Grumpy

Still not a good solution for this area compared to the alternatives IMO. Streetcars work best in high density areas where stops would be frequent and speed is going to be lower.

Ideally, a diesel/electric rapid with a new transit center about a mile further up the line (between Shaw and Coit). Realistically, an express bus would provide most of the benefits at far lower cost, could be running far faster, and could help build transit ridership toward an eventual rail expansion. A streetcar or BRT in this area are the worst possible options IMO. They would cost a fortune, be no faster than a bus, draw similar ridership to a bus (because of the slowness), bunch up like the Healthline, and because of their failure potentially prevent us from getting a streetcar somewhere that is better suited to one (like lakewood).

Eh, it's always seemed to me like a half-ass effort after the Holy Grail and Brian. Like they were going for sketches from the flying circus but they aren't particularly great sketches.

I was hoping for a battery upgrade, water resistantance, wireless charging and maybe some other features I couldn't think of. Faster processor and fingerprint lock are nice upgrades and ios7 does look a bit better than 6.

^I think I'll leave the windows down on the motorcycle on the way home. :wink:

^I love the idea of extending the Red Line one stop further to Coit (or Shaw or Noble.) I also like the idea of a more frequent route to the north from there that could be formed by a merging of the 30 and 37. But, if you're going to do that, why not push it a little further east on either Lakeshore or Waterloo to Villaview to 185th and end at Euclid Hospital? Then you'd give riders on the 39F a way to transfer onto it so they can get down to the Red Line? Jerry, I'll be at the meeting on Thursday in Euclid. If you're there I'll say hi.

During that time RTA cut back on the other routes up Euclid and forced riders to transfer to the HL causing part of the increase in HL ridership.

17% of the county works in 1% of the area. It can't be cost effective to shuffle people around from suburb to suburb. Is it more cost effective to make everyone go through downtown to transfer?

^17% of the county works downtown, but 90% of RTA's routes go downtown. Maybe there should be a little bit more focus on moving people to the other employment centers too.

Walking 10 miles back home is even more difficult. The people shopping at Beachwood Mall aren't limited to walking vs. transit.

^is it OK to assume you're telling RTA about these and not just us?

I don't know about the tree houses, but the rest of Mohican feels like a trailer park to me.

For our anniversary this year I took the wife to a nice restaurant and a show at playhouse square.

^Either would be better looking than a Skylift.

A ferris wheel would serve the same purpose as far as tourists though without the pretend transit benefit and be much more attractive. If there's a place for something like this, it's crossing the valley not the waterfront, but we've already got two pedestrian friendly bridges that do that.

The more I think about it, the more I oppose it. It won't carry enough people to play a significant role in public transportation, it'll interfere with views of the lake for everyone not on board, and once it has sat there for a couple years it'll start rusting and look terrible.

^heaven forbid someone should sit on a bench. :roll:

^^^Kickstarter is great for raising money toward providing a product, but their rules tend to prevent ideas like this from using it to fund raise toward a big project. This has it's positives and negatives. I'm skeptical of the project, but I can see the attraction.

Am I the only one that thinks cutting off the grid at the few cross streets like E 73rd is just as concerning as the walls on this map? I can understand not putting lights at every intersection, but cutting off the grid and the ability to access the boulevard from the neighborhood it cuts through and is supposed to be helping is a bad idea IMO. I do understand that 73rd isn't busy at all, but what's wrong with allowing the people on it to turn right onto the main road without having to go around the block?

Wait. Noise walls? WTF? Well as someone that's been sitting on the fence about this, noise walls may just help me make up my mind about it. If I'd heard that before I'd have been opposed to this much earlier.

According to Google Maps, 9 RTA routes stop at the STJ transit center and 1 stops on the west side of W3rd between Frankfort and Superior. :-P Obviously if one is willing to cross the street or walk a couple blocks there are far more routes on Public Square but also more routes on Euclid. Still I still have to ask in what world is a surface lot with surface lots and parking garages on 3 of 4 sides more urban than a bus shelter between an arena and a YMCA and across the street from a growing university?

Why is re-purposing a building and making it more marketable and extending its life span a waste? I'd rather they do that then tear it down or have it sit vacant for years. Am I wrong? because I thought this project was being done strictly for the energy savings. Which, at 120 million dollars, would take a very long time to recoup the investment. It's not strictly for energy savings. They're making the building blast resistant so that no one can pull a truck up on the lakeside side of the building and try to pull an Oklahoma City. The upgrades were required for all buildings used by the Defense Department a few years ago. At the same time, they couldn't just cover up the north half of the building, so they're covering the rest of it in a low heat gain glass to save some energy. It's just a side benefit.

We covered this previously but the construction costs are particularly high because the building is remaining in use throughout the construction, the new facade is being built from heavily blast resistant materials, and at the same time the HVAC systems are being replaced along with the roof (necessitating some asbestos removal). In 2008 or 2009 they estimated a new building built to Department of Defense standards would cost roughly $250-$300 million not to mention leaving a big empty inefficient building sitting there. $131 million to remodel the old building coming out of stimulus funding rather than GSA funding seemed like a better deal to everyone involved.

Adding to my calendar.

Good question, maybe a mod should move it? :wink: