42nd Annual Heights Heritage Home and Garden Tour: "Timeless Elegance"

A good way to enjoy the Heritage Home and Garden Tour is by bicycle.   

Parking is easy when all you need is a patch of grass!

Join the Heights Community Congress and the Heights Bicycle Coalition for a great afternoon of biking and touring. Pedal up and purchase your discounted $20 bicycle ticket at the Bike Fix It Station at the corner of Coventry and North Park on Sunday Sept 15 between 11am and 5pm.

We'll give you our recommended 5 mile turn-by-turn route to enjoy all the homes.
Remember to wear a helmet, bring water and a bike lock.   Parents must accompany children under 16.

For additional information, visit Heights Community Congress

"Four Communities" Ride on Sunday, Aug. 18

Sunday, August 18
8:30-11 a.m.
Meet at Bexley Park
1630 Wrenford Road, South Euclid

Join us for a family-friendly bike ride through the four communities we represent: South Euclid, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights and University Heights! Gather at 8:30 at Bexley Park and we'll head out at 9. We will ride a little over 10 miles, then return to Bexley Park for some coffee, donuts, and bagels after the ride.

Everyone is invited, but remember to bring your helmet. No training wheels, please.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday!

Juneteenth Freedom Rides

Although the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, it took 2 ½ years before word reached Texas and the Confederate south to announce the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Therefore, slavery continued until Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, TX to read General Order #3 announcing that “all slaves are free” on June 19, 1865.

JUNETEENTH (a blend of the words June and nineteenth) is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in 45 states, including Ohio that celebrates the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved people in the United States.

We ask that you join us in celebrating African American history and heritage as we kick off our Third Annual Juneteenth Freedom Rides starting June 15 and continuing through June 19, 2019.

Visit BIT.LY/CLEJFR or @JuneteenthFreedomRides on Facebook and Instagram to register for one or all events

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Bike Month 2019 is Here!

It's May, and that means we have a month full of biking-related activities in and around the Heights. From Bike the Heights Weekend May 3-5, to Bike to Work Week May 13-17, the Ride of Silence on May 15 and more, there's something for everyone regardless of biking experience and skill level.
Here's what's coming up. We'll keep you updated all month long with upcoming events, rides and other activities. Grab your two-wheeler and join us!

May 3-5: Bike the Heights Weekend 
Cedar-Fairmount, Cedar-Lee and Coventry Districts, Cleveland Heights
The Cedar-Fairmount, Cedar-Lee and Coventry Special Improvement Districts will hold their first collaborative Bike the Heights weekend from May 3-5. Among many bike-related activities, HBC will hold a Bike Fix-It Day on Saturday, May 4 from 1-3 p.m. in the parking lot of the former Zoss Bakery (12397 Cedar Road). Experts will be on-hand to assess bicycles and make minor repairs. Also on Saturday, HBC will host a family-friendly ride through the districts at 3 p.m., originating and ending at the Coventry Peace Park.

Sunday, May 5: All Geared Up
1 p.m., Canterbury Elementary School, Cleveland Heights
All Geared Up will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a family-centric day of bike events, including a bike rodeo, 4-mile fun ride, a used bike sale and much more. Activities get underway at 1 p.m. at Canterbury Elementary School in Cleveland Heights. All are welcome.

Sunday, May 5: Cleveland Heights Police Bike Auction
1 p.m., Cleveland Heights Police Station, 40 Severance Circle
The Cleveland Heights Police Department will be having its annual Bicycle Auction on Sunday, May 5 at 1 p.m. on the north side of City Hall, 40 Severance Circle. This is a cash only auction and bicycles are sold as-is. Free bike licenses will also be offered to any resident who registers their bike. Officers will be on-hand to offer bicycle safety tips and answer questions.

Wednesday, May 8: Walk or Bike to School Day
Area students in kindergarten through eighth grade in Cleveland Heights-University Heights public schools and some private and parochial schools will take part in Walk or Bike to School Day. Walking or biking to school is a great way for kids to get exercise while being social, and research also shows that children who walk or bike to school arrive more ready to sit down and learn.

May 13-17: Bike to Work Week
Bike to Work Week begins on Monday, May 13 and concludes with Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 17. That morning, from 7 to 9 a.m., HBC will provide free coffee, courtesy of Phoenix Coffee, and snacks at the corner of Edgehill and Overlook roads—Northeast Ohio’s most traveled commuter bike route. Stop by and say, “Hi,” and meet fellow commuters as we promote cycling in the Heights and note the construction project underway at that intersection designed to make traveling there safer, whether driving, walking or biking.

Wednesday, May 15: Ride of Silence
7:00 John Carroll University Campus
Ride of Silence—a worldwide coordinated event—takes place each year on the third Wednesday in May. Heights-area bicyclists will pedal down to University Hospitals on Adelbert Road in University Circle, where they will be joined for a memorial observation by riders coming from the Free Stamp sculpture in downtown Cleveland. 

