution.

• eric.kremer@vocon.com
  Please reconsider closing the Prospect access ramps. I understand eliminating Carneige; however East 22nd is more problematic. ODOT and the City of Cleveland need to complete their Due-Diligence on traffic patterns and safety, by doing so I feel the Prospect ramps will be recognized as not being the problem. Thank you.

• grayr@ccf.org
  Have you (ODOT) lost your minds? Do you realize the conjestion your proposal would cause and loss of business and productivity. Easy access too and from the Highway is what people need especially during rush hours. Why is this so difficult for you to understand and exicute. This is what we pay you for. Please don't do what your proposing it is pure insanity and will cause a lot of road rage for no reason. This is why people get angry when they look at what there taxes are and what we get for paying them.

• hannaj2@ccf.org
  I live in Parma and travel to the Cleveland Clinic daily. Its bad enough now to get down there, I wouldn't want to see what its like if you closed some of the other exits!!!

• HEIDIA2965@AOL.COM
  THIS WILL INVOLVE MAKING TRAFFIC VERY CONGESTED ON THE LOCAL ROADS. fREEWAYS ARE TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC FLOW NOT CAUSE MORE CONGESTION. wE NEED TO CONTINUE BRINGS PEOPLE TO THE CLEVELAND CLINIC AS EASILY AS POSSIBLE. ECONOMICALLY THIS IS VITAL TO CLEVELAND

• hns0714@yahoo.com
  while I agree with and support the need to fix the interbelt bridge I am already driving 25 to 30 minutes to work each day. I work at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus and park at 89th and Carnegie. To close the Carnegie ramp and make everyone exit at either 22nd or Chester is going to cause a lot of unnecessary congestion on both of those roads as well as delay everyone's already long commute to work.

• hummelc@ccf.org
  Closing these ramps leave only 1 access route to Univervity Circle from the south and west sides of the Greater Cleveland area. Eastsiders have no access problem, and there is no north side because that's Lake Erie. University Circle is the home of major institutions that employ thousands of people and that thousands of people utilize: Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University, several museums, and Severance Hall. These ramps are needed, especially during rush hour and bad weather. Whoever thinks that the Chester Avenue ramp can handle the additional traffic has not sat on Chester during snowstorms where it can take over 1 hour to drive 1 block.

• jeffh_ohio@yahoo.com
  I am afraid that if you close the exit to Carnegie, the volume on the Chester exit will more than double and vehicles will be stopped on I-90 waiting to exit.

  While I encourage you to make traffic flow changes to improve wayfinding and reduce congestion, I do not believe the proposal to close Carnegie is a wise one. Please reconsider. I make the drive from I-77 to I-90 every workday and with the exception of the traffic problems between I-480 and Rt 82, the 77/90 interchange is the most frustrating. But I don't want to trade one problem for another.

• jollis@zoominternet.net
  As someone who works downtown and uses the Carnegie exit, I cannot understand the rationale for closing the proposed exit ramps. Traffic will back up on the city streets even worse than it does now with fewer exit/on ramps.

  Closing these ramps will impede access to downtown Cleveland, an area in great need of easy accessbility when attracting visitors.

  I ask that the ramps be kept open for the daily commuters, visitors and most importantly the businesses that will be affected by this change.

• k8henderson@me.com
  Please, please do not close these ramps. The traffic coming into and going out of this area is already difficult and congested at times. Closing these ramps would greatly complicate the commute of many northeastern ohio workers and patients seeking care at the facilities which these ramps access. Additionally, it would deter potential business and residential traffic, furthering an already very down economy. This area is just beginning to recover from the negative impact of the "Euclid Corridor Project." This kind of logistical blow at this time could possibly debilitate this area from ever recovering economically and subsequently cause the economic recovery of Cleveland as a whole to come to a grinding halt.

• kasern@ccf.org
  Stop and think please! Take a look at the Euclid Avenue... those improvements are a disaster for pedestrians and motorists alike. AVOID ANOTHER MISTAKE

  Thanks

• komidad@ccf.org
  There are so many of us who live on one side of town and work on the opposite side. We need to get out and about to meetings and daycare pickups in the downtown and near westside areas as quickly as possible and these proposed closings would definately impeed these daily needs.

