clvlndr

^^Sorry the Mad Greek is closing. It's a Heights institution.

Glad you brought this up. The idea of converting the Health Line to LRT, dropping it into a subway into Tower City and out the lower deck of the Detroit-Superior (Veteran's Memorial) Bridge makes a helluva lot of sense. As KJP revealed in his extensive presentations from years past, there is ample existing infrastructure to facilitate such a project that would make it waaaay cheaper than if built from scratch. Health Line trains would be diverted from Euclid to Huron at PHS then drop down through the (grade separated) Huron subway-connector into Tower City. Consider that the above article reveals that the old Shaker Rapid station is extant and, in fact, will be used during the Tower City construction. This station and its access tracks are on the north side of Tower City's rail station complex -- making it closest to both the Huron connector and the Det-Superior subway deck (than the existing Rapid tracks) meaning the Health Line service could be segregated from the current Blue, Green, Red and Waterfront Lines. Thus with a working Shaker Rapid station in Tower City, the extant Huron subway-connector to the east and the (also extant) Detroit-Superior subway deck to the west, Health Line LRTs could be brought into Tower City RIGHT NOW... Such a move, with buses feeding into this new Health Line LRT and, thus, the elimination of their need to enter Cleveland's CBD core would fundamentally alter RTA's current transit network ... for the better!

As a transit advocate and (heavy) user, I certainly don't dismiss RTA's added costs of sending all buses around Public Square's perimeter out of hand -- those costs are important especially for a starved transit system making extensive cutbacks. But given the absolute love the public has so far shown the redone Square and its newfound ability to attract people, including families from all walks of life, just to be there, I believe these factors outweigh the extra monies RTA is spending for the added fuel of the current all perimeter service... And, as another article I posted today in the transit thread about funding major transit projects, RTA and the City really need to start thinking out of the box and getting creative in terms of finding funding sources... If keeping the buses out of the Square is important enough -- and I think it is -- and RTA is losing money because of it, then let's find funding sources to offset these costs. And as I noted yesterday, RTA's crisis is going to be squared (maybe even cubed) next year with the loss of Medicaid taxiing authority. A parking tax sounds like a good idea to pursue. Additional pressure on state and local pols, like Kasich (who is strategically bypassing Trump's sinking ship in Cleveland with White House eyes for 2020) and our local representatives, for increased subsidy is always another approach.

On politically tricky transit projects, many cities let voters weigh in Cities nationwide have crafted and acted on ambitious blueprints for light-rail and other forms of mass transit, but unlike the Twin Cities, many of them have asked their voters whether they want higher taxes to help pay for it. Ballot initiatives “give local officials the ability to turn a tricky political decision over to the voters,” said Jason Jordan, executive director of the Center for Transportation Excellence, a Washington, D.C., group that tracks transit spending. Since 2000, transportation initiatives have been on the ballot in 41 states, with an average of 71 percent passing. A referendum of this sort has not been considered in Minnesota because the Legislature would have to authorize it. And, since efforts to pass a half-cent metro sales tax for transportation were thwarted by light-rail-averse Republicans last spring, that seems unlikely. http://m.startribune.com/on-politically-tricky-transit-projects-many-cities-let-voters-weigh-in/386224721/

^Good one...

I think the quality and attrictivenes of Cleveland's living room trumps (now I despise this word) RTA's relatively minor added expenses. And frankly, the extra potential costs to RTA for closing Public Square is small potatoes compared to their shortfall coming next year with the transit agency's loss of Medicaid taxing ability. Local officials, including those at RTA, need to really get busy finding funds to cover the new losses rather than nickel and diming it viz Public Square and seriously damaging its outstanding pedestrian-friendly environment.

^JR was a key factor in the playoffs, especially the Finals after he/the team, settled down and started playing their games. It would be difficult to acquire someone with, not only JR's skill-set on offense and defense at this point, but also someone with these plus championship experience: that confidence and swagger... pay the man.

It's even more ironic considering this is the major convention for Republicans: the very people who hate transit (and cities, generally) and are starving it to death in Cleveland from the Ohio Statehouse.

As an old-time Shaker Rapid user, this appears to be the old SR platform area, which was orginally physically separated from the Red Line (formerly the CTS Rapid). These photos stirred memories; I recognized it immediately even though I haven't seen this area since RTA merged the stations in 1990 when Tower City opened. I distinctly remember the wall to the right in PD's photo 1 which was platform height for HRVs with the still-visible office doors and windows and was probably the train-control center for CTS/Red Line trains back in the day... KJP would know this for sure. I have read that the old Shaker tracks and platform area had been kept intact though hidden from view... this confirms it. I hope this temporary train routing through this area works although it seems like a too-small platform area for handling all 3 East Side inbound lines (Red, Blue and Green) as well as outbound WFL trains during big events... I can imagine it getting overcrowded and confusing for big crowds like the Browns games mentioned in the article. We'll have to wait 'n see.

The new Public Square is getting mad love from the national media and RNC folks, alike. Once again, I can't fathom RTA buses cutting through the middle. People love this new city park area as it is. The RTA bus plan needs to be rescinded immediately.

RTA will reroute westbound passengers through Tower City during repairs By Ginger Christ, The Plain Dealer Email the author | Follow on Twitter on July 15, 2016 at 1:51 PM, updated July 15, 2016 at 1:56 PM LEVELAND, Ohio -- The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority on Aug. 1 will close down its westbound tracks – referred to as Track 8 – for reconstruction and will reroute those trains to unused tracks – Track 7 – through Thanksgiving. The Tower City tracks last were updated in 1990 and have deteriorated since then. "All rail lines go through Tower City. If the tracks in Tower City go down, the entire rail system goes down," said Joe Calabrese, CEO of RTA. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/07/rta_opening_alternate_tracks_d.html

[Note: Philly's ABC affiliate weighs in] FOLLOWING CAVS CELEBRATION, CLEVELAND GETS DRESSED UP FOR RNC http://6abc.com/news/cleveland-gets-dressed-up-for-rnc-/1429857/

^Love the old school, Victorian look of these buildings. They will slide right in with the Ohio City architectural look... Can't completely tell by the photos, but will the middle building be sheathed in brick?

