clvlndr

RTA's lately been very aggressive with promotionals with varous teams and events to encourage transit usage, esp. rail: i.e. the Lake Erie Monsters, the Indans and Marc's Rip Cook-off, to name a few. This is excellent; let's hope RTA continues with this... ...who knows, maybe RTA can ink a promotional with the Horseshoe casino... hmmm, with Dan Gilbert's multimillion $$ "welcome center", jacked up parking prices coupled with a "free parking" policy that forces you to gamble, gamble, gamble...all coupled with Gilbert's apparent indifference to CVSR's extension right to Horseshoe's basement? ... Come to think of it, that one might be a reach. The good news is that it appears plenty of casino visitors are riding the trains anyway....

Whoa, a gang-banger Constitutional scholar! Now we've seen it all.

MTS you miss the point. This has nothing to do with financial or social status; hell, I'm the last one to be elitist in that sense -- a casino should be for everyone so long as you meet certain (very minimal, in this case) rules of dress and behavior. The question is: are you dressing, looking like a slob. And sometimes, it's not what you're wearing, it's how you're wearing it... I had jeans on, too, when I visited the casino on 2 occasions. But I did have a collared shirt (or if you're wearing a neat, body-type collar-less long-sleeve shirt, that's fine in my book). I wouldn't be surprised if many, if not most, of the guys (all the slobs I saw were men) were from middle class backgrounds and above. And I'm no prude, but T-shirts like what I saw, with sexual messages have no place in the casino. I agree with the fact that the Horseshoe should at least adopt similar rules for dress and behavior as the Tower City of which it is a part of. And, yes, if people act like jerks and dress like slobs, it can reflect badly on Cleveland, esp since this facility is/will be a magnet for visitors around the region and country, many/most of whom are casino veterans.

Personally, I've never stayed in (or even visited) a hostel, but a good friend has hosteled across Europe.... and loved it. The concept sounds cool, and I'm esp glad to see that old building put to such good use.

I'm hopeful the enormity and importance of this project, coupled with the obvious momentum next door at Uptown, will get the developers, UCI and public officials to come up with creative financing, like TIF, for this project. I get the sense that all parties involved really want this project to happen... a very good first step that often doesn't exist in other important development in this town.

^OK, I see what you're saying.

I don't... Flynt, with his vast resources + the relocation $, would just build another joint, this time, perhaps, closer to one of the City's up 'n coming areas. I know some on the FWB griped when he moved to his current location from Old River Rd, but at least he's shoe-horned next to Diamonds Mens club, and a drab, industrail area of the Flats.

Funny!!

I have no problem with the casino's dress code. Frankly, they could have gone farther imho (like requiring shirts with collars). While I was glad to see the big crowds, more than a few folks we saw looked like slobs. That gives both the casino and the city a bad image... I also don't have a problem with the food court policy. There aren't enough seats to accommodate all the patrons if it's real busy. Non-buying loungers exacerbate the problem (plus, if I'm not wrong, people can go sit on the couches in the cushy bar area without having to drink...). . When we went, there was confusion about the Tower City (basement) entrance; a number of non-VIP's beat the lines on the street(s) by entering this way. Guess they've toughened up on the policy. More BJ tables are needed. I couldn't break into a game because all seats were taken; and a waiting list/line at some tables. I really enjoy BJ, and studies have shown that BJ is the best chance for patrons to beat the House. Parking. In a word: horrible. We dropped in 2 Sundays (evening) ago and decided to try the new welcome center: it was full. We were directed to the older, tighter (horribly tight) "sister" garage across from The Q. We were told (and the ads state) that if you gamble for a half hour at a "certain amount" you park free... What a joke. After being blocked out from the BJ tables, and not enough nerve (or skill, .... yet) to sit down at the poker table, we just played slots... and played and played. And neither our rewards cards registered the requisite 15 credits needed for the free parking, despite having raising the level of slot machines from a nickel to a dollar (where we played most of the time which was over an hour). One of the HC hosts informed us that one must gamble the equivalent of $75 to accumulate the free parking credit... I got to 14 credits, kept gambling, and my rewards card wouldn't register higher. Finally, a hostess recommended complaining at the Cash Out window and they'd give us a validated parking ticket... this worked, but for way to much of a hassle and (gambling) money. We'd have been better off parking blocks away on the street somewhere (or in a much cheaper lot)... ... or even better, taking the Rapid!!

