Cedar-University Rapid Station

The GCRTA’s primary goal is to make the Cedar-University Rapid Station integral to the community by maximizing its connection with area neighborhoods, especially the University Circle area. The site is on the Redline that spans Cedar Avenue at University, a major gateway heading into the city from eastern suburbs into the heart of Cleveland’s cultural, medical, and education center. University Circle is comprised of Case Western University; University Hospital of Cleveland; a variety of Cultural Institutions such as: MOCA, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Art, Children’s Music, Western Reserve Historical Society. The project consists of renovating and designing new train and bus stations located in the University Circle area. Project elements include: of train station and platform canopy, bus station, bus drop-off shelter, and bus canopy. Currently the site has several GCRTA stops and stations that are spread throughout the area and are loosely connected with each other. A key design strategy is to develop a cohesive architectural and urban language that connects the various GCRTA components; so the various stations can be read as a single entity. Similar to the programmatic elements of bus and train stations and the notion of a gateway – the design concept for the stations revolves around convergence – the idea of different modes of transportation and users coming together at a common point. The architecture of the canopies, for the stations, peels up from the ground at the points of convergence with different pieces of the program and various materials captured by its form. For example, the roof of the train station begins at the intersection of the adjacent Ambler Park and the proposed plaza. The proposed green roof of the train station is an extension of the existing ground plane/texture of Ambler Park and the entrance to the station is revealed from the ground through a slit-like opening. The plaza in front of the train station connects to the proposed art wall/walk underneath the existing bridge to proposed bus station on the opposite side of the train station. The path between this two key program elements string other smaller component like the bus canopy and bus drop-off shelter. The existing bus station is located on the southwest corner of Cedar Avenue. It was a former trolley loop that was adapted to a bus stop in recent times for the demands of the changing urban shift towards gasoline powered buses. However, since it was a former trolley loop, the station does not function as a working bus stop because it sits in the middle of an island. Currently riders who wish to transfer to the Red line have to walk via highways and streets to reach the platform. In addition, the climatic conditions and the unmaintained underpass make the walk even more treacherous. The new bus station will be relocated on the northwest side of Cedar Avenue and replaces an existing trolley stop that was readapted to a bus stop on the southwest corner. The new station will comprise of an enclosed shelter for the commuters, a rest stop for the drivers, and a canopy shelter for bus stop areas. The existing train station, like the bus station, was a remnant of a previous master plan that was not completed, instead it was hastily readapted to the recent demands of urban growth – without resolving the functional use of the station. The Station, located in a sloped area adjacent to Ambler Park was built to accommodate a previous tunnel, which was located at the low end of the slope. Currently the station becomes unusable during heavy rains because it floods constantly. The new station will reuse the tunnel connection but will widen the tunnel and relocate the station away from the path of the slope through a plaza. By increasing the width of the tunnel and the creation of the plaza, the station will accommodate the growing number of future users.