[Note: awesome video by CBS News] Cleveland is Back! http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cleveland-is-back/

46 Things to Do in Cleveland During the G.O.P. Convention Where to Go Now By ERIK PIEPENBURG JULY 15, 2016 The 50,000 officials, delegates, journalists, protesters and gawkers expected to head to Cleveland during the Republican National Convention will encounter extra-tight security around the Quicken Loans Arena, known locally as the Q, where the main event takes place from July 18 through July 21. But beyond the secured perimeters and protest zones, visitors to Cleveland will find a city basking in a new energy — thanks, LeBron! — and alive with restaurants, cultural events and night life. Here’s a guide to spots that mostly fit these convention-friendly criteria: in or near downtown; open to the public during the convention; easily accessible by foot, cab or public transportation; good for small groups; involves eating and drinking; and has something for (almost) everyone. Yes, people who differ in politics, temperament and tastes will convene in Cleveland’s walkable, compact downtown. But here are a few excuses to check your politics at the door. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/travel/46-things-to-do-in-cleveland-during-the-gop-convention.html?_r=0

Cleveland v. Philly: A convention city food smackdown By Katia Hetter, CNN Updated 9:59 AM ET, Fri July 15, 2016 (CNN)Everyone in Cleveland knows that politicians who eat Polish Boys and pierogi -- not necessarily at the same time -- increase their chances of winning their political races. And their favorite candy? The buckeye, of course! Head east to Philly and politicians better like cheesesteak if they don't want to be called carpetbaggers. http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/foodanddrink/political-conventions-cleveland-versus-philadelphia-food/

Nice for a CVSR entry into Tower City, perhaps?

Here's a crappy picture I took yesterday of the new sign that went up. (the sign went up one night earlier this week). They were power washing the sidewalk out front yesterday. Looks like they could open this weekend? I think an earlier article said they were waiting until after the RNC to open.

^^I think you've got it backwards: the positive forward movement in Cleveland is what attracted the Republicans to the city. Yes a few hotel projects, like Schofield/Kimpton, which had been dragging its feet, were probably accelerated because of the RNC, but it's clear there was movement before the RNC.

Never heard that before. That parking garage replaced the old Bailey's Department Store and was built to serve the May Co. Department Store. I never heard that, either, and would be surprised if it were true. That garage is old and I can't imagine planners were thinking of building towers on parking garages back then, especially residential towers. I never saw any plans for development of an office tower at that site either.

^^I agree with the skeptics in both articles: Columbus seems, in essence, whistling past the graveyard, just another rationalization to not build rail. Can't we get past this and have our cities pony up, like Cincinnati, and build rail? People riding in their individual automobiles will not make for walkable neighborhoods, regardless of the far-off fanciful technologies discussed. The talk of light rail allegedly being a 'technology of the past' is merely a self-fulfilling prophecy. To date, there has not been an urban transportation mode that is as effective in spawning Smart Growth: creating density, mix-use development, walkability and, overall, sustainability, not even the much ballyhooed BRT, although BRT is clearly a step up from regular buses. As one guy in the article noted, the type of development smart cities seek is TOD: transit oriented development, not DOT: Development oriented transit. Too many of our cities, especially Columbus, but Cleveland and Cincy, too, have way too much DOT ... it comes in the form of strip malls, big box stores and cull-de-sac, single use residential areas ... or in other words: sprawl.

^I neglected the lead in paragraph to the above which gives a clearer picture: "Decentralization has plagued Cleveland since the 1940s, and is alive and well today. Kerr writes in Derelict Paradise that factories were located near where people lived for easy, on-foot access. Cars rendered this spatial relationship moot, and are still ruling the day. Per a Cleveland Fed study, “Jobs are the least accessible for workers with only a high school degree and for positions that pay less than $1,250/month. Workers in Cuyahoga County have the highest levels of job access, but also experience the largest differences in access across skill levels.” The employment sprawl isn’t stopping." http://www.theamericanconservative.com/urbs/cleveland-rising/

Interesting quote from the article "Cleveland Rising" in The American Conservative, of all places: "The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority recently cut service and raised fares to compensate for a $7 million budget shortfall; thanks to the state’s double-dipping on Medicaid sales tax revenue, it is likely to lose $18 million annually beginning next year. Public transit in Cleveland is rarely reliable and is now inching toward anemic, though a quarter of residents don’t own cars. In spite of this, the Ohio Department of Transportation recently announced that it would be paying $281 million to build a third span of the Valley View bridge in order to re-deck the existing two bridges and expand the overpass’ capacity. Though messes like this one lay at the feet of Gov. John Kasich, the city is largely responsible for pushing the Opportunity Corridor, a new $331 million, 3.5-mile boulevard through its east side that flies in the face of all accumulated conventional knowledge about the destructive consequences of urban freeway construction. Businesses affected by the Opportunity Corridor are already closing. Given the phenomenon of induced demand, it is not likely that either project will actually add roadway capacity for generations, as its leaders claim." http://www.theamericanconservative.com/urbs/cleveland-rising/

Any new 811 landscape photos? The rendering looks exciting as Prospect continues to give Euclid a run for its money as most interesting downtown street.

Good info TPH2. ... It's instructive to note that, of the recommended rail transit extensions from 1980 (many of which had been on planners' radar for decades before then), not one inch of them was ever built. What does that tell you?