clvlndr

^I can't argue with you about that.

When she's dealing with other agencies within government I'm sure she's great. But if she ever tried to appeal to the public no one would care because they've never heard of her before. When Frank Jackson holds a press conference, people listen whether they agree or not. He may care profoundly, and I think he needs to share that publicly. Politicians can be hard heads though. I agree, Mayor Jackson has the bully pulpit and, quite frankly, aside from him holding a giant pair of scissors at a Rapid station ribbon cutting, I have never heard him comment, vocally or in print, about the needs of mass transit, locally. Ms. McCall is apparently very, very good in her work for transit, locally and nationally, but we really need to hear more from Frank.

I don't think Tower City is in a bad location. Public Square is, has been, and likely always will be, the hub of our public transit system. It is also the major crossroads of downtown and the City. 1/3 mile is not an excessive walk. I just checked downtown Chicago, which has one of the nation's best rail systems, and the signature, 100-floor John Hancock building on Michigan Ave, for example, is .4 miles from the nearest L stop (Chicago) -- the same distance from Tower City to the corner of E. 9th & Euclid. The Water Tower Place mall is .5 miles (a half mile) from the Chicago L stop... Downtown Cleveland isn't that large compared to other major cities and most walks from Rapid stations are manageable.

While not scientific, I would imagine the total jobs downtown was much higher, and there were more downtown commuters living along the Shaker lines. This is true. Downtown up until the 80s was jammed with office workers, but no residents. With the exception of the Parkview apts on E. 13 near PHS, all the older buildings downtown that are now apartments were office buildings. Until the 80s, Cleveland was the 3rd largest corporate headquarters with most of those workers downtown.. Beachwood was only beginning to really take off. Rush hour back then would make rush hour now seem small. Shaker trains were so packed, the old system used to run express trains during rush hour -- no stops between Shaker Square and Terminal Tower...But once rush hour was done, downtown died after, say, 6-6:30p, when the stores closed... nobody lived downtown and, aside from a quiet restaurant cubbyhole here and there, there was almost nothing to do after hours... In the late 70s, local comedians Big Chuck and Hoolihan infamously rolled a bowling ball down Euclid from Public Sq after 6p ... and it didn't hit anybody!

It's ingrained among Cleveland commuters and even defies Gramarye's 5th/3rd office experience. I've observed the Flats East Bank Waterfront Line station during evening rush hour. Even though it sits right at the base of the new 20-story EY/Aloft Hotel complex, departing workers from the office tower stream right across the tracks over to the middle surface parking lot to get their cars. Others head down W. 10th to the lots next to the Bridgeview apts or walk even farther under the Detroit Superior and Rapid bridges where, I guess, parking is fairly cheap. That is, even though a Rapid station literally sits right outside their office building's door, some people would rather walk 1/3 mile (or more) for the (perceived) comfort and flexibility of their precious autos. And yes, there's a hardy clutch of employees who DO use the Flats East Bank WFL to go to work, usually 2 or 3 (maybe 5 or 6 if RTA's lucky). Thus even when the Rapid is convenient to downtown workers, the majority STILL won't use it which is discouraging. Only until FEB's Phase 3 closes that surface lot to make flats area parking a real pain in the ass to EY building workers, will there be some spike WFL riding... maybe.

Exactly. If the subway loop of the late 1950s had been built, you could have strolled to a E. 9th/Superior subway station less than a block away. As the early poster (cited by KJP) noted, the subway was overwhelmingly supported by voters but killed off by pols... And that's what he meant when he said that Cleveland has consistently shot itself in the foot with poor planning/no planning, when it comes to transit and urban development. Maybe now with a fresher new approach to the city and walkability by younger people, this will change... We can only hope.

Perhaps, but I think we also have to wait for the parents or grandparents of the millennials of the conservative ex-urbanites and rural rednecks to either retire from politics, or die off, until true paradigm shifting political shifting, toward the positive, can occur. And the really sad/scary thing is that, those parents and grandparents, have often strongly influenced their kids/grandkids... esp in a conservative state like Ohio.

I'm glad officials and the media are finally talking about this. It's been a dirty little secret that AAO and UOers blog and post about, but nobody else... until now. Let's see if any serious change will happen -- like, say, politicians starting to really advocate for transit and seriously pressuring Columbus and Washington for more funding. We see how these groups come together and fight for roads they want, like the Opportunity Corridor (and don't mind opening up our collective wallets for it, too -- thank you presidential candidate Kasich). Now it's transit's turn... The Rapid's condition should have never devolved to this. It's deplorable.

