clvlndr

^I think we've got a shot. I know in March we play almost exclusively playoff and near playoff teams (I do think the lowly Knicks are thrown in somewhere), but consider the Cavs we are now talking about... We're 8-3 in our last 11 games -- unless my math's off (and I was no math major), that's .727 ball... Or in other words, WE are playoff-level team at this moment. As my buddy noted last night, had we been playing this way all season, we'd be battling Chicago and Toronto for the no. 3 seed ... And we haven't just beaten patsies during this stretch. Obviously 3 nights ago we beat the No. 2 team (record wise) in the NBA. We beat Memphis, who we play tonight (plus Tony Allen and Mike Conley), and the Wizards, who sit in the 5-seed at 2 games over .500. Atlanta has collapsed after the Al Horford injury, and they hold the 8-seed (and are 1-9 over their last 10 games). At the moment, Detroit and the Knicks are behind us -- and both of them are struggling, esp the Knicks, which are a walking disaster at this point. We're 3.5 games out. Even though it's a different sport, I wouldn't have given the Indians a snowball's chance I hell to make the playoffs even as late as early Sept, and especially after we lost Masterson in the Orioles' game (which I sadly attended)... but then we went on that light's out tear and won our last 17 games and actually earned the home Wild Card... Not saying the Cavs will win their last 22 games, but I think that the level they are playing now can get them into post season: Kyrie Irving, despite a few clunkers against the Wiz and Raptors, has been playing at the superstar level we've all expected (1st triple double last night), and huge Spencer Hawes, with his outside shooting, has given us a dimension we haven't had in a long time, while opening the floor for Kyrie, the guards and Deng ... I say, WE MAKE IT.

Looks like the Phase II site prep has cut back on the large surface parking lot that E&Y (and others) commuters so heavily rely on... aww, that's so sad they might have to (horrors) rely on RTA... heh-heh-heh....

^^ My purpose supporting the continuing of the Red Line in its current form has nothing to do “street cred” because, while it’s nice to be recognized nationally for an asset, which the Rapid clearly is, these benefits are intangible for a city struggling to reinvent itself and survive in the face of serious economic challenges. Secondly, I’ve never had allusions of serious Red Line expansion beyond its current route. That went out the window with the Dual Hub failure in the late 90s which was preceded by the Al Porter subway failure 4 decades before that and succeed by the failure to make the short Berea expansion from Hopkins in the early 2000s … in short: more than ample evidence that we don’t want rail expansion here (at least our “leaders” don’t), especially expensive heavy rail expansion. I just don’t believe all the dire talk about how horrible the expense of running a heavy rail rapid system is (or looks) – the Red Line’s numbers really are comparatively small nationally, and that we therefore must downsize to make the numbers work. … to which my asset is the same: why throw away an asset? One rather small but key aspect: we have an airport-to-downtown rail system that affords travelers an even platform and fairly roomy commute with luggage. The Airport line is a major Cleveland asset, especially if we’re selling ourselves as a business and convention destination… Furthermore, the Red Line has been, and continues to, invest heavily (with FTA matching funds) in rail station modernization, to the point with where, with the exception of just 2 old clunker, non-elevator access stations that we must soon deal with -- E. 34 and E. 79 -- the system is completely ADA compliant: that is, mobility-impaired individuals, esp those in wheel chairs and scooters, can move seamlessly from a train-height platform into a rail car; the ultimate advantage for all people including the non-disabled. So again, with my disbelief in all that talk that RTA is financial house of cards about to collapse due to its wildly expensive heavy rail system, it is counterintuitive to downsize it into LRT just so someone’s balance sheet looks right and just so we can have the psychological gratification of a totally unified LRT train system (note: chances are, we’ll have the latter anyway once a universal LRT rail car is introduced in the future – I’m not wild about this, but at least it makes more sense than Biker16’s lower-the-platforms initiative). Also, I don’t believe that there is this huge market of Shaker Heights area airport users that would suddenly start taking the Rapid to Hopkins simply because they would no longer have to transfer at Tower City… the Red Line “conversion” costs simply aren’t worth it. 2 things are happening that go against the downsize proposal that people fail to acknowledge: 1. Red Line traffic is growing at a steady, and perhaps soon-to-be exponential rate given the changes in Cleveland (more downtown residents, downtown’s revival of downtown and core areas near transit stations, including more TOD and an improving overall economy), 2. RTA has, like other systems, learned to shift costs to make the Red Line more viable. I say “shift” costs because, on the one hand, the 2010 change to POP fare collection was a major cost-cutting initiative, while the costs to employ/deploy transit cops to stations and trains can/does make the system safer, more efficient and, ultimately, more attractive to the casual user (who is potentially a future regular). And yes, even though you (Biker16) don’t want to acknowledge it, there are other heavy rail systems that have moderate or lighter loads that have adjusted – and as far as I know, there are not serious proposals to downsize these systems: 2 of them are NYC’s Staten Island RR/subway route (which actually caries substantially fewer passengers than the Red Line), and the Baltimore Metro which, yes I know, currently carries more than the Red Line, but the Red Line has more growth potential than does Baltimore’s which, more or less, has maxed out. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the Red Line creeps into comparable territory with Baltimore Metro ridership wise in the next few years. Bottom (Red) Line: don’t tear it down, make it work and, for once, approach transit in this town from an different POV than simply LET’S SAVE MONEY, cause you see where that has gotten us (hint: the Health Line).