Amen. Other transit systems have had this for some time.

I found the 1919 report most fascinating in glancing through it; not only about the specific rapid transit recommendations, but also regarding the snapshot of greater Cleveland of the time, among them: - the best, perhaps the only, route to justify subway/rapid transit spending (beyond the recommended Public Sq trolley/subway loops): an east-west line along Detroit (to the Lakewood border) and out Euclid Ave (to some unspecified point). Why? Because traffic from both ends traveled the longest -- from the outer ends to Public Sq (and the narrow downtown corridor from PS east to E. 14 ... and even beyond to E. 22 where tiny Fenn College/future CSU existed... streetcar traffic from Detroit & Clifton, more than any west side routes, transferred to cars out Euclid... - Cuy County had just under 1M residents with Cleveland at about 850K... only 2 or 3 burbs had over 10,000 people: Lakewood: 42,000 and East Cleveland: 15,000 [forgot the Cleve. Hts total for the time] --- the East Side population had exploded to 1919 since 1900... Cleveland’s near 1M population was the typical population in which other major cities considered and built rapid transit lines (only 4 had RT at this time: NYC, Chicago, Boston and Philly) BTW: The Report believed that Cleveland would top 2M people by the next couple decades – we wish; then there was this little thing the reporters didn’t foresee at the time: The Depression!! Cleveland really took a hard fall (geez, seems that was also the case in 2008… hmmm) - Cleveland’s main population growth was near the City borders and out into the “new” suburbs (no doubt, places like Shaker Heights (only 3,000 residents). - Cleveland's pop. density per acre (high around 50 people) was lighter than other cities like Detroit, Chicago and NYC (topping out IIRC at around 225-250). -- factories followed the steam RRs along corridors along the lake and encircling much of the East Side -- less on the West Side. (and many people, esp on the East Side, chose to live within walking distance of factories, or relied on very short trolley commutes) [NOTE: these last 3 bullets highlight growth patterns that led to decay issues (like the Lakefront, East Side] we’re still dealing with nearly a century later!!] - Cleveland's main avenue corridor, Euclid, saw much less streetcar ridership than main corridors in Detroit (Woodward) and Chicago (Halsted St.) - but the Report noted that Cleveland's radial street pattern made for diffuse travel habits and cut down on Euclid's streetcar travel density.

I'll definitely stop and stick my head in to the Hollywood the next time I'm out that way on the road either to Michigan or Chicago. Looks nice. I'm pulling for all the Ohio casinos; hope they're all wildly successful. As a state, we need the added entertainment and, ... of course, the $$$$.

The renovated Mkt Sq park looked nice -- NOTE: I have only seen it fenced-in, not since its grand reopening. Frankly, though, I'm kinda surprised the City spent the time and money to revise a park that some of us were happy with -- I liked the different levels and the outdoor (IIRC) children's art of the old park -- which I understand is retained in some form. I know the old one did get a little dirty at times and there was some problem with homeless and bums (2 distinct groups as I see it). Hopefully the new presence of the OC Ambassadors will help stem these problems in the new park.

Right. Thanks for the clarification.

Report on A Rapid Transit System FOR THE CITY OF CLEVELAND MADE TO THE Cleveland Rapid Transit Commission by Parsons, Barclay & Klapp 1919 http://books.google.com/books?id=2o8jAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA10-IA3&lpg=PA10-IA3&dq=cleveland+%22rapid+transit+construction%22&source=bl&ots=c7JDrBFvct&sig=LT-c45I22uPw2l9PBc9kYzIcWQc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WOnLT4SWLKXq0gGurexk&ved=0CFAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=cleveland%20%22rapid%20transit%20construction%22&f=false

RTA ended weekday Waterfront Line service in 2010 due to low patronage and budget cuts. They've pledged to bring it back next year when the Flats East Bank high-rise project opens.