^Don't know who this is, but he/she seemingly has a command of the technology and terminology. The comments are disturbing.

Your article mentions that the LRT cars use Freon which will be illegal next year. Does this mean they will have no AC going forward?

I don't know what to make of OSU or the B1G; very strange year.... Cardale Jones has hurled back to earth (I still contend he totally blew it $$-wise by not going pro), JT's really the man, while Urban continues the mix 'n match QB experiment, with very shaky offensive results, save the last 6 quarters. Meanwhile Michigan, though sucker punched by THE PLAY on Saturday, is still lurking with (in my opinion one of the best, if not the best coaches); and OSU has a 2-week gauntlet to end the B1G with MSU then UM.... And, oh yeah, Iowa, the team nobody is talking about, is also undefeated after polishing off NWern...

Great news, Jerry. Thanks.

"Local area plans in Slavic Village, emphasize residential development alongside the city's emerging agricultural zone nearby." The OC roadway will not only create a huge hole with that unneeded, grade-separated intersection at E. 55, it will demolish a significant swath of Slavic Village homes along the Bower Ave. corridor which, though poor, is the most built up residential tract along the OC. I don't see how this is "emphasizing residential development in SV."

Good, let him rest. He received this injection when he shut down during the early bad part of last season. 2 more weeks to chill is just what LeBron needs... Preseason has been a grind and a mess with so many guys out with injuries, plus the strain of several back-to-back games (ridiculous for preseason) which is a strain on guys like Andy who is just coming back from an Achilles tear and RJ, who is 35. As a result, every lineup is guys who haven't played together so there's no continuity. Mo Williams was so bored with preseason Blatt decided to pull him for the 4th quarter in Indiana's blowout the other night. Our main preseason goal is to not get (any more) injuries, and we've succeeded in that so far. To hell with any more practice games. Bring on the real thing!

This will certainly make a major residential statement in UC. Glad to see it moving forward.

Nice. I like brick. ... address?

But then, a block later you have this: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4784394,-81.7187352,3a,75y,15.99h,85.1t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sy_jYDemJ3ZLxcROjfYK6Pw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 ... and this: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4785987,-81.718292,3a,75y,0.05h,85.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3yK6qwVIyw_TZWM3WFKCBg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Track upgrades replacing all LRT Oct. 24-25? What's that? RTA needs to be more specific than that.

^^Thanks KJP...

^Thankfully, as one of Cleveland's oldest neighborhoods, Ohio City developed before the advent of the automobile and, so, it's one of the few areas where there are lots of alleys/rear home access (we tend to call them "Courts" in Cleveland) and fewer traditional driveways... In this sense, these new homes should fit right in.

... I see Straphanger had many of my same Qs...

As I look at the graphic, I'm not sure how the RTA Waterfront Line fits in re the following: Will there be a new platform accessed from a common Amtrak only or Amtrak/Greyhound headhouse from above? Or will the current North Coast/E. 9th street platforms be lengthened to accommodate a better Amtrak/Greyhound interface? Or will the current North Coast/E. 9th headhouse be demolished/replaced with a different headhouse/access point? Or, per the graphic, will nothing change for RTA in the new scheme? ... just curious.

An apt building of 46-units isn't a huge amount to go parking-less, esp if it is geared toward students who are less likely to own cars anyway -- particularly true in this extremely transit friendly area. And given it's location across the street from CIA, and on edge of CWRU's campus, I'm guessing this will be for students. And even if it weren't, there seems to be enough existing parking lots/spaces to absorb the cars of future tenants of this building ... at a cost, of course.

^^Well, at least we've squeezed about 15 more years out of our Bredas than SF. Obviously there are serious issues with the car construction quality of this company and I'd hope RTA, like SF Muni, will bar them from future bids. I thought KJP mentioned that RTA might be able to joint-order some LRT's with another transit agency to save some $$.

By "we" do you mean every single institution in Cleveland? By "grasp the historic preservation thing" do you mean never demolish any historic building? Then, no, I don't think that is realistic. But Cleveland has made great strides in saving and reusing historic buildings already- it's the keystone of the redevelopment we've seen Downtown and on the near Westside. We're considered a national leader in utilizing historic preservation tax credits, and we've collected the lions share of the state tax credits. The City has made strides preservation-wise, esp downtown where there was/is a large inventory of underused and empty historic structures converted to meet the stiff apartment demand ... and hopefully the voracious UH Pac Man monster has finally been fully fed. But the current Hubbard House situation plus the Columbia and Stanley building losses of a few years ago are recent setbacks, with the Stanley replaced by ... nothing.