clvlndr

A New England type campus along w/ New England high academics; a real unusual state U but a true asset to our state: nice pics.

:-D :-D :-D :-D

Amen!

Drove past Mayfield Lofts the other day and, for the 1st time, noticed a rendering similar to that in Steve Litt's PD piece (below) 1.5 years ago pushing for condo zoning... Maybe it's been there for a while, but I only remember a blank sign before... The website claims it'll be up, soon, but so far, nothing... Is this project moving forward? http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2008/04/little_italy_condo_project_sho.html

Looks like a fitting tribute to Stephanie.

^ I stand corrected... still didn't care for his politics, though..

I don't buy this... Neither Tower City nor the Galleria killed lower Euclid retail, it was declining before this: Big stores like had died/were dying: Halle's went in the early 80s. May's was faltering then, and finally closed around 1990 (totally independent of Tower City); then you had other retailers, like Bonds clothes which failed along w/ big office buildings like BP and Nat'l city, gobbling up tons of retail frontage along Euclid -- NCB is set way back from the curb, which is people unfriendly, and Sohio/BPs small windows (with the smaller stores facing largely inward toward its atrium) didn't help matters either... After that, we had lower quality 5 & Dime-ish stores (McCrory's, Woolworth's,... others) that simply died out of downtowns nationally and eventually pulled out and collapsed... In this town, we have this nagging tendency to blame progress for our own inability to sustain momentum: 'Tower City/Galleria killed Euclid"... "The RTA Waterfront Line is a drain on RTA and was a boondoggle'.... 'The Flats had a bunch of cheap, chain restaurants so its failure was inevitable', and on and on... Fact is, though Tower City is not necessarily being run responsibly, I'll give you that, it was a huge step forward compared to what was there (an abandonned train station with a few cheap stores, tons of empty space with, at worst, tennis courts -- and a lot of surface parking on Prospect btw Landmark and the old Post Office) -- we got a large, lovely mall, a new office tower and a Ritz-Carlton Hotel, among many other things (like a lot of new retail and a number of new restaurants)... Erieview was a bland (dare I say, ugly) office tower until the beautifully curved-lined Galleria was added; it's struggled, that's obvious, but it was clearly a major step forward (and dowtown will benefit from it in the long run) and is NOT the source of downtown's retail troubles... hardly. Contrary to your thinking: we don't have ENOUGH big projects of FEBs caliber; and when we had them: Tower City; Gateway, Rock Hall/Science Center and, yes, the old Flats, in its day -- downtown was on a roll... WE are at fault for not sustaining the growth... The GROWTH ITSELF was not the source of the problem... Let's get it right and not taking the all too typical Cleveland view of things: ie: big projects are BAD, create sprawl, yadda, yadda, yadda... What we need with FEB is the diligence we are seeing -- and is most welcome -- to try and see this thing through. This is where Frank Jackson can show (and on a level, has shown some) leadership. Mistakes have been made -- Wolstein's particularly -- and the housing/crash has hurt; along with a coporate slap in the face (Eaton) -- where E & Y are showing the polar opposite... I think if we can get the office/hotel part done, the residential piece will come... Look at Univ. Circle, where high-density housing continues to be built in the same foreclosure-gripped city... FEB can happen, so long as we have the drive to see it through.

^Well, at least people like Art Arnold, from ORA, are calling out these clowns and putting them on the defensive, for a change... Glad to see the advocates standing up and (seem to be) putting up a serious fight... Like I always say, the good and bad in society stems from the top... As long as the Bushies, Tafts and Dewines of the world were calling the shots, there was an implicit fatalism in the hearts of advocates... But w/ Obama, Ted and Sherrod now running things, the advocates are emboldened... which is why, despite the bad guys, I think 3-Cs is going to happen.

Heard a pro-3C's radio commercial the other day (can't recall which station; may have been the sports station)... Sounded nice: clear, concise and strong, urging the public to WRITE and get behind this thing. This is very good: it's war, with facts vs. the knuckleheads, who have no facts but play on people's naked fears.