• konturs@ccf.org
  I oppose closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support the Cleveland Clinic / MidTown Cleveland proposal to separate closing the ramps from the decision to proceed with building a new Innerbelt bridge and smoothing Deadman's curve.

• lynnmarie7478@yahoo.com
  Does ODOT really care about Cleveland??????

• m_b_boyle@yahoo.com
  With the current state of traffic flow into Cleveland, I can only see these closures causing a negative impact. I am a nurse at The Cleveland Clinic, and drive from Independence to the main campus at least 5 days a week, these closures will definetly affect my family and I in a negative way.

• managerplazasuites@hotmail.com
  I am the owner of the plaza suit building on 3206 prospect avenue.

  closing the ramps on prospect will make me my tenants and thousands of people that now avoid Euclid to drive thru the city in order to find an exit.

  it will also force all the CSU personal to go thru the streets in order to find an exit we saw the preview when the exits on the 90 bridge were closed.

  please don’t close this vital artery of life and kill prospect.

  sincerely

  eyal Katz

• mchellmanjeffers@hotmail.com
  I drive these every day to work and back and find other options to be much more time-consuming in any traffic condition.

• mihalic@ccf.org
  As an employee of the Cleveland Clinic, the city of Cleveland's largest employer, I oppose the closing of these ramps which limits and complicates access to my place of employment. This will also complicate access for patients and visitors, many who come from other states and countries. Does ODOT desire these changes to cause patients, visitors, and prospective employees to avoid the Cleveland Clinic?

  Thank you,

  Carolyn Mihalic

  Registered Respiratory Therapist

• millerj2@ccf.org
  I commute from Lakewood to the Lyndhurst campus of the Cleveland Clinic every day for work - THERE IS NO SIMPLE WAY TO DO THIS VIA PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. Therefore I must drive. I've driven & timed the routes around the city (via 71/480/271 or Shoreway/90/271)and they are all longer than going thru the city. If I take 90/Carnegie/Cedar I can be at work in under 45 mins. I've tried other routes, the 490/E55th work around for the innerbelt & it can be a time saver BUT there is lately a lot of congestion on E55 & construction that causes more delays. I've tried Chester & it too causes delays from congestion. The entire Euclid corridor although awesome for pedestrians & bus traffic adds at a minimum an extra 20-30 minutes to my commute any time I end up on it. I work odd hours 0700-1900 therefore I miss a good deal of the rush hour traffic. Being able to take the Carnegie on my way in & Prospect on the way out has been a godsend. Please don't make me & others like me add to further congestion of the other roads also not designed (not just built but the timing of the traffic lights, etc...) to handle the extra traffic.

  On a side note closing Carnegie will greatly disrupt patient flow to the Cleveland Clinic. I know I am barely familiar with the Main Campus & if I didn't have Carnegie to rely on I would be lost. Long before working for the Clinic I'd spent time there with various sick relatives & having surgery there myself, the one thing I could count on is that off 90 I could just take Carnegie & poof be right where I needed to be, in the middle of campus, not lost on the edge barely sure where it began & where it ends.

  Please do not close Carnegie & Prospect.

• molzanm@ccf.org
  Please do not close these access ramps. It is important to the employees and patients of the Cleveland Clinic to have easy access to our hospital. Thank you for your consideration.

• moorec2@ccf.org
  In closing Carnegie, a domino effect will take place. Most vehicles will exit at Chester causing a lengthy backed up with vehicles that then overflow and pour onto I90 causing traffic delays and potential accidents. Have you ever seen Chester during a rain or snow storm? Obviously not. It is terrible with just normal everyday traffic. This change will greatly affect my commute to the Cleveland Clinic, not to mention patients trying to make their way to the Clinic or UH in a timely manner. Have you ever been a patient? Many patients are anxious to beging with and this traffic detour will only escalate that anxiety. Please do not close Carnegie!!!

