clvlndr

^Makes my skin crawl. Will we ever fully grasp the historic preservation thing?

I can't imagine this happening, though certainly I can see extra trains being run, for the exclusive use of those with convention credentials, and perhaps one stop even being shut down. Unfortunately that one stop would likely be Tower City given that the convention will be HQ'd at The Q.... and if TC is closed, you might as well close the entire rail system to the public because the Rapid would suddenly become useless to the overwhelming bulk of its riders. Run extra RNC-only trains so that, egad, RNC'ers wouldn't have to share a seat or a train car with the proletariat. But don't close the rail lines to regular riders because closing the Rapid to the public for 4 days would be unconscionable and should not be tolerated. That it's even up for discussion is annoying enough.

^The disturbing thing about the RNC is this talk of closing down the Rapid system and key bus routes, from the public for the exclusive use of RNC members and the media. This would fly in the face of what public transit is all about and, ironically, serve individuals who are the biggest enemies of cities and public transit. I haven't heard the latest on this, but I believe it's an idea that's still on the table. Cleveland pols, and RTA, should seriously resist this.

Thrilled we beat the hated Ravens but, remember, this is a very bad Baltimore team that really should be 0-5. McCown looks like the real deal (we've found a quality old guy to QB!), however, and guys like Barnidge and Crowell stepped up; but our D is still a very weak point.

Slavic Village has good bones --the 55th-Broadway corner has some great architecture. It's a good thing much/most of it was kept in tact, including the old bank building that houses Hubcap Heaven.

^Sounds like some of these cretins would be more at home in Duck Dynasty rather than Duck Island. I hope they're all driven out of there with those kinds of backward attitudes.

^Great... There you go, E Rocc. Private enterprise at work; no RTA monopoly.

^Come to think of it; didn't a number of Lakewood bars and restaurants pool resources and attempt to run a free circulator shuttle bus along Detroit and Madison aves and into Cleve's Edgewater neighborhood a few years ago? I don't recall there being any legal impediments to their doing this and it was reported in the PD. I guess it didn't work out because I haven't heard anymore about it... KJP you should know about this since this is your neck of the woods.

^Yeah, you're right about that. .... Scary.

I mentioned it because I recall a discussion, a year or so ago, where someone raised the possibility of running shuttle buses between the IX Center and the airport Rapid terminal... IIRC the idea was that it would be run either by a private carrier or the IX Center which, of course, owned by Cleveland. I also recall Jerry, or someone from/knowledgeable about RTA, saying that, by law, a non-RTA carrier could not provide potentially competing public transit services within RTA's service area which, of course, excludes the commuter carriers from other counties into downtown or services, like the old Kent State bus (now PARTA?) or the Oberlin commuter bus, which connect to the ends of Rapid lines, as these services do not compete with RTA ... I could be wrong, but that's what I recall. Much depends on the meaning of the word "public", of course. Mass transit does not necessarily have to be "public transit". The Google buses in SF come to mind. The public aspect is key, which is why a private bus company open to the public would be a no-no in RTA's territory.

I noticed RTA used glass block for the windows in the platform indoor waiting area of the new Little Italy-Univ. Circle station ... Eeek! ... It's still a nicely-done station, though.

^Hahahaha...

Despite all the positive things happening in town, Cleveland is increasingly growing an image of being out of control crime-wise and this sh*t has got to stop... Zack Reed wants more cop boots on the ground in neighborhoods like Mt. Pleasant and has proposed Council increase police overtime to facilitate it. While Zach's not the most popular kid on the block, he's right about this one imho. But as we've seen in recent weeks -- this OC armed robbery plus the bike-mounted robbers in Tremont, murder at E. 4th, windows shot out at the Langston @ CSU, etc., etc -- this craziness is spilling over into Cleveland's jewel areas... not good.

Speaking of traffic, as I was walking Tuesday to RTA's spanking new (and well-utilized) Little Italy-U. Circle Rapid station during a sunny rush hour, I strolled along Mayfield next to a line of idling (occasionally honking) cars stretching from Little Italy all the way to the Mayfield-Euclid intersection... It was a beautiful sight ... and a great feeling using public trans to avoid the mess.

^Oy, foiled by Wikipedia again... They state the IX is owned by Cleveland but run by a private operator.

I mentioned it because I recall a discussion, a year or so ago, where someone raised the possibility of running shuttle buses between the IX Center and the airport Rapid terminal... IIRC the idea was that it would be run either by a private carrier or the IX Center which, of course, owned by Cleveland. I also recall Jerry, or someone from/knowledgeable about RTA, saying that, by law, a non-RTA carrier could not provide potentially competing public transit services within RTA's service area which, of course, excludes the commuter carriers from other counties into downtown or services, like the old Kent State bus (now PARTA?) or the Oberlin commuter bus, which connect to the ends of Rapid lines, as these services do not compete with RTA ... I could be wrong, but that's what I recall.

