Slow Roll Week 18: Opportunity Corridor

As we enter our final stretch of rides, seven Mondays leading to our late October finale, we contemplate change in Cleveland and ponder the meaning of the word "opportunity". Being on a bike allows us, as always, an opportunity of our own: to see things at a slower pace and get a better feel for the rhythm and heartbeat of a community than you'll get just speeding through it inside a car.

The Opportunity Corridor, a 35-mph roadway that sliced through a depressed existing neighborhood on the city's east side, sought to connect existing road networks to the booming health sector near University Circle. The project cost hundreds of millions of dollars to complete and, since its opening, has met with mixed reviews. Although its stated purpose was to better connect historically under-served communities with the rest of the region, detractors point out that its main effect thus far has…