• nirodea@ccf.org
  As a Cleveland Clinic employee, my commute to work from Strongsville has already been increased due to ODOT closing one of the four lanes on the innerbelt bridge. Closing the Carnegie Road exit would create even more of a bottle-neck on the innerbelt bridge in addition to increasing the risk of rear-end collisions as those unfamiliar with the area will be braking more frequently in an effort to read the closure signs.

  Patients/guests of both the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals use the Carnegie Road exit to travel to the hospitals. Why make it any more challenging for patients and guests to drive to these two world famous hospitals, people who are piping in millions of dollars into our local economy??

• ollier@ccf.org
  Why make it difficult for employees of northeast Ohio's largest employer to commute? I'm sure there is a much better solution to the problem.

• palmerm@ccf.org
  Access to the Clinic is difficult for both visitors and employees. Need to look at a way to build bridge without limiting access to clinic and university circle.

• peasev@ccf.org
  As an employee of the Cleveland Clinic, and a citizen of this great city, I am hoping that there may be other solutions to fixing the interbelt bridge. I know that safety is a main concern, but I do feel that with the state of this economy there should be an open forum to outcomes and possible solutions. Please know that the restrictions on the bridge already have affected many small businesses.

  Thank you for your consideration!

  Virginia E. Pease

  Patient and Guest Service Assistant

  peasev@ccf.org

  216-444-2029

• prabhaa@gmail.com
  This is my and my wife's main access to get to your work at the Cleveland Clinic

• rauschd@ccf.org
  As a Cleveland Clinic employee, I exit from the Innerbelt to Carnegie every day on my morning commute. Many other Cleveland Clinic employees do the same. Closing this exit will increase congestion and make our commute more difficult.

• reneej90-entries@yahoo.com
  The congestion this will cause on the streets now having to absorb the traffic currently exiting/entering at these ramps will be incredible. If there is an accident on the interbelt at the Chester exit this would leave commuters no choice but to go entirely out of their way to Superior if going north in addition to creating a back up worse than there is now in the case of an accident since there will be fewer alternatives to exit and go around any accident or congested areas.

  This sucks!

• rob.armstrong@vocon.com
  Closing the Prospect Ave interchange ramps does the opposite of the main goal of ODOT. It states that they want to create connectivity. Closing the Prospect Ave exits, gives the public (and those whom work and/or live in the immediate area) less opportunity for easily reaching destinations downtown and to the East. Having the Prospect exits gives another chance for those traveling to minimize their efforts to connect to events and destinations, whereas closing them would force people to back-track in and around downtown in a chaotic sort of way and will cause more congestions on the local roads and to and from the remaining exits in the area. Having worked as a co-op for ODOT for 7 summers and 3 winters in districts 4 and 12 and currently as an Arhchitectural Project Manager for the past 14 years at Vocon (on Prospect Ave), i am appauled that ODOT thinks that this is a good "Urban" design decision.

• rwarren@wcof.net
  I am the CEO of a large office furniture company. I located our company in MidTown because of the excellant freeway connections. Please do not close our access points!!!!!!!!!!!

  Dick Warren

• saba2r@aol.com
  ***** I oppose these measures not from a work standpoint but from a residential one. These are the entries and exits I use to go to and from my home. Let's not make things more difficult for residents while making them easier for those PASSING THRU. Let's not discourage those of us who live in or near the city. ******

• SADLERJ@CCF.ORG
  I oppose this not only as an employee of Northeast Ohio's largest employee but as a citizen of northeast ohio. The inconvenience alone to everyone should be enough to reconsider your options. Please.

• sallya98@gmail.com
  Rather than proceeding with this ridiculous "plan" why don't you just bury the city of Cleveland and hold its funeral. You are completely blind to all the efforts so many are doing to rebuild this city. If you proceed as planned, I hope the citizens hold you fully responsible for the failure of our great city to grow. I personally will be forced to leave the area out of disgust of poor judgment. I had hoped that this city was moving forward and building for the future. Your plans displays complete disregard for those who live and work in Cleveland.

• saluppi@ccf.org
  There are not many options left to getting to the Cleveland Clinic. During the rush hour periods these two routes were already heavily used leaving one left; that being Chester Ave. This route is also heavily used during rush hour. East 55th is really out of the question for a female driving alone; very dangerous neighborhoods to go through. Our patients and visitors that are not familiar with the areas will really be lost and confused. I am sure a lot will go to other places rather than getting lost down here.

