(Feb. 16, 2022) –CLEVELAND – Germany has its Ampelfrau. Holland has its Sofie.
But the city of Cleveland is still waiting to hear from Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg whether women and same-sex couples will be allowed on that city’s crosswalk signs, according to Lucky Star Public Relations’ Jeff Barge.
“I’ve written to Mr. Buttigieg several times, but have not heard back once,” says Mr. Barge, a longtime Cleveland resident and publicist who has set a goal of having Cleveland make national headlines as the first U.S. city to allow women and same sex couples on its traffic signs.
But even with the help of staff from the office of Ohio Sen.
Sherrod Brown, who intervened on Barge’s behalf to seek out an official decision, the idea remains in limbo.
“It’s frustrating that I can’t even find out who in the Dept. of Transportation has the power to make such a decision,” says Barge. “I may have to file a Freedom of Information Act suit just to get that name.”
Barge says he hopes to get some word during Buttigieg’s Thursday night interview on CBS with talk show host Stephen Colbert. “That would be ideal,” he says.
Cities across the world, including Vienna, Stockholm, Utttrecht, Munich, Canberra and Mumbai have put women and same-sex couples on their crosswalks says Barge. In the U.S., one school crossing sign already features a mom with a purse and her daughter crossing the street, according to Barge. “It’s just a small step from there.”
Barge says he has been rounding up support from powerful local Cleveland influencers. According to Barge, Baiju Shah, the executive director of Greater Cleveland Partnership, has signaled in a letter that his organization supports the move. So have David Gilbert at Destination Cleveland and Maritza Rodriguez of the Cleveland Public Library, Barge says.
Even Greg Harris, president of the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, believes that the idea has “merit,” according to Barge.
But the Cleveland Museum of Art, and local hospital networks such as Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and MetroHealth, which have their own private, unregulated streets, have not even responded to his letters, says Barge. And city traffic engineer Rob Mavec, who seems to be a decisive voice, seems opposed to the idea, according to Barge.
“In an email, the city of Vienna said that its signs have become local tourist attractions, with people lined up to take photos to post on their Instagram feeds,” says Barge. “Cleveland could use all the tourism draws it can get.”
With a new mayor, Justin Bibb, Barge hopes the city will take action. “In 1879, Cleveland became the first city to install electric street lights. The world’s first electric traffic signal was put into place on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5, 1914. It’s time for Cleveland to have another first.”
