DaninDC

New Englanders tend to be pretty laid-back, especially compared with people in New York/Long Island/New Jersey. If the people in Boston suck, it's because at least half of 'em are college students! ;-)

I haven't noticed any mold. If you're talking about the white stuff, that's efflorescence (calcium and mineral deposits) due to groundwater seepage. From what I understand, tunnel segments built prior to 1990 or so didn't really use liners to channel water away from the porous concrete tunnels. Call it a design flaw.

The turnstiles on the DC Metro count the number of people who go through the gates each way at each station. They are able to get an exact number of riders each day from this method. The counters are on the platforms monitoring the crowding conditions on each train, since the turnstiles aren't capable of telling which trains people are actually getting on, tracking transfers, and things like that. Basically, Metro uses the information to determine the number of cars needed on the trains for each line (4 car, 6 car, 8 car) depending on the time of day, as well as for establishing train headways. Now, even cooler than that, for riders who have a Smartrip card (credit-card sized farecard with an antenna in it), Metro is able to track where each rider has been, their travel patterns, whether they transfer to the bus (and which bus), and so on.

In Virginia, you can lose your license for stealing gasoline.

From what I'm reading, it seems that many have already concluded that a CCF takeover of these several blocks of Euclid has been done before (in one form or another) and failed. Generally speaking, streets that have been closed to vehicle access tend to suffer economically. Personally, I'd rather see the Clinic try to generate more pedestrian activity along Euclid, which would increase the safety and attractiveness of the neighborhood. It seems that limiting the traffic to buses and peds would only achieve the opposite effect. I think Cleveland already has enough dead zones, and needs to create more pockets of activity, instead of segregated pockets of isolated areas.

Yes, LeCorbusier's now-debunked "towers in the park" philosophy is indeed fresh. Let's create more dead zones in the name of innovation.

Out of curiosity, does the Red Line use 48-ft cars (a la Chicago) or 75-ft cars? I can't remember.

Amrap, methinks you like to read too much into things. I find it hard to believe that roughly half the State of Ohio lives in the northeastern corner. Where do your numbers come from??? "Optimism" has nothing to do with this issue, either. The City of Cleveland simply doesn't have as much money to dump into Hopkins as WMAA, PANYNJ, the State of Maryland--whomever--has to dump into their airports. Cleveland won't be able to help but backslide in comparison. Wayne County, Michigan turned DTW over to a new airport authority a couple years ago in order to relieve the (fairly corrupt) county of the responsibility of running one of the then-worst airports in the U.S. If they can do it, there's no reason why Cleveland can't.

The Washington Metro opened in 1976--well after the area started to sprawl out into the suburban counties. Even Arlington County, VA was seeing population loss and disinvestment by that point. Not that everything is perfect now, but thirty years later, there has been a considerable amount of transit-oriented development as the system has matured. Yes, it takes a long time to shift development patterns, and there is still a good deal of craptastic sprawl in the suburbs. The mere presence of a reliable, high-capacity transit system has allowed the rebirth of numerous neighborhoods with development that would otherwise be further out into the suburbs.

A couple corrections: NE Ohio has a bit over 2 million people in the Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the U.S. Census. A population of 5 million would make it the 5th largest metropolitan area in the nation, which we know it is not. Secondly, the Port Authority can't do anything about Hopkins, because CLE is owned and operated by the City of Cleveland. For that reason alone, Hopkins will continue to languish, as the City doesn't have the bonding capacity and financial cushions that other airport operators have throughout the country.

It's sad to see someone robbed of their independence simply because they're older. With that said, in college, I took a course in transportation (read: road) engineering as part of my degree program. The course was taught by an adjunct who worked in professional industry. His transportation solution for the aging population?--larger signs, larger fonts on road signs, brighter colors for traffic lights and signs, and brightly painted curbs.

Congress will be the last people on earth to acknowledge the real solution. These are the people, after all, who drove en masse across the street in SUVs to the Exxon for a photo op to fight $3.35/gal gasoline.

When Marion Barry was mayor in the 1980s and early 1990s, DC did the same thing, trying to develop as much office space as humanly possible. Well, the offices did open, and downtown became a ghost town after 5:00 and on weekends. The last 3 of the last 4 remaining department stores closed since no one lived nearby to shop there. With the recent real estate boom, residential construction is finally making a comeback, with hundreds of new condos and apartments downtown. Some retail has finally made its way back, too, but there is still quite a recovery to make. I'd rather have Vancouver's problems of a lively, thriving downtown--I can't say I've ever heard a negative thing about the place.

I gave up my car entirely. How's that for a start? I didn't say "pacify the terrorists". I just don't think it's such a bright idea to keep throwing money their way--you know, money they use to buy arms (to use against us), take flying lessons, buy plane tickets to the U.S. You get the idea. My point was, DanB, that you *choose* to drive a Suburban. I find it incredibly hard to believe you *need* such a vehicle for personal use.