Saturday, June 1: Best of Bricks Ride
10 a.m., Noble Neighborhood Library, Cleveland Heights
Though technically in June, Bike Month wraps up with the Best of Bricks ride on Saturday, June 1. Led by Mary Dunbar, HBC vice president and Cleveland Heights councilperson, this fun, leisurely and informative ride will start at 10 a.m. from the Noble Neighborhood Library (2800 Noble Road) in Cleveland Heights. Bicyclists will view some of Cleveland Heights’ most noteworthy, interesting and historic brick structures located north of Cedar Road.

This is just a sampling of the many Bike Month activities happening in and around the Heights.

Heads Up: Edgehill Rd. and Overlook Rd. Intersection Construction

We wanted to make riders aware that one of the busiest cycling passages in the region, the intersection of Overlook and Edgehill Roads, will be getting reconfigured this spring!
According to the Cleveland Heights communications department, "Construction is expected to begin the week of April 1, 2019, at the intersection of Edgehill Road and Overlook Road and is expected to last for eight to twelve weeks. Access to properties will be maintained with minimum impact to pedestrians and traffic.
The project involves narrowing the intersection to improve the ease of vehicular navigation, storm water mitigation enhancements, along with pedestrian enhancements including shortened crosswalks, new ADA compliant curb ramps, and high visibility crosswalks.
This project is being funded by the City of Cleveland Heights and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency’s Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative.
Please use caution when driving through a work zone and check your speed. For questions contact Cleveland Heights' office of Capital Projects at 216-291-2470."

Come on Sunday, April 7, 5-7 p.m. to HBC's Annual Meeting

All residents in Heights communities are welcome to come to this year's Heights Bicycle Coalition (HBC) annual meeting, which will be at the Shaker Historical Society (16740 S Park Blvd.) in Shaker Heights.
After a short business meeting to elect new directors and present a financial report, HBC president Steve Reinhardt and board members will discuss HBC programs and progress, plans for the coming year and opportunities to advance our goal of making the Heights more bicycle friendly by serving on an HBC committee.
We will also hear from Michael Kubek from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). Kubek is responsible for Active Transportation Planning and the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI).  He will discuss bicycling and pedestrian issues and programs that NOACA is working on at present. These include an impressive variety of planning studies and infrastructure improvements that will benefit bicyclists and pedestrians.
Refreshments will be served.  This event is free and open to the public. Please join us!

Our first ride of spring will be on Independent Bookstore Day, 4/27/19

Little Fires Everywhere, written by Celeste Ng, was Amazon's Best Novel of 2017 and was set in the Heights area!
Join HBC in honor of Independent Bookstore Day as we ride the locations featured in last year's NYT's bestseller set in the Heights as well as stops at the bookstores in the Heights area!
We will start and end our ride at Appletree Books (12419 Cedar Rd) and then venture out to stops at Mac's Backs on Coventry and Loganberry Books on Larchmere. We will also round out the ride checking out the sites of Little Fires Everywhere.
We will start the ride at 12:00 noon on Saturday, 4/27, so plan to come a little early and join us as well celebrate our local bookstores!

Come get involved at our February Community meeting!

HBC is looking for some new members to join our board and for volunteers to help with one or more of our ongoing programs. With your help, we can do even more to improve our biking infrastructure in the Heights, strengthen our community outreach and build a stronger bicycle culture.

Join us in our next board meeting this Tuesday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the Levey Room in the Heights Library’s Lee Road branch, 2345 Lee Road, to learn about opportunities.

A few examples where HBC could use people to lead or help with include Bike Month (May) activities such as the Ride of Silence or Bike to Work Day, with after-school bike clubs (now in only two schools – why not more?) or with bike rodeos, helmet giveaways and bike tune-up events.

Maybe you have an idea for a bike event or program you’d like to see and are willing to work to make it a reality? We’ll support you!

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

HBC’s annual December party is Sunday, 12/2/18

Every December, Heights Bicycle Coalition celebrates its progress, outlines its plans and recognizes community “roll models.” Join the fun on Sunday, December 2, 2018, at 4 p.m., in the Secret Garden room at Nighttown, 12383 Cedar Rd, Cleveland, OH 44106. 

We will provide a brief update on HBC accomplishments in 2018 and the outlook for 2019. Then we’ll recognize our roll models:

• Richard Wong, Cleveland Heights Director of Planning, representing all City staff who have planned and implemented infrastructure improvements to make the community more bicycle friendly
• Chipper the dog, one of the foremost volunteers who have made after-school bike clubs successful at Fairfax and Canterbury Schools
• Sam Bell, who is developing a robotic system to improve the efficiency and lower the cost dramatically of painting road stripes and symbols that provide access and safety for all roadway users

Weather permitting, Sam will provide a five-minute demonstration of his product that is under development.