^OK... seems kinda weird they didn't just wait to open the whole station because, obviously, there's still a lot of work to be done... Commuters had a difficult navigaiton to access the new stairwell around all the fencing and construction (and live auto traffic).

Apparently the Lee-Van Aken station has had a partial "soft" opening... Driving to the Shaker Hts. Heinen's yesterday, I noticed commuters coming and going from the westbound platform of the new station while, apparently, the temporary eastbound platform is still in use. It's a very impressive facility with lots of TOD possibilities, but there's still a lot of finishing work to be done, with fences and cranes still in place. Any word from RTA about this?

Think Box is a great adaptive reuse project (esp for a crumbling, unsightly warehouse) and a major feather in CWRU's cap... great for the area, too...

^My thoughts go the other way: RTA needs to extend its reach beyond Cuyahoga County into 2 (at least) to 5 neighboring counties to increase both it's funding base (including a larger target for federal capital funding) and (true) regional effectiveness -- at least, that's my understanding... I know there's still lingering unhappiness at the dissolution of services like the well-run Maple Hts bus system that served the Van Aken Rapid terminal, but what are you gonna do? I'm guessing there are laws prohibiting/restricting private carriers from competing against RTA, but I'm not sure (someone else would know better than I). Part of the 70s problems that led to the creation of RTA was the lack of overall funding base to effectively run the disparate transit systems in the County. While Maple Hts apparently was doing OK (I'm assuming), Shaker Hts, while moving a strong and loyal rider base, had serious infrastructure issues and had next to zero funds just to keep their ancient system running (sounds familiar, right?); the SHRT was the 2nd biggest transit system in the county -- our transit system in those days, while much better than most even then, was totally Byzantine and couldn't survive in it's 1960s/early 70s form... And of course, the old CTS, the biggest kid on the county block, was on life support financially; the fare-box funding system clearly wasn't working... So the good of the few, in some cases, may have been sacrificed for the good of the many... ... egad, socialism at it worst!!

I'm glad the good sense lightening struck the planners and the west of 9th location is now favored with possible connections to the pedestrian bridge... Hopefully the obvious connection to the Convention Center is part of the NCTC package too... I'm kind of disappointed the track configuration will likely not be upgraded because this tells me the single platform Amtrak situation is here to stay: terrible for a major city like Cleveland that, someday, has commuter rail aspirations... But I'll take the incremental improvement even though the new favored site, as well as the concept of an NCTC itself, were driven by non-transit/transportation motives so we kinda backed into this project...That's no way to run transit planning but, again, we'll take it. Maybe someday the NS tracks can be reconfigured. As for parking, it would be cool if some designated spaces in the Willard could be dedicated to Amtrak and Greyhound. Not perfect and not as convenient as the current surface lot but, whatareyougonnado?

^I'm with you about the Green Line. Very weird service and generally very light traffic. (the Blue Line is much, much stronger) The only reliable traffic generator is at the end of the line, Green Road, which is strictly for non-walking commuters: drivers from the Eastern burbs with some bus transfers (apparently some Tri-C East students use the no. 94 bus). Ridership at that one station, however, can be very heavy during rush periods, sporting and special events -- its a regional draw from Eastern suburbs, including the Chagrin Valley and beyond. Green Road is the largest parking lot along the Shaker Lines. Warrensville, which has a smaller lot, sees similar but lighter action than does Green Rd.... Very, very light walk-up traffic on the inner portions of the line and, beyond rush hours, almost none... Traditionally there are some hired help/maids who reverse commute to/from the mansions from Cleveland... It's a shame Krumholz and his buddies shouted down the 1.5 mile extension to I-271 or we'd be looking at a different Green Line, with concentrated TOD office development near he freeway, but it was not to be.

^I like the 3rd from the last shot of the old turn-of-the-20th-century density of old distinctly Cleveland apts and houses that survived the Hough riots and subsequent decay for a new lease on life.

^Obviously there are a lot of repair and maintenance projects for our aging rail system and, although the closures and single-tracking are a pain, I can live with them so long as RTA: a) is open and specific about the work that's being done (no, not the vague "maintenance" or "track work" reasons for weekend shutdowns -- this won't do), b) there is tangible improvement following the work done, and c) there's some evidence that RTA has chosen the path of least resistance for the closure or single tracking... I do despise all the ODOT closures, esp when RTA just says "ODOT" as a reason for the shutdown...

... the proverbial Elephant in the Room.