^The main element you guys are missing is rail transit. Buckhead would not exist as it does -- high-density, largely vertical development -- without the MARTA station there. Comparing places like Beachwood and Crocker Park to Buckhead is comparing apples to oranges because of the lack of direct rail transit to the former areas, which is why they are distinctly low density and suburban in character (and no, despite RTA’s bus = train vision, there is no bus line, even BRT, that will ever create the kind of density that exists in a Buckhead, or DC areas like Rosslyn, Crystal City or Friendship Heights). ... The Red Line in University Circle does give the potential to a higher density Buckhead-like (Buckhead light) vertical development, which is why the plans for the high-rise Intesa development over/near the planned relocated Mayfield/Little Italy station materialized. As for MTS' statement that Buckhead is killing downtown Atlanta, that's not really the case. Decades ago, Atlanta planners envisioned this Sun Belt city as a regional convention center. Prior to this, old downtown was a very small, old cluster of buildings. As such, modern growth surrounded the old downtown Atlanta with a convention center, arenas/sports venues and huge hotels. When MARTA was conceptualized in the 1960s/70s, Atlanta planners decided to create office hubs around various MARTA stations along the north Peachtree Street corridor with ritzy Buckhead being the largest (and still mushrooming). As an older metropolis without a TOD policy like Atlanta's, it's doubtful University Circle would ever supplant downtown Cleveland's office-space-wise the way Buckhead has supplanted downtown Atlanta's. This is particularly true with the renewed interest in downtown Cleveland as a residential, entertainment center with a trickling growth of smaller companies (often tech firms) coming into downtown from the suburbs. The rebuilt Medical Mart Convention center should continue to fuel this trend. Also remember than very few people live in downtown Atlanta, aside from hotel guests. I would venture that their downtown full-time residential numbers are paltry compared to our 10,000-and-growing population.

Intesa would be awesome (1st things 1st, though, lets see it get done in U. Circle, which would be awesome)... However, I'm not sure the elements in place in Univ Circle would support something that massive at W. Blvd/Cudell -- major employers (University and U. Hospitals, CIA, CIM, museums, etc., plus restaurants, entertainment etc.. And Intesa also would sit adjacent to dense, exciting Little Italy. W. Blvd needs to crawl before it can walk... But there is promise. That huge facroty building to the east was torn down a year or so ago (as well as others in the area), and Chicle, of course, now houses people instead of a gum factory, so the neighborhood character is influx, changing from industrial toward more residential/retail. (I'm not sure whether there has been/is going to be, soil contamination abatement where the factory was ... this could slow down potential development on this particular parcel whose development could go a long way toward linking the Cudell and Detroit Shoreway neighborhoods not to mention providing significant TOD)... However, the current rehab is a nice start. There was, a few years ago, some concept drawings by students (IIRC) for large-scale TOD stretching along Detroit from about W. 100 to W. 110. Wonder what became of that.

Agreed. The City would be wise to engage some traffic calming like lane narrowing. There are a series of very frustrating traffic lights, including that at Berea Rd.

I'm really happy to see these handsome, Eastern-style, high-density buildings getting fixed up. The area seems like it has much potential and that, in its day, was a decent even quality neighborhood -- I've always wondered about that long-shuddered (Italian?) restaurant across from the Rapid station. I'm certainly not against low-income people, but I guess I'm a little leery about this rehab being for mainly low-income folks. If a quality owner/manager isn't brought in to these "new" buildings, who's to say we won't be right back here in another 15-20 years. And if that's the case, this pivotal neighborhood will not really be progressing but, rather, will have only been "healed" with a band-aid ... Why are we not capable of developing serious high-density, market rate TOD? Rather than wring their hands, it would be nice to see RTA (for once) take a seriously proactive stance about developing smart, high-density living adjacent to its highest-capacity transit line: the Red Line... The Chicle development just on the other side of the NS bridge (which is a tad more isolated b/c of the RR bridge) has market rate apts; ... why not here?

