clvlndr

No, he steals purses on the Rapid. Child boo! Was the bag, Hermes, Prada or YSL? I not I wouldn't wipe my boots on, let alone steal it! In addition, why would I steal purses on your turf?? Clvlndr, I know lots of people and I said I wouldn't post this picture of you, but you've forced my hand! Ahhhhh! :-D :evil: :yap:

^Was it MTS?

^Nice... thx for the photos.

^^Actually, when I mentioned color coding, I only meant on maps... I'd be disappointed if RTA changed the dark green color of the trolleys, which is totally cool in my book.

^QR, or "quick response" Codes allow smart phones with the requisite app to be waved over the squiggly bar code and information (like the aforementioned map or timetable) and/or a video, will appear or run on the smart phone screen... It's a nice idea, but I agree w/ you, it's not a technology that's accessible to all people, esp. semi-technophobe, old (+40) foggies like me... Simple color-coded maps at key stops (Pub. Sq., Playhouse Sq., E. 4th or Rock Hall, to name a few), would make the most sense. I know one of the lines lays over at the RTA building on W. 6th, and I've ridden it to Pub. Sq., to hop a Rapid, when I was too lazy to hoof it... But I couldn't tell you where that trolley came from, what line it was or where it was going (besides Public Sq.)... It was just there, I hopped it (with the requisite smile, of course) and got whisked to the Square, where I jumped off quickly at the stop just before West Roadway, lest I be carried off to never-never land... ... btw, I had the same experience as KJP, (running) catching the (I guess) B-Line; hoping to head up Euclid to CSU only to have the damn thing turn in front of the BP/Huntington building, to my wide-eyed angst. Fortunately I quickly pulled the "call" chord and got off at East Roadway and Superior w/o too much damage being done... With a posted map and trolley destination sign, I would have saved the agony.

What ground level retail is going into the Parking Gara-- er, Welcome Center?

Suggestion to RTA: I really like the downtown trolleys. They're really good looking and fun to ride; I like their small size and old-time wooden seats... all & all, well done. Plus, they quickly scoot through traffic to get folks around downotown, better than a big, lumbering bus... That said, RTA needs to do better with route maps and destination signs on the trolleys. Route Maps need to be posted, at least at key boarding/transfer points, like around Public Square. For someone who's still pretty new to the trolleys (like me), the names E-Line and B-Line don't mean much (altough, I'm guessing it's the E-Line b/c it goes down Euclid... that's only a guess) -- and that group includes me, a local -- Imagine the boat visitors are in. But that's not good enough. Like most buses you don't know, they can off veer off onto the never-never land of streets where you have no idea where they're going... It also would help to have destination signs on the trolleys themselvs. I'm sorry, but "B Line" plus "Go Tribe" and "Sponsored by Dollar Bank" , just doesn't do the job.

I don't understand Manny's move. Either you stick with Justin or go with Vinny, who is solid and who wasn't coming off an injury like Perez. Once again, we have a Punch 'N Judy hitting attack (thanks Astrubal for your patience in swinging at the 1st pitch w/ the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th, and hitting into a DP)... And thanks, Antonetti, for not going out and getting a friggin' bat to help this Punch N' Judy squad (no, a REAL bat, not Casey Botchman)... Sports is supposed to be a diversion... These days, Cleveland sports is perversion.

Yep, there was a strong residential component in FCE's expansion plans for TC... However, not to make excuses for them, but given the patterns of residential development at E. 4th & Gateway in general, and given the Phase I & II casino development plans, I don't think residential development where FCE originally placed it would work that well... Remember, at the time, in the late 80s/early 90s, the Gateway stadiums were only on paper, the Warehouse District was just a fledgling adaptive/reuse district with a few hundred "pioneers" living in the Hat Factory and a few other spots... and lower Euclid was a failing/declining retail hodgepodge of fast foods, rundown 5 and dimes (yesteryear's Dollar Stores, for the whippersnappers), ... and zero residents, aside from the couple hundred in the old (long gone) Hollenden Hotel around the corner at E.6th & Superior... bottom line: the current TC development makes sense; there's better areas, right now, for high-density residential development, which is being exploited... Maybe TC area residential building will fly down the road when, say, the Scranton Peninsula development gets off the ground... Right now, it's just rundown/industrial. ... that said, I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

^^Most excellent, Jerry... thanks for the update.

Jerry, the buildup for the Rock 'N Roll HOF induction ceremony is quite large, with many exhibits at the Rock Hall itself (and acts and the induction ceremony at differnt locatoins such as the Q and Public Hall). Any consideration to adding Waterfront Line service in the week prior? A lot of visitors will be in town and, no doubt, intersted in going to the Rock Hall.

Jerry, as weird (and out of the way) as it sounds, it appeared that some West Siders may have been shuttling out of Tower City on the WFL trains that were running and transferring to Westbound Red Line trains at stations East of Tower City, such as E. 34th (which never has the kind of crowds I saw on 3/17). Even E. 55th... Let's face it, riders are creative and utilized any approach possible to get seats and avoid the crush-crowds.