Nice piece. I like Michael and think he carries the Cleveland banner well... btw, he's an ex-pat. I understand he's a North Olmsted kid but has fled for greener pastures... the East Side and Shaker! They live in Cleveland Heights. My cousin saw them renovating in October/November. Dayum, thought we had him... I would guess he's probably in the southern section of CH; those old mansions in/around Fairmount and the Shaker Lakes area... I hear he pops up at the Eton B-Spot often... Speaking of Cleveland Heights, did anyone see "Fun Size" with my girl (playing totally out of character as the mom) Chelsea Handler? I understand it was filmed totally on location in around CH, esp Coventry. It was a teen flick, so I never went to see it, though I thought about it just since it was filmed in C-Town. I'll check out "Draft Day." It's sadly so rare that we actually have a movie set in Cleveland when it's actually identified as Cleveland.

^love Lola and the B-Spot btw...

Nice piece. I like Michael and think he carries the Cleveland banner well... btw, he's an ex-pat. I understand he's a North Olmsted kid but has fled for greener pastures... the East Side and Shaker!

My intent wasn't to knock Dion or his dunk -- it was wicked and, yes, he posterized both Hawes and Thaddeus Young... Obviously Dion has mad skills and particularly wanted to show in his hometown. When I used the word "useless" I was just commenting on the game itself -- it was a blowout of a Philly team that has long since mailed it in. They're now on (I believe) an 11-game losing streak. You hate to lose a key player in a game and situation like that... Hopefully he'll be back soon, cause we need his bench firepower badly. Last night's win over OKC was the best of the season. According to Jason Lloyd (ABJ), Deng and Jack were really pumping the kids up to not get rattled when OKC kept making runs in the 3rd and early 4th quarter. We showed more pluck in that game then in a long time. We're now 4 games out (5 in the loss column) of the 8-seed for the playoffs. Atlanta's been falling like a stone since Al Horford's season-ending injury/surgery and some of the other low seeds are shaky, so we have an outside shot with 23 games left. Lloyd noted, however, that we're now stuck with the bill for blowing all those earlier games (can you say Lakers? Bucks? Pelicans (in New Orleans)?), especially those when Kyrie, Dion and Thompson were all but in a total mutiny state. Let's hope we can overcome it for I really think this franchise needs to make the playoffs, esp Kyrie. We need the Indians type of laser focus down the stretch that earned us a wild card slot.

Hawes was a great pickup... His mobility and outside shooting really opens the floor for Kyrie and our other scorers... We lost Waiters at the absolute worst time, and on a useless show dunk on a hapless Sixers team ... typical Cleveland luck.

Made a quick Red Line hop over the river to Ohio City yesterday on one of the rehabbed interior cars. It looked nice and clean (with clear, non-foggy windows!), though a tad on the sterile side -- to the naked eye, it’s hard to distinguish between these and the Blue/Green Line interiors… Interestingly, while driving by and checking out the progress of the new University Circle station, I noticed that support columns and platforms are sporting a pleasing soft orange color. Then, I realized, that this earth-tone orange is exactly the same color that RTA is removing from Red Line car interiors, in favor of the (again) more sterile gray tones… I guess this is something of a national trend. Philadelphia’s SEPTA made a similar color change when it upgraded its 70s era Silverliner IV car interiors a decade or so ago… Blues and grays are hot. Earth tones and faux wood paneling are soooo yesterday… at least that’s what we’re being led to believe.

^I don't see converting the Red Line to low-floor LRT as an upgrade. IMHO it is, in fact, a downgrade ... It's not comparable to the CTA situation, which is rehabbing 114 year-old elevated train viaducts. I wish we could put our transit minds to more meaningful RTA rail expansion rather than spinning our wheels and moving sideways... I wish we were as focused as ODOT and the highway lobby, which is full steam ahead with boondoggles like the Opportunity Corridor.

One word for the 1-story Herold Building proposal... DIE!!

It's a little bit different when you're talking a 1.5 hour train hop into Manhattan (and a similar time south to D.C.), vs. about 6.5 hours to Chicago from here -- and that's assuming with a conventional 110 MPH upgraded, semi-express trip... But I catch your drift and agree that the Philly model is one for us to emulate on a number of levels. I think Philadelphia is a better example. Chicago has maintained some level of consistency over the years, while Philly has come back tremendously in the last 20 years--helped along by it's quick train access to NYC. Cleveland could learn lessons here--imagine our draw with quick train access to Chicago AND New York City.

^I'll drive Jarrett to Hopkins...

