biker16

does anyone remember this? what was Phase II of the waterfront line?

I think moving The justice center From it's central location is mistake. Here would be my preferred locations.

I lament that we have reached this point in Ohio. for all the funding schemes and ideas. we have this fact, we are providing 55% of the peak service we were providing in 1991. # of vehicles need for maximum/ peak service 1991 630 buses, 38 Redline trains, and 28 Blue/green line trains 2013 350 buses, 20 redline trains, and 14 Blue green trains. in effect we are providing 55% of the Service we were providing in 1991 The Core of the matter is Transit is considered discretionary spending in Ohio there is no guaranteed source of revenue like there is for Roads. So the common theme in Columbus when it comes to increased funding for Transit is To force Transit supportive legislators to choose between funding transit and funding another program like education of healthcare. Transit never wins, unless it is funding from the Transportation budget. Which always leads to the Gas tax, which is the logical source of revenue for Transit not the general fund. Until We as a group stop cowering in fear and come together t address the Gas Tax we will never see sustainable funding for Transit in Ohio.

You forget, that Detroit was, pre merger, a NW hub and was bigger than the United and AA hubs in Chicago. I couldn't care less what Detroit has in terms of airline connections. Detroit's a mess. And all I know is that many metro areas Cleveland's size have overseas flights. I'd even argue that the city or Positively Cleveland or a collection of larger businesses should subsidize an overseas flight such as to Heathrow, Amsterdam or Frankfurt. I'd even take Dublin or some airport that has US Customs pre-clearance so we wouldn't have to establish all of that infrastructure here for just one flight. Metro Detroit is twice the size of Cleveland metro. the auto industry provides alot of demand for international flights. Plus Detroit can handle A340s, A380s, 777s and 747s Cleveland cannot.

Sandusky Transit uses a private operator too, it a Little different that the operator the article mention. BTW there is no way that Boston is paying $12 per passenger trip.

A draw like that should be on Euclid not on Chester. Placing it on Chester kills any hope for this not being so auto centric.

why do they need parking?

Excellent infographic on the issues with cold and old trains

It was the air brakes. cold affects every Pneumatic system, doors and brakes in particular. you are definitely correct that Air brakes should operate in an always on positions just like trucks. The difference between Trucks and Electric trains is the fact that most braking by Trains is going to be through Dynamic braking not friction braking. dynamic brakes turns the motors into generators and feed that recovered energy into resistor banks that convert that energy into waste heat, with Regenerative braking it is sent to the OHL to power other trains (on the blue and Green lines). Dynamic braking is most effective at high speeds where energy recovery is highest, and lest effective at low speed where the energy created is weakest and cannot "stop" a train but only "slow" the train down. Thus a smart system would design less capable Friction brakes only to handle low speed stopping not higher speed slowing where Dynamic braking is more effective. In theory: it could have been that the air lines were Frozen leaving the brakes ON, and the train continued to operate and the brakes finally failed as they wore down, leaving the train able to slow down but unable to stop. Maybe.... Cold weather knocks old streetcars out of service

you only go so far in a Work envroment like RTA. I know of many good people who have left because of the Culture there.

It's very intuitive... I don't see how can't be with 100 buses (some 24-hour) and 80 trains going through/near OC's core retail district . The Rapid station, a block away, is highly visible and is even marked on colorful Ohio City maps at major intersections... I think you meant that it is confusing to drivers, not transit users, casual or otherwise, because RTA service to OC is a snap. I don't care about drivers, because these folks will drive no matter what and will up excuses not to take transit. Don't be so gruff. It is confusing because the frequency is inconsistent and the wait can be as long as 20 minutes off peak. Plus the stops for Ohio city buses are all over down town not consistent. This intimidating to visitors who are not familiar with the 7 different routes going to Ohio City.

Until (and if) Baltimore builds its LRT Red Line subway through downtown, Little Italy and Fells Point, Cleveland's downtown and close in hot spots are considerably better connected than B-More's -- hot areas like Fells Point and Federal Hill have no rail service at all, with the latter not scheduled to get any anytime soon... I do think some kind of reestablishment of a community circulator and/or trolley service connecting OC and Tremont could be useful, as the oft-infrequent #81 bus, alone, is not a viable alternative for such a popular neighborhood. (RTA might be wise to divert some of those W. 25-southbound buses over to Tremont then reconnecting with W. 25 southbound at, say, Clark Ave). ... but the trolley should NOT go all the way downtown; only between Ohio City/Market Square and Tremont, only. I'm tired of RTA constantly duplicating viable rail service with buses (ie Trolleys to the Rock Hall when the WFL is right there)... Ohio City is a major transit hub in itself. I get the concerns about that, but getting from downtown to Ohio City via transit is still far from intuitive and not very convenient for the casual transit rider. Thus the idea for a west w25th St streetcar. Clevelandstreetcar.org

How far north of Franklin? It's the area between the Shoreway and the old river that IMNSHO has mega potential. Lakeview terrace is a bad location develop... why? because it often smells like the sewage treatment plant it is next too. imagine this... $300,000 condos, with a view of a salt mine and mountains of bulk minerals, matched with a unique odor of raw sewage, mmm. that is prime land for development, which is why they built the housing project there in the first place.

the problem IMO with the justice center is its lack a permeability, It sits on a huge mega block and there is no way for pedestrians to walk through it. you have to walk around it. to add insult to injury its Setbacks are out a character for a downtown district creating huge windswept Areas of emptiness around the building. If the county was smart they would look to push the building out the sidewalks much like CSU did with their remodling of thier law collegae and their main classroom.