Really nice pics; great resolution... Really like the ground-level POV, where the people are.

^Smart move by Jerry Brown. As the article noted, the critics will be pleased by the cuts, and local pols, in SF & LA, will embrace the improved commuter rail tracks in their regions... a win-win.

Strap, I'm actually more concerned about people congestion rather than track/train congestion. I'm not saying there would be any more cars or that they'd be faster; I'm just concerned about the extreme crush at 1 station: Tower City when, despite the constant lament that we have only 1 downtown station, we really have several even if they seem somewhat out of the way. Thru WFL routing could reduce this (I know I'd much rather catch a train at W. 3rd, E. 9th or the Flats, rather than dealing with Tower City (if I traveled during the peak St. Paddy's day period -- which I didn't) RTA and Cleveland Cops did a nice job of controlling the crowds and reducing the pervasive knucklehead-dom, but I worry that something really unfortunate could happen at a mall and a transit station that weren't built to handle this kind of crush...

It's interesting that Univ. Circle (MRN notably) is charging per/sq ft. apt. rates significantly higher than downtown even though downtown's strong popularity and demand (96-98% occupancy) is obviously strong as opposed to Univ. Circle's promising though largely untapped new apt. market. Is it due to the fact Uptown is new contruction as opposed to downtown's largely retrofits? ... or is it something else?

OK ... thanks Jerry! ... I think all Blue and Green Line trains should have continued thru to the Waterfront Line with, as noted, some not stopping at Tower City, during peak times... Drivers were struggling to fully platfrom the 3-car trains on the Blue/Green center stub track at Tower City -- it was kinda comical to see one driver, on our outbound/Eastbound train squeeze btw the train and wall beyond the end of the platform to reach the front door in order to open the doors from the outside of the car. Obviously, with the longer outer platforms, inbound 3-car trains from the Waterfront would not have this problem. Also btw, on my short hop over the river to Ohio City last week, I noticed that the outer Red Line platforms continue along the sides/beyond the foyer/exit area, allowing the outer platforms to be capable of handling 4-car (easily), maybe even 5-car Red Line trains.

Yes, I caught 2 RTA ads last night during evening local news. They were smart, good looking and to the point... Nice job by RTA. Hope we see more of them.

... which is why I think the Waterfront Line should be used to take pressure off Tower City (with through trains that don't stop at Tower City)... by the way, nice pic ClevelandOhio; really gives an idea of how popular the Rapid was on 3/17.

It's rather daunting that on St. Patrick's Day, 100,000, (70,000 on rail), caused the our 32-mile rail system to be near bursting at the seams while, for example, Philly's 13-mile Blue Line, alone, handles 180,000 on an avg. weekday. Both Tornoto and Montreal have 44-mile systems that carry 1M daily. And RTA really stuggled to handle those 70,000... Kinda puts us in perspective.

Collingswood is probably the coolest of the S. Jersey towns (I'm not a fan of South Jersey, generally, ... not much character unlike Norht Jersey and Philly/PA burbs). Even though the PATCO line is only about 40years old, Collingswood has a nice, tight Main Street downtown area near the station. My guess is this is a result of the old Reading-Seashore commuter line which, I understand, the PATCO line partially replaced... Collingswood btw has a really nice annual spring (or summer) book fair in the middle of town; draws folks from all over the region and up to NYC. PATCO's the way to go... In the Philadelphia region, this single rail line is the most respected; much moreso than SEPTA, which despite it's immense size, has a crappy rep among locals, and is why South Jersey-ites scream "hands off" at any proposal for SEPTA to absorb PATCO's operations.

^Problem is, Keith,(IIRC) that Shaker, in its Master Plan for Warrensville/Van Aken, concedes that its high taxes and limited growth-space limits the amount of office-building space it can incorporate into the plan. But if you're talking about more high-density, multi-unit dwelling (probably apartment) buildings, you are no doubt correct.

Very nice report, mrclifton... I'm also glad to see RTA take center stage in this effort. One thing, I like the multi-day passes, but think that not having a 3-day pass is a little odd. Like many people, I tend to be a 3-day weekend traveler (Fri-Sun or Sat-Mon)... Chicago has a 3-day CTA pass. I'm wondering whehter RTA may consider this for visitors?

I'd always read there was 13.2 miles of light rail. Plus there is the 2.2 miles of WFL, which I'm sure is of minor impact passenger-wise since the WFL only runs daytime on weekends.

I know the Waterfront line, and it's planning was imperfect (hurriedly built as a monument to Cleveland's bicentennial in 1996). But we need to realize that Cleveland moves slowly re TOD and it takes the town to get it. Even though Moreland Courts was built within a few years of the Shaker Rapid's building, it took decades to really build out the Shaker Square area with high-density TOD. Ditto further down the tracks at Lynfiield-Farnsleigh along Van Aken. It wasn't until the late 50s and 60s when most of those huge apartment complexes were built (there and nearby on Warrensville), more that 40-50 years after the Van Aken Line first opened... Give the WFL time, even in its current form; the high-rise FEB mixed-use development will be the 1st of many... in the end, it'll have the last laugh (if it could talk, that is).