• samiaaam@hotmail.com
  I think closing the Carnegie exit is the worst possible idea. Not only is the freeway far enough (because of slow moving traffic, not distance) from where I live, closing the closest on-ramp is going to make it even more of a drive. Being new to Cleveland as well, I feel all other exits are not safe and since Carnegie is a larger/more populated street I feel most comforatble driving down that versus Chester which really goes through some shady parts of Cleveland. Not to mention how bad the actual street is on Chester too. Where do you get off thinking that closing exit/on ramps is going to decrease traffic?? HORRIBLE HORRIBLE IDEA ODOT

• schmiek@ccf.org
  This is the closest and most direct exit to Cleveland Clinic from the west side.

• thinksno16@aol.com
  I use the Carnegie and Propsect on/off ramps regularly. I live on the East side and these are my major pipelines when heading to the South and West. When I lived in Strongsville, I would use the Carnegie/Prospect ramps DAILY - after realizing they existed and were less congested than the Chester ramp. Taking away two major exits into the heart of Midtown Cleveland is a big mistake that will create more congestion and frustration for residents and visitors alike.

  Thank you for the considerations.

• tickhic@aol.com
  I would venture to say there are at least 5000 people alone who travel/exit at Carnegie Ave alone, who work at Cleveland Clinic and Univerisity Circle. I base that figure simply on observing the sheer volume of traffic. Not to mention the number of patients who travel from both the west side and south (route 77) who would be adversly affected.

  It's an all around bad plan...

• tlshenk@yahoo.com
  The city of Cleveland is dying slowly. I have lived in Cleveland for 8 years. The Euclid corridor project took several years and the result to the business located downtown suffered tremedously and have yet to recover. Closing the ramps to downtown will kill the city for which is will never recover. There is world class health care that sustains life in this city and the thought of closing ramps would also impact the access to healthcare for Cleveland as well as patients from outside of the Cleveland and Ohio.

  In 5 years Cleveland will be Detroit. One of the worst cities, no jobs, everyone is leaving, housing market in the tank. Hey but we will have great roads......

• tomsicj@ccf.org
  i support opportunity corridor

• treguy@sbcglobal.net
  It is difficult for out of towners who visit for pleaseure (SPEND MONEY) or come here for health care (BOOST the economy and create jobs)to get around. No one ever updates internet maps and the sinage provided is inadequate at best. I live her and nver know if I can get from point A to point B. It looks like a way to make sure we spend every cent of the tax money alloted to this plan. POOR JUDGEMENT on your part!

• wheeler_clan@att.net
  i support this issue because patient comes from all over the world who would be coming form the airport into cleveand and and the vistor would impact a lot of buiness and hospital

  thanks

• zanek@ccf.org
  This will harm Cleveland so much if these two ramps are closed at the same time for lengthy periods. There has to be a better plan - one that won't effect jobs and businesses. You can not cripple a city like this!

  Kim Zane

  Cleveland Clinic Employee

• clamb@hpmfg.com
  The idea of making it "easier for people to drive through downtown" makes no sense. Aren't we trying to attract people to come downtown? By limiting access getting to and leaving downtown, we are discouraging the actual goal of attracting people. Not to mention the horendous traffic jams that will result as people try to get to and from the remaining on and off ramps that will be left. Many large downtown cities have numerous on and off ramps to accomodate people trying to get to different areas of downtown. There is absolutely NO logical idea in closing the Carnegie and Prospect Innerbelt ramps! This is definately a time to listen to the people who actually use these ramps on a daily basis rather than listening to someone at ODOT who doesn't have a clue as to how harmful this would be to residents, workers and businesses in the areas affected. We are already experiencing economic issues. This proposal will only add to those issues in and around the downtown and midtown areas.

• john.workley@vocon.com
  Cleveland is rated as the most courteous drivers and the fact that I have used these exits for the last 14 years and have NOT SEE ONE accident, says to me that

  YOU NEED TO LOOK ELSEWHERE for your spending tax money,

  Hey -- how about looking at -- DEAD MANS CURVE, if you want accidents!