Greyrat, you sum up my sentiments perfectly about this (now) debacle... The Roldo Bartimole's of this town have it right (and I'm no Roldo fan, believe me): this was a naked money/power grab. Sure, the late Bart Wolstein bought up this land, but there's always been sentiment (by Bart as executed by his son, Scot) to gut our great entertainment district to make bigger $$ from the big biz/higher income crowd. I'm not saying the old Flats was perfect, but it could have been tinkered with and expanded/supplemented with offices, residences and hotels, not gutted!! Looking back on it, as frustrated as I was for Wolstein to start building, many of the owners adjacent in the "footprint" had every right to fight Wolstein utilizing government to realize is own private financial gain, irrespective of the reckless Fed Court case (Norwalk, CT?) allowing owners to do this. So in the end, we've had our Flats Entertainment district gutted while the owner who caused it is looking to get paid any way he can. It's this kind of greed and selfishness that's caused Cleveland development downtown to largely stall.

Jerry (and JetDog), I'd like your thoughts. I just flew in to Hopkins and, 1st experienced the new Red Line POP on my way to connecting with the Blue/Green lines at Tower City. THE GOOD: As for the fare card vending machines, themselves, although I have some issues (see below), I like that they take credit cards. I also like the fact at Tower City, only 1 attendant was needed; no more need for a bunch of attendants counting fares for the rush crowds; even at the Red Line exit turnstiles, which is new for Red Liners, it was mostly a breeze for passengers and personnel. We finally have an off-peak, honest-to-goodness rapid transit: muli-unit trains, all doors opening at stations, quick passenger entry/exit, drivers focussing on driving and not holding trains up counting pennies from single-file passengers -- all leading to much shorter station dwell time and a faster ride, over all. THE BAD: the vending machines aren't the best. They're a bit complicated; I'm a vet of all kinds of ticket/fare card vending machines, from air flight to transit systems, yet RTA's stalled me a bit, though I made it through (I confess, I haven't had time to closely study up on the literature RTA has posted and has in slick form at stations/on trains -- my bad); still, RTA's is trickier/tougher than most and many newbies like me simply got stuck. There are too many phases/Qs passengers have to go through. Also, I wish RTA had touch screen technology like New York's MTA; it's much easier than lining up the arrows, buttons with the particular line (and if you hit the wrong button you may have to start over). THE UGLY -- Why RTA chose to have just 2 vending machines at the airport is beyond me -- I note there are, also, 2 machines at E. 34th where RTA gets, what? about 25 passengers all day???? Plus the airport, as much as any station, gets more newcomers to Cleveland and/or the Rapid, which will tend to hold things up --- not only do you need more machines at the airport, but initially, I think you need an attendant to help people coming from planes. ... these are just my $.02 (... sorry MTS)

Now that Amtrak is eye-balling the Puritas-W. 150 Rapid station as its Cleveland suburban station for 3-C's, I think it's really time to press for TOD in this area -- RTA, admirably, has plans for TOD, including a hotel, at Brookpark, but apparently the developer's financing collapsed (or something like that) so this project is on hold. Originally, I had pitched the idea for 3-C's trains stopping at Brookpark for the Amtrak passenger transfer to the Red Line for the short (3-min) ride into Hopkins Airport... Well, Puritas is a little farther away, but still has many of the same advantages. I'm guessing Amtrak and/or AAO decided on Puritas because it has more TOD elements already in place, along with better access from both I-71 and 480. Even though Puritas is not very friendly to pedestrians from nearby accessing the Red Line, there is nearby: 3 hotels, the NCB processing (?) center, a few other small businesses and low-density, mainly bungalow houses (w/ a few duplexes and a small apt or 2, if I recall). Also, the I-71 exit ramp feeds right into the Rapid parking area. As flimsy a TOD as Puritas currently is, Brookpark has none of this; has much less current potential than Puritas, despite the sprawling Ford Plant across the street. With with a dual-Amtrak-Red Line station, Puritas could truly be a high-density TOD regional transportation center... ... it would be nice if we could get Mayor Laid Back on board since, to-date, his big initiatives have been geared towards big-box shopping w/in City limits or the Opportunity Corridor (road/freeway extension)... Jackson has given some verbal support for trying to jumpstart Wolstein's Flats East Bank project, which would clearly be a Waterfront Line TOD, but...

