jtadams

Downtown was a ghost town, and Ohio City was a struggling, run-down retail district with fixer-upper Victorians -- it only saw life on Market Saturday, as it does now (and the Market was the ONLY thing going on aside from the old bookstore on 25th and a few other joints)... Empty nighttime trains out of Terminal Tower was the norm. You never see that today; even on Sundays. At least part of why more people are on the trains is that they were forced to by the end of downtown service on many lines (e.g., 25, 75, 39, 7, 9, 32, etc.).

The 86 route starts at West Park, stops at Brookpark, and then passes close (but not quite all the way) to some of the industrial areas in and near Strongsville. Perhaps it could be extended on a trial basis?

Unfortunately, from my understanding, yes. There were people all around but no one willing to intervene (understandable, given the circumstances). I would not expect cameras to be monitored in real time, but do hope they can be used after the fact to help identify and catch the perps. I am no stranger to crime in RTA stations and vehicles, although in my case most of it happened several decades ago as I used to ride much more regularly then, as opposed to only occasionally now.

Are there security cameras in the Red Line stations? The reason I ask is that a friend was robbed at gunpoint in the West 117th Street station last night. Obviously, whatever cameras exist did not deter this crime, but perhaps they might be useful to help identify and catch the robbers. Can someone at RTA speak to this question? Thanks!

Not A chance to shine and establish themselves as a viable option, and instead stereotypes are reinforced. I'm not seeing how this is supposed to be RTA's fault.

Ride Report: 22 WB, Health Line EB, and Red Line WB. Rode each of these Sunday, 9/8/2013, beginning around 5:15pm, starting and ending at West Park Station. Overall an EXCELLENT experience, greatly exceeding my expectations. The wait for the 22 was longish (it runs every half hour on Sundays and was a bit late, probably due to Browns traffic). The ride in was fast and pleasant. The driver did his best to get back on schedule, but did nothing overtly dangerous. I had just missed a Health Line vehicle, but they run every 15 minutes on Sunday afternoon. The next one showed up exactly on time, left exactly on time, and was very smooth. Traffic light prioritization appears to have greatly improved since my previous ride. The driver exceeded the posted automobile speed limit of 25mph (which I assume does not apply to the BRT vehicles, with their own signaling and dedicated lanes), but did nothing that felt or appeared unsafe. There were minor delays around E. 55, E. 105, and the turn into Windermere Station. Nonetheless the vehicle also arrived exactly on time, to the minute. For the first time in my experience (maybe 8 trips total, but the previous was probably a year ago), this really does feel like true BRT and not just a slowish express bus. Signal prioritization definitely makes a difference! I noticed significant new and/or revitalized development along Euclid since my last trip that way, and some vacant lots where abandoned buildings had been. (An improvement, but I'm looking forward to further ones . . . I think the Midtown neighborhod is coming along nicely, thanks in part to the HL.) The Red Line trip back from Windermere was similarly pleasant, aside from one problem not of RTA's doing (a guy who passed out and could not be roused in spite of the operator's best efforts). There was a shift change at East 55. The train did leave and arrive on time, in spite of significant traffic earlier in the day from the Browns game. I've complained in the past of sub-optimal RTA experiences. This one, however, was great. Kudos both to the RTA staff directly involved, as well as the many behind the scenes who all had to play their part as well. Keep up the good work!

I will second the recommendations for Lakewood. You could rent or buy a very nice home for about half of what you're planning to budget for rent. As for transportation, I didn't notice any one else mention this but from Lakewood you can drive about 5 minutes to either the West 117 or Triskett Red Line stations, and University Circle is about 22 minutes away give or take. On a nice day you could walk from the UC station to the Clinic, and on any other (our weather is similar to Chicago's, just a bit less extreme) there are plenty of local buses to take you the 3-4 minute ride to the Clinic. If you wish to be closer, Cleveland Heights is more expensive, but also very nice, and only a very short bus ride or drive to the Clinic (parts of it are within walking distance on a nice day).

I agree that roads should not be subsidized either (and soon they will not be either, for the same reasons). Ditto defense contractors, etc., etc. We are a long way from anything even resembling a free market, but circumstances are about to force us to seriously rethink some of the ways we choose to waste foreigners' money. It simply is not going to be available to us much longer.

I guess the option of actually trying to make money, or at least break even, at least on the most heavily-traveled routes, is not an option? What is going to happen when the federal government as we know it ceases to exist under the weight of its debt, states are forced to actually govern rather than give people free money, and all transit becomes either a profit-making institution, or an extinct one? Because all those things are going to happen, and probably sooner than most people realize. Transit was not always subsidized in the past, and it won't always be in the future. If we wish to be proactive, rather than be forced to react to a crisis after it's already too late, I don't think there is any better time than right now. I know I will get slammed for this, mostly by people with little vision and little understanding of history. But perhaps there are others here, hopefully maybe even some on the staff of GCRTA, who also understand what is coming and would like to talk about how we could prepare for it, so it doesn't end up becoming a complete disaster for transit in NE Ohio?

