Idea for Saving an Aging Shopping Center: Remove Cut-Through Car Traffic

Planners like the idea of blocking car traffic on Shaker Boulevard through Shaker Square in Cleveland, The public is less sure.

1 minute read

April 26, 2019, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Steven Litt updates the ongoing developments with the plan to remake Shaker Square in Cleveland, a "beloved but badly gaining 1920s-era shopping center."

The latest plan for Shaker Square includes a proposal to close Shaker Boulevard to automobile traffic through the site.

"Removing the boulevard is 'the only way to really transform the square,’' said Mary Margaret Jones, a senior principal at Hargreaves Associates, a national landscape firm leading the design." As Litt notes, transit would still cut through the site. "But removing the east- and westbound lanes of Shaker boulevard from either side of the tracks would create room for more landscaping and outdoor events."

While the street closure has support from planners, designers, and engineers working on the plan, the reception from the public at a recent round of public meetings was more ambivalent.

Thursday, April 25, 2019 in The Plain Dealer

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

15 minutes ago - Outdoor Life

SMall backyard cottage ADU in San Diego, California.

San Diego Votes to Rein in “Towering” ADUs

City council voted to limit the number of units in accessory buildings to six — after confronting backyard developments of up to 100 units behind a single family home.

June 18 - NBC San Diego

Large tower under construction with crane with American and Texas flags in downtown Austin, Texas against sunset sky.

Texas Legislature’s Surprising Pro-Housing Swing

Smaller homes on smaller lots, office to apartment conversions, and 40% less say for NIMBYs, vote state lawmakers.

June 18 - The Texas Tribune