Maybe the process for Amtrak is different, but you still haven't explained how 3-C's is claimed to be possible in 2-3 years and it's a much larger project than West Shore... Maybe you know something I don't, but I don't recall that project to have been studied for a long time... and even if it was, I know a proposed route (including the Puritas stop) has been made public recently.

I was unaware RTA was running articulateds... Good for them.

^Heck, I'd love to see more standees -- would mean RTA's moving more people... I wonder if RTA's considering more articulated/extra-long buses similar to (but not as sophisticated/expensive as) Health Line BRTs. I would think that with fewer runs coupled with their much greater capacity would represent a cost savings, even figuring in the volatile fuel charge. BTW, I still wish RTA would implement my plan of routing to/terminating more buses at Rapid stations... the 55s diverting to West Blvd/Cudell Red Line stop and many of the W. 25 and Lorain Ave. buses to the W. 25/Ohio City Rapid would be just one example... I think RTA wastes way too much fuel on delivering 1-seat rides to Public Square while bypassing many Rapid stops that obviously utilize trains of higher capacity and speed to the same place... sure, you'd lose people (like we haven't been with Circulator and other cuts?) but in the long run, you'd make the Rapid stronger while saving fuel and, also, diminishing the buses downtown as well.

10 years? Realistically? ... How do you square 10 years, for a 25-mile commuter line that's been studied and studied for over a decade; that just received NOACA funds (bless 'em... finally) for the local match; for a line that exists, has light freight traffic and even a completed station (in Lorain)? versus the 3-C Amtrak project which, w/in the last year or so, cobbled together a 250-mile Ohio-length route which has a quick-start proposed time of less than 2 years, if we're to believe Gov. Ted and rail pundits? ... I realize, positive projects always take longer in Cleveland than most places, but 10 years seems extremely pessamistic... realistically.

Yes. This is a rare Detroit nabe the echoes a Chicago one: density; old housing, walking/retail districts and, of course, restaurants-- b/c of the Mexican theme, it's a wide Detroit tourist attraction, too. It's ashame Michigan Central Terminal couldn't have been rehabbed to be a proper, historic gateway to the neighborhood instead of the current eyesore, soon-to-be-demolished structure.

I think you're mixing apples to oranges; the Health Line is a totally diff service serving a much diff clientele as opposed to Commuter rail. Also, diff parts of the state are different. Cleveland, though far from perfect, is more open to commuter rail, generally, than Cincy or Columbus.

I'm not very impressed by Jackson, but he'll probably get my vote by default. Frank has fallen into the footsteps of Jane Campbell: reactive and non-agressive, esp toward development. Frankly, bad as she was (in my opinion) on this score, Jane did create the current Lakefront plan (although no UOer may live long enough to see its fruition) and craftily got Wolstein to move on Flats East bank -- idled, of course, by the housing collapse. And even though Frank talked a good game about regional cooperation, Beachwood welcomed both downtown refugees: the Jewish Federation HQ and (much worse) Eaton, which kicked Wolstein in the teeth when the bolted, at the 11th hour, from the FEB project. Frank gets a partial bye b/c the housing bottom dropped from under the city w/ the foreclosure crisis which whacked Cleveland harder than all but a few cities... The schools are somewhat better, I guess, but... The Jackson/Campbell model is exactly what Cleveland doesn't need. We need an aggressive, knock-some-heads mayoral approach. This city is in crisis and as much as My Two Sense doesn't want to hear it: places like Pittsburgh have moved ahead of us in terms of its downtown and core entertainment districts. Sadly, though, the laid-back approach is what suits a lot of Clevelanders, which is why we continue to tailspin (no, don't let E. 4th St and a few other hot spots fool you). And I guess I'm stuck w/ voting for Frank b/c Frank's Tom, Dick or Sherry opponents aren't bringing anything impressive to the party imho...