Please check the schedule first . . . 55 service to my knowledge no longer exists on weekends.

Feel free to steal. It's one of those things I wish I were wrong about. But I encounter far too many people - not just uneducated people, but lawyers, doctors, engineers, programmers, etc. - whose grasp of the English language is tenuous at best, and who do not appear to have read enough to understand the basic philosophical foundations of our culture, or to understand history well enough to avoid repeating it.

With few exceptions, the land-use patterns that prevail today, within the area of the Red Line, were well established long before the Red Line was built. There has of course been an exodus of people and industry from the area, and thus far less density of both, but there are no areas along the Red Line that are primarily industrial today that were primarily residential then, or vice versa.

Regular riders know to expect delays on the S curve, until they finally fix it (I understand that is planned for this year . . . it will be inconvenient for a time but a very good thing once finished). But W. 65 to downtown has usually been much faster in my experience, and today, for whatever reason, it wasn't. If there was a track or scheduling issue or a breakdown ahead that really couldn't be avoided, then a short heads up from the operator would be really nice. Even better would be some way to radio operators of connecting services so that, within reason, they could adjust their departure to wait for transferring riders. To me, that is an important step toward making a "hub and spoke" type of service work reliably. E.g., if the Blue Line and #5 (Chagrin) bus are synchronized according to the schedule, but there has been a 5 minute delay on the Blue Line, it might not be unreasonable to request the #5 operator to wait a few minutes since it doesn't run frequently and many of the people planning to use it are going to be on that train and will otherwise miss it.

Very welcome, and sorry about the snark. Glad to know the directional signs are being addressed. And of course I would walk a quarter mile, or a full mile, if that were the fastest way, but it should not be assumed that every RTA rider is able to do so, particularly in cold or icy weather. The light timing at those two intersections at least would have delayed me equally whether my final destination were E. 6 or E. 276, and the further it extends, obviously, the worse the impact on anyone going that far.

This one did. I'm perfectly willing to entertain the possibility that my experiences this morning were atypical. I certainly hope that to be the case. But nothing about my post was BS. I have much better things to do than to post BS, about anything. I posted these things with the idea of trying to be helpful. If you feel a need to question my integrity for doing so, then please feel free to give yourself a chainsaw enema. Preferably sideways.

<u>Ride Review</u>: A few notes from my most recent RTA trip today (I commute suburb to suburb, and thus do not ride RTA very much anymore, but it is my preferred means of getting downtown when I need to.) The trip was from the W.65/Lorain Red Line station to E.6/Euclid and back, leaving approximately 10:45am today and returning about an hour later. I do not mean to sound unnecessarily critical. I understand there are many fine and dedicated RTA employees doing the best they can with limited funding. However, in just this single trip, I could identify a number of things that would deter a less determined rider, yet, seemingly, could be fairly easily and inexpensively remedied. 1. "No Unecessary Talking To Operator." Why is it deemed unecessary [sic] to spell words correctly when attempting to communicate with the public? This may be a post-literate culture, but is it really necessary to broadcast this fact to visitors from other places where the average person who communicates with the public *does* know how to spell multisyllabic words? 2. Why would it take almost 15 minutes for a train to get from West 65 to Tower City, making one intermediate stop? They are only about 3 miles apart. A competent high school athlete could run faster. Are there track problems I was not aware of? Might this have been to keep a schedule? (However, if the latter is the case, please see below.) 3. The HealthLine trip from Tower City to East 6 had to stop at Ontario, East 4 and East 6, for what seemed to be the full duration of each cycle. I though the light timing was supposed to have been settled by now? I realize that may not be within RTA's control, but it would have an obvious and huge impact on both the performance and cost of operating the HealthLine. 4. I hoped to use the HealthLine to get from E. 6 back to Tower City, but it remained stuck at East 9th for some reason, and after waiting a couple cycles I decided to walk instead. It still had not reached East Roadway at the point I did. Not sure what that was all about. 5. The Red Line trains in both directions did not display any direction. They simply said "Red Line." It would have been more helpful, especially for riders unfamiliar with the system, for them to have displayed Stokes and Brookpark respectively, or even "Eastbound" and "Westbound." 6. When attempting to take the Red Line back to West 65, I was informed by another rider that the train had left several minutes early. The next train did arrive in about 17 minutes as expected and operated without incident. I had always been under the impression that buses and trains never leave early from points listed in published schedules, but either that fellow rider was mistaken, or this particular one did. I am willing to deal with minor annoyances like this from time to time, and, obviously, there are those who have little choice as to whether they will do so or not. But there are many potential riders who would have been turned off by any of these items, never mind all of them in the same trip. Spelling things correctly, sticking to schedules absent extenuating circumstances, working with the city/state DOT to synchronize lights, etc. are all things that could go a long way to making RTA marketable to many people who would not be willing to consider using it today.

