Topic: Akron: Razing Innerbelt to Create Biomedical Cluster

[noozer]

 Posted on Wed, Jul. 19, 2006 
 


City to create biomedical cluster in razed Innerbelt area

By John Higgins
Beacon Journal staff writer

Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic announced Wednesday that the city plans to demolish part of the Innerbelt -- a city goal since 1999 -- to help create a biomedical-friendly business district anchored by the city's three main hospitals.

By downsizing the freeway to a boulevard, the city would no longer have to maintain expensive bridges and ramps between West Exchange and Howard streets and would gain 37 acres for development favoring biomedical businesses and could include upscale housing....


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John Higgins can be reached at 330-996-3792 or 1-800-777-7232 or jhiggins@thebeaconjournal.com 

[J. Dub]

Damn, how did I miss this in today's paper.  Great to hear, I hadn't heard anything in a while about Plusquellic's plans for the northern end of the innerbelt.  Can't wait to see this project get moving, I'm more than ready to see the land this under-utilized highway sits on be better used to continue the revitalization of the region's economy.

[noozer]

I worked at the Akron Bureau for the last three months I worked at Fox-8 News in 1997.  I always wondered what they were thinking when they built that expressway.  Nice highway.... but it didn't go anywhere.  I agree, it'll be a big improvement to rip it down and create a Boulevard.  Go Akron!

[buildingcincinnati]

From the 7/21/06 ABJ:


Bait: Polymers, tax incentives, skilled doctors
Akron puts its strengths forward to try to capture more businesses for planned biomedical district
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer

Whenever Theken Spine wants expert advice about the medical implants it designs and markets for spinal fusion surgeries, it doesn't need to go far...

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15089672.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

[J. Dub]

Support still being drummed up for saving the northern end of the Innerbelt.
From the Akron Beacon Jounal 8/4/2006


Big changes to Innerbelt worth a look

In 1960, when Akron traffic planner Byron Sturm put pencil to paper and began to sketch the Akron Innerbelt, John Dziurlaj was T-minus 26 years and counting...

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Bob Dyer's column appears every Friday. He can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/columnists/bob_dyer/15196433.htm

[buildingcincinnati]

Competing ideas

To check out the elaborate Web site created by Interbelt Integration Initiative, go here:
www.akroninnerbelt.org

To see the four possibilities for the Ohio Department of Transportation's upcoming remake of the west leg of the Akron Expressway -- and comment on them -- go here:
http://centralinterchange.org/alternatives1.html

http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/15196441.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_news

[uastudent12]

Does anyone know what is going on with this? I went to Odot's website and it looks like they are no longer considering doing anything with the innerbelt. It would be amazing if they turned this into a normal road and put more businesses along it. That city and surrounding neighborhoods would benifit tremendously from it.

[KJP]

Sadly, ODOT lacks the money to maintain that labrynth of highway infrastructure... or to demolish it and replace it with something less elaborate and intrusive. It may remain there until it begins to collapse from neglect, and that would be a horrible burdern for those neighborhoods. ODOT may be able tap some federal Livable Communities funding, but only if the city will push them to do it. And that means having locals push the city.....

[audidave]

This was mainly an idea floated by the mayor to reduce the width of the Innerbelt.  I don't see it being too realistic.  There could be some minor future alterations especially with ODOT looking/needing to work on the Central Interchange in the next 5-7 years.    This section of highway gets much usage at rush hour. 

He was also including the Innerbelt as a reference for the biomedical corridor's outline hinting at using some of the excessive land by the Innerbelt for new companies.   I don't think Akron land prices are so high in the downtown area that the government can start to cannibalize the Innerbelt for potential medical companies. 

Besides, as more success happens to the Biomedical Corridor the more important the Innerbelt becomes as a thruway.

[Gramarye]

The main reason I'm questioning this idea isn't because the Innerbelt (Interbelt?) doesn't have room to spare--it definitely does.  It's just that downtown Akron as a whole already has a large amount of underutilized property that could be acquired far more cheaply--and redeveloped more cheaply after being acquired cheaply, too.  Taking out part of the highway (by filling it in or whatever) would be a real chore.  The investments in both time and money involved would be steeper than necessary.  Why bother?  The sail-shaped area between 8, 76, and 59 has plenty of usable land, and of course there's no reason one should feel boxed into that area, either.

[uastudent12]

I somewhat agree with that last post. I think a lot of places downtown are way underutilized. I would still like to see a lot of places go in near the innerbelt. Everytime I drive down that road it makes Akron seem like a ghost town. It would be nice to see more businesses start to pop up along the southern end of town. Opportunity Parkway should really hold up to its name. If they did anything to the innerbelt they really need to add a way to get onto 76 East from 59. Im sure that would help with a lot of traffic patterns throughout town during rush hour.

[JamesMatthew]

ODOT shoved around some ideas of getting federal funds to connect rt 59 to rt 8 and creating a bypass of sorts. Would have also solved part of the interchange issue but nothing came from it.