My brother lives just off Clifton, more to the west. It's really not bad--there's a LOT within walking distance, and the bus service is decent. It does take a little time to wait for the Circulator and ride it to the Rapid, though. Even then, if you need to say, buy clothes, you have to schlep to Westgate, Parmatown, or (God forbid) Strongsville. If I still lived in the Cleveland area, I'd probably be somewhere in Lakewood (I like the area where you live, KJP), or somewhere thereabouts. If you've ever hung out at the Five O'Clock, you probably have seen my brother there wearing a tacky orange sportcoat and singing along to AC/DC. LOL

Are you 14 years old or something? You reason like a child. It's real easy. Since you drive a Suburban, you buy a lot more gasoline than you would for a passenger car, to accomplish the same tasks. Gasoline is derived from crude oil, which in the U.S., is mostly imported. Most oil imports are from Middle Eastern nations, Nigeria, and Venezuela--nations not exactly friendly toward us these days. Many of these nations either directly sponsor, or are openly accommodating to, terrorist activity. If you follow the chain, your money ends up in the hands of terrorists. Simple buy-and-sell economics, really. But, you know, don't let your ego get in the way of the truth or anything.

So how, exactly, is that related to rising fuel prices?

Don't forget other types of "non-office" businesses that residential areas tend to attract, such as retail and restaurants. The flip-side is a non-residential downtown that consists only of office buildings, open M-F, 9-5. I'd rather have the former.

^Throw all the childish epithets you want--it doesn't change reality. The irony is, it's the "real Americans" in their homes-on-wheels that are funding the very same people who are killing our soldiers (and civilians) in Iraq.

The lakefront plan had more to do with civic amenities. This is a private-sector residential/office/retail development, which is an entirely different animal, hence no design competition. I think all renderings are misleading, to tell you the truth. They always show happy people walking around, and it's 70 degrees and sunny outside. LOL The Pesht project will be subjected to the same review and permitting process as every other project in town, so the City will see the architectural drawings prior to issuing a permit. It is not atypical for permitting authorities to make comments during this process that are addressed prior to construction. Stark knows that what he builds is going to have a tremendous impact. I have to think that given the myriad number of lots that there will be varied building types, especially if the construction is phased. Let's have some faith and confidence in this team, folks. If, for some reason, they screw up, I'll be more than happy to lead the lynch mob. :-)

If ya must know, my brother has lived on the West Side and Lakewood for a number of years, and found it difficult to be without a car. He still needed to bum rides off friends to get groceries, buy clothes, and the like, until he caved and finally bought his own car. RTA is decent enough, but waiting 1/2 hour for a bus just isn't acceptable if you need to get somewhere. Because of extensive TOD, I'm fortunate to have most daily needs within a 10 minute walk, and about everything else within a short subway ride. Neither of those modes is affected by automobile gridlock. I've only needed a car twice since September--both for occasions way out in the Virginia suburbs. Yes, I agree that it is all relative. I'm just trying to express how profound the trade-off between real estate and transportation can be when you have extensive TOD. The sprawl in the suburbs around here does suck though. A lot of it has to do with higher housing costs in the urban core. Much more of it, I think, has to do with myopic state governments that only know how to build freeways. The height restriction isn't as much of a factor in the District as one would think, because there are PLENTY of neighborhoods that have vacant properties waiting to be developed.

Whoa. Cut the personal bullshit, okay? As a design professional, I certainly don't take the "take whatever you get approach". Ultimately, though, it's up to the developer/owner to determine what is suitable. The city's only means of reproach is through zoning (which I hope would be form-based in this location). You can't realistically expect the City to meddle in every free-market project by imposing design competitions upon every owner who wants to set up shop in town. No one would want to build anything, because the expense and hassle wouldn't be worth it. Architecture *should* push the envelope. It does not need to be ridiculous to do so. Look at the Pittsburgh renderings--do they even acknowledge the context of the surrounding environment??? Any new project in the Flats/WHD should rightfully respect the history of the city, the neighborhood, and its context. Just as you wouldn't plop a Tudor mansion into the Flats, you don't just plop a modernistic building onto an empty lot. Crocker Park only seems hokey to some because it's plopped in the middle of plastic-fantastic suburban Westlake. Within the development, it does retain a fairly urban quality--something that has become nearly a foreign commodity in NEO. If that consititutes ridiculous blather, so be it, but I can assure you I know a thing or two more about the design and construction process than most on these boards.

Ya know what, though? I like Crocker Park, city dweller that I am. I think the scale is appropriate. Not every urban project needs to be (nor should be) some ridiculous Frank Gehry spaceship plopped down from space. That Pittsburgh thing, IMO, is horrendous--it looks like those plastic boxes you put in your closet to store stuff. Architecture doesn't need to stick out like a sore thumb to be "interesting". By the same token, if you hold design competitions for every little development in the city, you'll never build a damn thing. In this case, the zoning regs are in place--let the developer and design team do their work and start building on those parking lots!

Correction: 2.5

Yup, who woulda thunk, Amrap? Maryland, traditionally a very progressive state, is going to spend $3 billion to build a new freeway that studies have shown will not relieve Beltway traffic (as its supporters claim)--all because someone drew a line on a map 60 years ago, and no one was smart enough to erase it. Maybe they didn't notice all the new sprawl that happened when I-270 went from six lanes to 12. Virginia thinks that adding 6 lanes to the disastrous stretch of the Beltway between I-95 and Tysons Corner will somehow "solve" congestion if they charge tolls. Houston is building a THIRD beltway. Cleveland, though, is actually being reasonable in looking at more parkways. Who woulda thunk? Glad the I-80N was never built. It would have destroyed Garfield Park! One more thing: Columbusite, could you clarify what you mean by this? I'm not sure I understand, but I think I know where you're going with it.