Any update on the May "getting back on track" WCPN.com article announcing public funding, among others, would kick-start phase one? Any movement, physical or otherwise down there?

... like that LAST one... She looks like a celeb who I can't quite place at the moment.

In the early 80s, there was a plan to extend the Green Line straight out the median of Shaker 1.5 miles to I-271/Pepper Pike (which was part of the Van Sweringen's plan back int the late 1920s) but RTA got cold feet and backed out when anti-transit folks started yelping, and MTS is correct, Beachwood has now rezoned the area and converted it to park land, so it's not even doable now. In the 1990s, a new plan developed to extend the Blue Line from Van Aken terminal out Northfield and then turning Eastward just south of Harvard, and running out to just past the current Tri-C East campus to that new strip shopping center (Harvard Square or whatever it is) @ I-271. This plan (as most rapid transit planned extensions) died for a combo of opposition, disinterest and any kind of push from RTA... Some rekindling of the idea for this project recently arose as Shaker Heights has received (Stimulus?) planning $ from the Feds to reconfigure the horrible Van Aken/Chagrin/Warrensville/Northefield intersection into a TOD-friendly place and extend the Blue Line a couple thousand feet thru the intersection to a new terminal in Northfield's median ... theoretically, therefore, making this the 1st leg of the previously-planned Highlands extension.

Agree totally. Even downtown along lower Euclid, I psychologically feel crossing the street is more difficult, esp w/ those center street stations; even though E. 4th is happily spilling over to Euclid, our main street feels like it has barriers to crossing it w/ the Health Line and its stations.

True, but the Univ. Circle station is just a few blocks from also-large University Hospitals main campus, which is much denser and more focused than the larger Cleve. Clinic. A lot of UH commuters reverse commute to downtown and the West Side.

Uh, no… the Health Line BRT doesn’t come close to having the effectiveness of a subway. ‘Nuff said. Ragging on Buffalo for doing what Cleveland should have done – building a full-fledged, high-platform subway line right up the gut of the City, was a courageous move for a smaller metro area who’s core is supposedly withering on the vine… If Buffalo’s LRT is such a failure and Cleveland’s Rapid is such a success, how do you account for the Buffalo vs. Cleveland comparison?… that is 23,200 passengers over a 6.4 mile system (or 3625 passengers per mile) in Buffalo vs. 29,300 daily passengers over a 34 heavy/light rail mile system (or a paltry 861.7 passengers per mile) in Cleveland. Buffalo is running 3-car trains over light rail while RTA runs single cars at all times, except for Browns games and, maybe, at times during St. Paddy’s day; not even RTA’s heavy rail Red Line runs 3-car trains anymore; hasn’t for decades. And no, DanB, can’t feed your hungry right-wing/anti-transit soul on this one: nobody said rail is the magic wand that will in every case and for every inch of its service, magically convert every old, struggling neighborhood into thriving, Manhattan-style walking districts. However, rapid transit will almost always attract some development in spot areas – Buffalo’s downtown and aforementioned new stadiums (not unlike Cleveland’s Gateway stadiums as well as, decades prior, Shaker Square)… But if rail doesn’t always stimulate growth, esp in older cities like Buffalo or Cleveland, it will at least slow/cease blight in old neighborhoods, or at least, give them hope of catching on slowly or at some later date, thriving because access to high speed rail transit always gives an area hope – Buffalo’s Allentown and Elmwood Park areas are good examples, while Cleveland has Ohio City, Larchmere, Little Italy or Detroit-Shoreway. I disagree with the characterization by some that Buffalo’s a dead city at the edge of the abyss like some small-scale version of Detroit – no way… And if Buffalo’s so bad, look at Cleveland, which is just a somewhat larger-scale version of the same, can’t be far behind...