Exploring Cleveland by Bike - Part I

Cleveland can be a fun city to bike in

I recently went on a 17-mile bike ride spanning both sides of Cleveland, which was part of a wonderful Saturday morning. It was sunny with a slight breeze; this is the perfect weather for exploring the city if you ask me. 

As such, I wanted to share some images of what I saw during the ride, in terms of the infrastructure I was able to use, as well as some of the really great views. I’ve picked 6 photos, 3 from the West Side and 3 from the East Side, which are pretty representative of what I saw. 

West Side

This separated bike lane runs on Lorain Avenue between the Hope Memorial Bridge and W. 25th Street. It was just installed this June and has provided a much better connection from the bridge to both the West Side Market and the nearby Red Line Greenway. 

Bridge Avenue is an east-west corridor that is a pleasant alternative to both Lorain Avenue and Detroit Avenue. While there is still some traffic on this street, it is much more manageable when on a bike. However, one of the best things about biking on Bridge is all of the shade provided by the many trees lining the road. 

On the West Side, part of the Lakefront Bikeway runs along the Shoreway. While it can be pretty unpleasant riding near a loud road, the views along this route are absolutely fantastic, which is why I love going this way very often. 

East Side

While not technically the East Side, this image shows the approach into Downtown on the Veterans Memorial Bridge. On a bike, traveling eastbound on this bridge is rather pleasant because of this wide, buffered bike lane. This view is particularly nice, and the amount of speed you get going down this hill is spectacular. 

East of E. 55th Street, the Lakefront Bikeway transitions to a multi-use trail, with a short section running next to the water. On a warm day, such as this one, it is nice being close to the lake because it provides a cooling breeze. 

Riding back toward Downtown, there is a standard bike lane on Superior Avenue that runs directly next to high-speed traffic. This is a less-than-ideal setup; however, it is one of the few bike lanes connecting the East Side to Downtown. There are some lower-traffic streets that could serve as alternatives nearby, but that should not be a reason to avoid making our major arterials safer. 

Conclusion

This was not the first time that I traversed any part of this route while biking. However, one thing that always strikes me while riding around the city is that there is extremely inequitable access to bike facilities on the East Side, compared to the West Side. It seems that decisions on where to put bike lanes are still based on the idea that people only bike in gentrified neighborhoods, as well as the idea that biking is more for recreation than transportation. While the Superior Midway is set to come online in the upcoming years, there are still many inequities in the bike network that should be addressed now. Unfortunately, this is not happening, despite the fact that the new mayoral administration claims to be committed to increased mobility. The entire process is all too bureaucratic, and we continue to see examples of increased walkable and bikeable urbanism that only serves neighborhoods where people can pay for it. Despite these facts, I do have hope that real change will happen over the next 5 years, as new generations of urbanists begin to take positions of authority across the Cleveland area. 

I expect that this post will be part of an ongoing series about exploring by bike. Thank you for reading!