Glad to hear the Water Taxi will be returning. Although this time, I hope it'll be run by a more reliable, better quality outfit than the Holy Moses folks who ran the last operation.

^Chicago has millions of apartments of this general type, but with a single stack of units that traverse the entire building from front to back entered through a common entrance. They call them "flats" and are numbered 2 through 4 (in some cases 5) based on the number of floors they have; 2 flats or 3 flats, etc... Cleveland has the above type scattered in many neighborhoods but are usually shorter, 2 or 3 stories, but with front-to-back units in pairs on either side of a common stairwell. My parents lived in one in the late 40s, early 50s on the East Side. Many have balconies but not supported with the grand, monumental pillars like the above building. A number of them are in more buff brick, have wrought-iron balustrades on the balconies and have a Moorish influence. They are esp prevalent in the Buckeye-Woodland, Larchemere and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods. One can drive through a block of wood-frame houses when these 4 and 6 unit buildings just seem to pop up mid-block.

Without supporting or defending the comment you were responding to in any way..... no one in Cleveland would ever dream of comparing CSU and OSU. But, yes, it has dorms and D1 atheltics and no it is not essentially a community college..... it is a university, albeit with a high (though dramatically dropping) enrollment of commuters. But, also, as far as academics go, CSU is not the top university in Cleveland. That title would belong to CWRU, which is generally considered the top academic university in the State of Ohio Oops!!

^What's even worse is when you see promotional and/or tourist publications that refer to Shaker Square as being in Shaker Heights. You wonder if it is a mistake or an accident-on-purpose with an agenda.

^Today's Metro Red, Blue and Gold lines seem to generally follow those old PE routes.

^Biker, I generally agree with your post... A Lakewood extension would best operate as 100% electrified given the density of the route, be availability of the ROW and the W. 92 street flyover/grade separation. Where I have question (and ask for your justification) is this statement: There is no segment in the state of Ohio where Modern EMU/DMUs will not be more cost effective to operate.

I’m really glad to see Dalad won the tax credit… The Worthington project will be the largest and most important development in the WHD since Constantio’s Market opened going on a decade ago. The adaptive reuse of such a huge building into luxury units will be great in itself and will add to a (hopefully) more mature attitude for the WHD – something more akin to the atmosphere along W. 9th as opposed W. 6th ‘s weekend craziness (I’m all for a fun district but, well, you know; we’ve discussed it upteen times…). I would also enjoy a small restaurant/bar street akin to E. 4th for Johnson Ct even though it’s much narrower. I often cut through there on foot just to avoid having to schlep all the way back to St. Clair then around… Right now, though, it’s a rather foreboding, crumbling alleyway.

^Mike, being the proud man he is, probably would just resign; walk away ... if he didn't have to forfeit the roughly $18M on his contract by so doing.

... or maybe CVSR into Tower City?

You beat me to it Strap... KJP would have had just a 2 extra block walk south on W.117 to the nice new station (or perhaps the station stop at Cove I’d also have on the new NS extension), for a straight 9/10 min shot to W. 25… It does make me grateful for the rail system we have; its usefulness demonstrated by all the cars slogging along as trains zip right through to their destinations. Excellent.

Me, Myself & Irene: Analyzing the 3 sides of Chris Grant Written by Patrick Duprey on Tuesday, 04 February 2014 12:25. I hated everything about the summer of 2010. Of course July brought LeBron James’s “Decision,” when the game’s best player bolted Cleveland on national TV to join forces with All Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. But before LeBron left, the Cavs relieved two figures instrumental to Cleveland’s run of five consecutive playoffs — Head Coach Mike Brown and General Manager Danny Ferry. According to reports at the time, Brown’s termination was a last-ditch effort to appease LBJ, and Ferry’s parting a result over disagreement on Brown’s firing. (Author’s note: I had firmly been on the ‘Fire Mike Brown’ bandwagon previously, but felt change was unfair following the 2010 playoffs when the blame should lay almost solely on LeBron’s shoulders. Frankly http://www.stepienrules.com/2014-articles/february/me-myself-irene-analyzing-the-3-sides-of-chris-grant.html

^Interesting points and nice presentation ... The flyover is nice grade separation gift... No question that any regional-type extension past downtown Lakewood or, perhaps Rocky River would absolutely necessitate DMU -- or even traditional diesel push-pull full-size commuter equipment (which would be more desirable for a really long corridor to say Vermillion or Sandusky/Cedar Point ... We definitely need regional rail. I'm content, at the moment to connect rail to close in dense areas that are reachable/connectable to our existing system… Maybe I'm sporting rose-colored glasses, but I see potentially explosive TOD growth – between W.100 and W.110, at W. 117 and even in downtown Lakewood which, obviously, is already a dense, walkable business district. Don’t know much about the parallel buses in the corridor other than that they appear heavily used on both Clifton and Detroit. Obviously with this Enhance Clifton project – which I see as another half-ass, BRT-lite farce – RTA has once again made a tires-over-rail solution to yet another dense, busy corridor … with Euclid, Dual-Hub on the East Side being the other.