^Follow-up. Me and the SO took the Green Line down to the Flats (Settler's Landing) to the Rib Cook-Off, which itself was a very fun, pleasant event... We walked over the Center Street bridge in the Memorial Day (90s) heat -- it's one of the more interesting walks in Cleveland although I wish the City would fix it up with lighting and other pathway amenities... After the Cook-Off, we took the shuttle back (the SO was griping about what the sweat was doing to her precious doo). The shuttle buses were lined up and moving every couple minutes, so there was virtually no wait. And once we got back to Settler's Landing, there was little wait for the trains -- either line (Blue/Green) worked b/c we stopped off at Tower City and stopped into the casino (more people watching than gambling) -- so RTA sent all the Blue and Green Line trains through to the Waterfront Line... as they always should when the WFL is in operation imho. The operation went off without a hitch. A healthy no. people used the trains. People were happy... Nice job by RTA.

Had a lovely/great Market/Ohio City Saturday, esp with dinner at wonderful SoHo on their new patio and desert/coffee at Flying Fig ... and a late night brew at Market Garden after an afternoon/eve of strolling around bustling Ohio City... One downer, though, was the fact Market Square park was still incomplete and fenced in and not ready for Memorial Day, the kickoff of summer and the annual summer street fairs. It seems they're taking forever to get this park finished esp when the heavy work appears to have been created weeks ago.... It looks all but finished... Seems like there was a lost opportunity to have the park finished on such an important and busy weekend for Ohio City.

Let me back away from earlier comments agreeing with this... I'm actually glad RTA is not running BRT into the Heights, mainly b/c I disagree strongly with the concept of a bus used to compete with rail. Yes, I know the current East Side Red Line is flawed b/c it misses the East downtown and Midtown areas – which is what Dual Hub was designed to fix. But we’ve learned to live with this flaw and RTA decided that the HL would focus on what I thought Dual Hub was designed to mainly due: bridge the Midtown area directly connecting downtown with UC. I really don’t like the idea of HL stretch buses rumbling up nice residential streets like Euclid Heights; or clogging up busy Coventry… (which is why even CTS’ plans was for a subway through that tight ara) One of the few things I AGREE with the Calabrese administration is the decision to reduce Rapid-bus overlap and, instead, cause outer/suburban buses to terminate at Red Line stations – both East and West – which both decreases bus/fuel miles and strengthens the Rapid… Yes, I know CTS spoiled riders with a lot of express buses competing with the Rapid (they’d just built in 1955), -- I know of no other rail-based system that does that -- but it was foolish imho, and it finally fell upon Calabrese to undo that spoiled-rider setup, mainly motivated, of course, to save $$ on expensive diesel fuel. And again, flawed though both the HL and Red Line are, they are serving a positive service, with the Windermere Rapid, particularly, growing/spurring growth in the University Circle – and there’s even signs that the ‘dying city’ (East Cleve, of course), starting to get it with some development close to UC Uptown … development that happens to be well served by transit.

Agreed. Cleveland examples. Ohio City, Shaker Square, Glenville, Glendale, Collinwood, Edgewater, Little Italy, Tremont. Those are all urban neighborhoods which have single family homes yet I do not find suburban. You can feel whehter a neighborhood is urban vs. suburban largely by lot space, general house age, orientation to the street and a mix of some multi-unit buildings. In medium-size, upper Midwestern cities like Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit and Buffalo, where frame single-family homes dominate, there are other factors that give areas a more urban than suburban feel... It really comes down to age, with World War II really being the dividing line, generally, between suburban vs. urban oriented. WWII is a general dividing line between (prior) streetcar/public transit orientatoin and (subsequent) individual auto domination. In Greater Cleveland, this dividing line often/usually trumps whether the neighborhood is in the City or the suburb. There areas of West Park, Lee-Harvard, Lee-Seville and Puritas that feel far more suburban than much of Cleveland Heights (Coventry, Cedar-Fairmount, Cedar, Shaker Heights (large apt. buildings along Van Aken) and Lakewood (Gold Coast, Madison Ave.)

Really? I asked the guard who checked my ID and he said no problem taking pictures, just respect people's privacy and don't take pictures of the table games. I guess that rule applies in most public places when photographing strangers... but this is good to know. I'll try it again sometimes, letting security know I'd only be shooting wide/landscape type shots; and shots of non-gambling areas, not close up of individuals.