Umm . . . I'm having trouble parsing the article . . . since RTA's costs are not close to being recovered by the farebox, "attracting riders" and "keeping the agency solvent" are mutually exclusive goals. The more riders, the more costs, without any comparable increase in revenue, and vice versa. So which is it? And am I the only person that sees how absurd this entire situation is?

That problem can be fixed or at least minimized, given enough courage. Get rid of the unions and hire qualified non-union drivers for a third of the cost. Use available capital funding to convert the fleet to use flexible and efficient fuels (which will probably mean CNG for the foreseeable future). Use a mix of different-sized buses to minimize fuel costs. Enforce the no-engine-running-during-long-layover rule (if there even must be long layovers, which there shouldn't unless absolutely necessary for adequate on-time performance). Charge more $$ for commuter services to relatively wealthy suburbs (yes, that would hit me, too bad for me). Demand that if the state subsidizes auto transportation it must equally subsidize transit. Demand that all levels of government reduce or eliminate regulations that hamper development of domestically-available energy resources such as coal. Charge what the market will bear. Provide a mix of basic, standard, and premium services targeting different markets, and charge accordingly. Subcontract out some lines to private contractors. Restore true commuter services (bus first, then rail when demand justifies it) to places like Lorain, Elyria, Medina, Akron, Kent, and Mentor, perhaps in coordination with the county transit agencies in those areas. Start thinking in terms of minimizing losses and eventually making profits. That is what would happen absent government intervention, and it is what will happen once the top levels of government as we know it either reinvent themselves and/or collapse under their own weight. So why not start planning for a future NOW, instead of just letting it happen???

If a suitcase causes a hazard for other passengers it should be moved someplace where it won't. Otherwise, it's none of RTA's fracking business where it goes. Same thing with strollers. Luggage racks should be provided as a convenience, not as an excuse for thuggish behavior on the part of the driver or anyone else. As for people taking up multiple seats unnecessarily, well, I'm a bit overweight myself but I try to be considerate and to fit my fat a** into a single seat, and if I can then 99% of other people can as well.

The trains are loud, and, unlike most rail systems, there is no electrified third rail and trains run infrequently except in peak hours. I don't see why work along the ROW would be considered inordinately hazardous. Am I missing something?

They don't even necessarily reduce liability. Wait until there is a major accident involving cars and pedestrians, that turns out to have been caused by the stupid "Bus is Turning. Bus is Turning" crap.

I find that the incessant loudspeakerized propaganda forces people to essentially tune out all sound. How, in the name of all that is twisted and unholy, could that POSSIBLY improve the safety of anyone????

Since most trips outside peak hours are no longer possible without transfers, has there been any thought given to revising the transfer policies?

They need to run TRAINS down Lorain and either Detroit, Clifton, or both!!! The articulated buses were a step in the right direction, but both corridors, even during these dismal economic times, generate more than enough ridership to exceed the capacity provided by the 2-3 regular-sized buses currently scheduled for each off-peak hour. And yes, I know, the 22 "competes" with the Red Line with stops nearby at W. 25, 65, and West Park; that doesn't stop it from being full most of the time.

Of course there are places that rail does directly serve, and yes, as I already acknowledged, hub/spoke does work in many other places. With some improvements (e.g., service to Lakewood along the N/W or I-90 corridor, extensions to Berea/Strongsville, extension northeast from Windermere at least to Euclid Transit Center), our rail system could be enhanced to do the job. But my point, which is that our current system does not suffice as a base for a hub/spoke system, stands. For instance, feeding to/from rail does not work in three of the 4 or 5 largest suburbs: Lakewood, which is not directly served by rail (though there are a few stations that come close), Parma (nowhere near any rail), and Euclid (nowhere near any rail). As is already obvious, the 26 does not replace the 55, and the 30 does not replace the 39, at any time of day, night, or weekend. What would happen if voters in these three communities decided to oppose the continuation of the RTA sales tax? Conversely, what could happen if RTA served suburban communities well enough that they could plausibly argue for an increase in the RTA sales tax? One additional point regarding cost-cutting: if RTA continues to deteriorate to the point where its only riders are the unavoidably transit-dependent, then keep in mind that many of the transit-dependent are physically disabled and may not be able to walk the distance the rest of us could cover in 10 minutes. By removing fixed-route service from where disabled riders are / need to go, you might end up being forced to serve them via paratransit instead, which is much more costly.