Free snacks for all.  Cash bar.

Taylor Road Corridor Study

Come to a meeting where you’ll have an opportunity to affect plans to improve Taylor Road business districts and make Taylor a “complete street” that accommodates bicyclists, pedestrians and transit, in addition to cars and other motor vehicles.  Your input can make a difference.  

The meeting will be in the atrium at Cleveland Heights City Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 15, 2019.  The study will aim to make Taylor Road a more vibrant and attractive street, benefiting both Cleveland Heights and University Heights. Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) staff will work in collaboration with staff from these cities to create the plan.  Having a good plan is instrumental in getting funds for implementation.

Particular areas of focus will be parking for the Cedar Taylor business district, and how to ensure safety for walkers and bikers around the Hebrew Academy.

Bike Commuting Log

The Lake “Eerie” Bike Challenge has begun, and you can join in, if so inclined.

Our Municipal Planning Organization (MPO), the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), is encouraging you to log on and ask coworkers, friends, and family to log all bike commutes throughout October on Gohio Commute. When you or others log a bike trip in October, all will be automatically added to the Gohio Commute leaderboard. Also log bike errands, like trips to stores or restaurants.

All destination trips count toward standings, up to two per day. So leave your car at home, take the bike, and log trips to earn prizes! There are weekly raffle drawings, so everyone who logs a trip can win.

Best of Bricks Bike Tour

Saturday, October 6, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.


Meet at corner of Roxboro Road and W. St. James Parkway, just north of Roxboro Elementary School

Leader: Mary Dunbar, Cleveland Heights City Councilmember

Join us for an all-skills bike ride to learn about the history and architecture of some of Cleveland Heights most noteworthy and impressive brick buildings.  The ride will end back where it started.

Saturday, Sept. 22: FRONT Triennial Tour de Art

This all-day bike tour will visit several exhibitions in FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art. FRONT is a mix of artist commissions, performances, films and public programs examining the ever-changing and politically urgent conditions of an American city.

The ride will depart from the bike fix-it station at Coventry Road and North Park Boulevard at 9:30 a.m., then head to University Circle to visit Judy’s Hand Pavilion outside of the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, as well as several exhibitions and installations at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The tour continues on to Playhouse Square for a viewing of Love Story, a video installation that centers on the cult of celebrity and the overwhelming influence the media exerts on our world view. After stopping to enjoy the Canvas City murals on Prospect Avenue, riders will head downtown to the Cleveland Arcade and Cleveland Public Library. The Arcade features Cleveland’s 1973 City Canvas public art project, while the library’s exhibit, The American Library, consists of 6,000 books, each bearing the name of a first- or second-generation immigrant whose life and work impacted culture.

The next stop is a haunting installation of works by photographer Dawoud Bey at Saint John Episcopal Church in Ohio City, then on to SPACES for A Color Removed—a citywide project that seeks to remove the color orange from Cleveland in response to the shooting of Tamir Rice (the toy pistol he was holding was missing an orange tip meant to denote it was not a real gun). At Transformer Station, we’ll visit Human Right, a project that examines the relationship between personal narratives and social conditions in Middlesbrough, England.

The tour ends at the West Side Market for a fusion of food and art with John Riepenhoff’s Cleveland Curry Kojiwurst special sausage, an original FRONT-commissioned product, being featured in various collaborations with vendors and restaurateurs during the exhibition’s three months. After a lunch break, the group will ride the eight miles back to the Heights. Riders will also have the option to take public transportation back home.

Note: For family bike rides, parents must accompany children under 16. Children must be confident riding on two-wheeled bikes without training wheels. However, children on or in trail-a-bikes, bike trailers, cargo bikes and bikes with child seats are welcome.

For calendar lists of more local and regional rides, go to Heights Bicycle Coalition and Bike Cleveland’s websites.

Better By Bike: Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour on Sept. 16

A good way to enjoy the 41st Annual Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour is by bicycle. Parking is easy when all you need is a patch of grass!

One of the 2017 beautiful Heights homes
 (photo credit: Heights Observer)

Join the Heights Community Congress and the Heights Bicycle Coalition for a great afternoon of biking and touring. 

Pedal up and purchase your discounted $20 bicycle ticket at the Bike Fix-It Station at the corner of Coventry Road and North Park Blvd. on Sunday, Sept. 16 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

HBC members will be on-site for you to purchase your ticket with cash, credit card or personal check (made out to Heights Community Congress).

We’ll give you our recommended turn-by-turn route to enjoy all the homes.

Remember to wear a helmet, bring water and a bike lock. Parents must accompany children under 16.

For more information on the Heights Heritage Home & Garden Tour, visit: http://www.heightscongress.org/index.html.