clvlndr

I didn't realize this... Good to know... Sure would be nice if, at least as a regional voting block, we could get our local state pols to put pressure on the State House for more dedicated funds for transit... Actually, Cleveland could work along with other urban areas for this, esp the Big 3 and, say, Akron and Dayton, both of which I know have quality mass transit systems... Of course, as you note, RTA could achieve more sales tax revenue if the Legislature would widen commercial activities that can be subjected to the sales tax. But raising taxes seems it could be as big a no-no as dedicating more state transit funds in Ohio's very conservative legislature... But I generally like surprises!

OH OK, I get you.

I hear a lot about riders violating the "honor system" at rapid stations. Would there be any way to verify the frequency of this? RTA officials indicate the number of cheaters is pretty small (5%?)... It seems the costs of the cheaters is offset by the personnel costs of manning/operating fare booths at RTA's 17 stations (not including TC of course, where fare attendants remain).

I don't understand, sports traffic, esp for the Browns, is one of the major constants for RTA. Are you saying raising all-day passes will cause fans to thumb their noses at RTA? ... because, if so, I can't agree.

I know it's a dirty word, but RTA may have to consider a fare hike... but the hike I'm considering isn't that terrible, really. I might consider hiking the All-Day Pass from $5 to $6... $5 is incredibly cheap for all-day rides and well below most systems I'm aware of... For example: Chicago's CTA has a $10 all-day pass. New York's is $8 or $9, I can't remember which (one of our crack UO researchers will come to the rescue on this ... probably mrnyc -- UPDATE, according to the internet, MTA's 1-day "Fun Pass" may be no more... true, mrnyc?). Just because Cleveland isn't Chicago or NYC (but we're pretty damn good, as we all know), doesn't mean that our quality transit system should be forced to charge people peanuts because of our city's supposed lower prestige, especially with the local mushrooming interest in heavy rail transit areas like downtown, Ohio City, U.Circle and FEB, to name a few... I would rather consider a slight fare increase as opposed to cutting services... Frankly, RTA is really at the bare-bones now when it comes to services. The number of bus routes has not been this small for a century and the frequency of those routes is beyond paltry. For example, we really don't even have a legitimate feeder bus system anymore with our super-infrequent N-S bus lines, most of which run once-an-hour during off peak and little better than once every 30 mins during peak time... Some routes don't run on weekends... ... and any talk of cutting back on Rapid service should be completely off the table since, really, a number of adversely-affected bus riders have been forced to turn to the Rapid (often walking great distances to Rapid stops) as a last resort.

^Looks good... really love the Victorian next door. So many of them in this great neighborhood.

This is an incredible statement and a horrible indictment of RTA management, which seemingly can't do enough chest-thumping about that 2007 "Best Transit System in North America" designation -- no matter how specious the designation's origin may be -- or the constant national fawning over the Health Line, much of which has been generated by anti-rail "think" tanks.

Cleveland's Kimpton Hotel set to open in late 2015 at East Ninth and Euclid By Susan Glaser, The Plain Dealer Email the author | Follow on Twitter on February 26, 2015 at 12:25 PM CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland's Kimpton Hotel will open in the second half of this year, says Brian Intihar, vice president of CRM Real Estate Services, which is developing the property at the southwest corner of East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. "Everything is coming together," he said. "It's been a labor of love for a number of years." The project has been in the works since 2009 at the historic Schofield Building, built in 1902 and designed by local architect and sculptor Levi Scofield, a Civil War veteran who also designed Cleveland's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2015/02/clevelands_kimpton_hotel_set_t.html#incart_river

Very exciting... Can't wait to get down to Heinen's when I hit town.

^Of course, if Intesa is built to scale it would obviously up the TOD/UC employment numbers. Also, the SE corner of CC is within .4 miles (or 8 minutes walk) from the projected, new E.105 Red Line head house on the O.C., according to Google maps ... That would certainly make CC walkable from the Red Line.

99325 CUY GCRTA Farnesleigh Station ADA Rehabilitation $224,580 I'm curious about this one... Is it because Farsnsleigh's a busy station or is it because RTA intends to terminate the Blue Line there, now, because of the Van Aken shopping center reconfiguration?

Thanks!

^I'm not so sure about that. The main employment centers that I consider University Circle: UH, CWRU, CIA, CIM, the museums, social service agencies, etc, are within walking distance of a Rapid Station. UH, unlike sprawling CC, is highly concentrated and even vertical at many points (like the main tower and the Seidman Cancer Center at Cornell & Euclid). I guess it's open to some debate, but I really don't consider CC as University Circle. It's more Fairfax to me. But even so, if the development of CC heads south along the OC/E. 105, even that CC growth will be near the E. 105 Red Line station. Some CC employees use that stop anyway even though they must walk through somewhat rough area along E. 105... Then too the gigantic still new JJC is 2 blocks from the that same station and is a major employment center as well. Once the Red Line Station is relocated to Mayfield at Little Italy, a lot more UC institutions will be walkable... even the giant VA will be walkable... a long walk, yes, but a very pleasant one.

One flaw in the 2 articles -- which generally I like -- is a failure to mention University Circle at all as a destination point. UC is, after all, like a 2nd downtown Cleveland. I wonder, employment-wise, how UC ranks among business districts in Ohio. (ie -- Pittsburgh's Oakland district ranks 3rd in PA behind Center City Philadelphia and downtown Pittsburgh)... Instead the articles focuses, unfortunately, on commuting downtown and to the Airport. Of course, the 2nd article quotes mainly 2 All Aboard Ohio members, you'd think they'd know better. To me, the direct and fast connection to University Circle, is huge. Currently there is no high-speed road that could compete with the Rapid speed-wise if the Red Line was extended to Euclid... Oops, I'd better keep it down ... I don't want to awaken the Albert Porter lives/extend the OC groupies.