  Thanks for your listening, and DO NOT CUT OF MY EXITS!!!!!

  thanks

  JOHN

• lab@partnerss.com
  Please don't close this route... as a busy mom working full time, it saves me time in my commute downtown, and allows me to spend more time with my family. Please, don't take this away from me.

• p_scipione@hotmail.com
  As a frequent visitor to Cleveland and user of both the Prospect and Carnegie ramps for access to downtown and the Cleveland Clinic, closing the Prospect and Carnegie ramps makes no sense.

• ptscotty@yahoo.com
  This is the most absurd idea possible. Take away some of the best and most used access to the downtown area of a city that is already dying. The harder you make it to access an area the less it will be used. Not to mention the major problems and undue harm on business that rely on those for access. Simply unreasonable.

• vmolinski@gmail.com
  If you don't want to continue to kill this city, I implore you to think twice before doing this. You are making downtown even more unfriendly to locals and visitors to the point that no one will want to bother with downtown. This will be the final nail in Cleveland's coffin. Please reconsider this proposal for the sake of its residents, its businesses, and this city!

• dneubert@1-888-ohiocomp.com
  1-888-OhioComp is located in the Midtown area, this closing will have a very negative impact on access to our business. We employee over 100 persons and frequently have customers in our building. If the ramps close, it is unlikely that we will stay in the Midtown area. The negative financial impact that these ramp closings will have on the businesses in Midtown is severe.

• gpuntel@audiocraft.com
  as a business owner on carnegie ave. we rely on being able to have easy acces to our store for our customers. the elimination of the highway access will have a damaging effect on our business. audio craft is a long time stake holder in the community. we do not want the traffic pattern changed.

  i cant even imagine the problems this plan would cause for the clinic and downtown special events.

• joannemh@yourbeancounters.com
  

  I worked extremely hard to create my own business-that I chose to open in Cleveland, not the suburbs. I employ people. I bring benefits to my clients who believe our office being in the Midtown Corridor is a great location - convenient to westsiders and a gateway to the eastside. I pay taxes to Cleveland and the State of Ohio. Yet, I have no say about how my business will be disrupted, how much more time will be needed - and who will pay for that? If there is ONE thing our government COULD focus on is creating a quality of life here - but not with ODOT driving! SAVE OUR ACCESS!

• john.melchiorre@hpmfg.com
  Thiese closures will effect 92% of our employees.

• mbilyk@rsvpcleveland.org
  Citizens of Northeast Ohio who work in these areas and who travel to the mid-town/downtown areas for business and entertainment NEED these exits. Also, future community/business development would be negatively impacted if this area was isolated from easy access from highways.

• wlanci@cgginc.com
  I SUPPORT the closing the I 90 Innerbelt Carnegie and Prospect access ramps in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio and support ODOT's decision to FINALLY have a plan! If the amount of effort was put towards helping the poor and uneducated instead of the numerous efforts to hamper ODOT, our City and economy would be better off! ODOT, hurry up and JUST DO SOMETHING...THERE IS NOTHING THAT YOU COULD DO THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORSE!

• DCSus@aol.com
  I think its a great idea to close not only the Carnegie and Prospect ramps but all the ramps. This will help insure the death of our city. That way people can get through Cleveland without a stop. This will kill Cleveland downtown, the heart of our City. What are our City and County officials doing to help with this fight. The problim is a lack of leadership and long range thinking.

• robertsonkg@cs.com
  We pay for these Interstates. We don't want the Prospect and Carnegie interchanges to close. It would suffocate businesses and destroy access and egress for downtown Cleveland. Who are you to go against the will of the people? You can all be replaced. Shape up or be shipped out.

• clough1217@aol.com
  Separating the access ramps issue from building the new bridge is obviously the right call. Of course, while often making the most expeditious decision, ODOT record of making right calls is suspect.

• dscipione@acmex.com
  Leave the ramps as they are. Lower the speed limit through the trench. Ban cell phone use in the trench. Take the $425 million savings and use it for the Opportunity Corridor.

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