^LaTourette seems like a decent guy... He had the good sense to bail on Congress when he saw Tea Party elements gaining too much strength within the GOP. He's since co-founded a lobbying group aimed at bipartisanship (and against the Tea Party)... Hope he's free of whatever (undisclosed) serious illness that sent him to surgery last year.

These 2 paragraphs from the well-written above Lake County News-Herald article say it all: Jurkowski wouldn’t say whether the idea of rail transit returning to Lake County is a “pie in the sky” idea, but like so many other places, Lake County faces a “what should be” and “what is” situation. Lake County’s transit issues stem far deeper than at Laketran, he said. Part of the problem is with federal lawmakers’ inability to increase funding for infrastructure and another part of it is because leaders in the state and elsewhere “are not connecting the dots” when it comes to investing in mass transit.

Damn shame. We rode a Wolley taxi home from the Amtrak station last summer... Nice cab (a minivan), but it was as though the cabbie had never been to Cleveland before. We had to give her directions the whole way... Obviously, if Cleveland is going to continue it's development as a world-class city, we're going to need quality cab service (and, no, not just for the RNC).

Excellent article... the kind I you'd expect we'd get from Allison Grant and the PD re such an important project... NOT!

When will the UC-Little Italy station open?

^^Ray Allen wants to play drama queen... Back in the terrible period for the Cavs a month and a half ago, when LeBron was hurt, the team was demoralized and had lost 6 in a row, we desperately needed Allen because we couldn't shoot consistently from the outside... Now, a 1.5 months later with a rejuvenated LeBron and the 2 big trades and, now, Perkins, Allen is no longer essential. We've got a number of sharp shooters (including LeBron himself) and younger, more athletic guards who also play good defense (although I understand, at age 39, Jesus Shuttlesworth has taken very good care of the bod)... ... I also understand a sticking point with the Cavs and other teams, is that Allen is demanding to play in 4th quarter crunch time... At this point, Allen's insertion would unbalance a, now, finely-tuned Cavs lineup. So it's not like we don't need Allen -- after all, any team on the planet could benefit from the finest outside shooter in the history of the NBA -- it's just that he's not essential anymore and, in fact, would come at a cost to the current Cavs' cohesion. Right now, we're firing on all cylinders.

Shumpert has been rounding into shape offensively lately. Last night he was huge although most were focusing on LeBron, Kyrie and Mozgov. His hawkish, passing-lane hawking presence is gigantic, and he really harasses shooters at the 3-point arch. Iman is now crystalizing into the player everyone was excited about... but he does his work, quietly.

^Sadly, I agree. I think the better approach is what's happening now, on some levels: The Cleveland region working to connect directly with Amtrak on regional routes. I guess, though, there has to be some state participation even for this which, with Ohio's traditional dinosaurs, probably won't happen anytime soon, either, but maybe we'll have a stronger case if, say, northern Ohio works together as a sub-unit of the State... We can only pray that a Republican doesn't win the White House in 2016.

Perhaps, but the last departure from Tower City is about 12:30am. Yeah, I know E Rocc... I won't even go there...

Hate the Steelers, love the City... Nice tour, Eridony.

Unfortunately, there's been little growth on the original Blue/Green lines (not counting the Waterfront Line). For example, the "newest" substantial multi-unit building along the Shaker Lines was the Chelsea condo building on Warrensville Rd. that went up in 1982... The very nice Sussex Court townhouses on Chagrin in the early 2000s did help, ... but that's been about it for new, high density housing along the Blue/Green lines... These lines serve older areas where, because of the extreme decay and light population in/around most stations west of Shaker Square, the lines are still mainly bedroom-to-downtown commuter rail lines and with the corporate disappearance from downtown -- from Sohio/BP's consolidation and departure to the consolidation of banks to Eaton's kick in the solar plexus by moving out to Chagrin Highlands, commuting to downtown dropped sharply. The refusal to extend the Green Line a measly 1.5 miles to I-271 to the mode-mixer parking lot/access ramp was a horrible blow (thank you Norm Krumholz!) -- not only would the Green Line have drawn from a much wider area there was the potential for more concentrated Beachwood office development near the outer stations... The City of Shaker Heights didn't help matters much with it's late 1980s redesign of the Chagrin-Lee-Avalon shopping district... It could have shot for a tight, mixed-use Coventry/Cedar Lee type area; instead, planners built a backwards-looking mini-Southgate strip center, removing the sidewalk-oriented buildings along Chagrin and moving stores back behind a sea of asphalt parking... There is hope for the light rail division, though... The revitalized FEB will pump in some new life to the skimpy WFL ride numbers as will such future projects like the new Lake Front office/housing plan in/around the Stadium and Rock Hall as well as (hopefully) the proposed North Coast Transportation Center... The new Van Aken mixed use ped-oriented development underway at the Blue Line terminal should help as well. I'm guessing that some of the steep commuting drop-off has been offset by the growth of leisure/recreational travel given downtown's growth in that area. A number of Shaker riders, myself included, transfer for the 1-stop Red Line Ohio City stop... Ohio City is like a part of downtown anyway.