urbanlife

i've noticed that the DCA people always seem to travel in groups of 3 later in the evening and on weekends. this doesn't seem to make much sense and seems more "social" than effective in patrolling and otherwise helping around downtown. has anyone been to a meeting lately to hear what the $$ spent to budget or other metrics on their effectiveness has been?

^well a 50 mph hour highway hasn't stopped development in other cities. it's one of the reasons i'm excited by jackson's focus on getting the city fixed. people have choices where to live, and in this region the cost and hassle (brownfields, city politics, pollution, jobs in suburbs, schools, etc) of developing and living on this land has long outweighed what many of us view as prime development land - views, location, amenities, etc. i think that we MUST demand that a rail line in incorporated into this project. we owe it to ourselves to start re-building the city for the future and not the past. otherwise, it is a huge lost opportunity.

at least they are working on something. the building next door comes down no matter what in any scenario i've heard.

a few of these are cross posted in the e4 thread: Why Doesn't Downtown Cleveland Have: 1. Bike shop. Photo is from gaslamp in san diego. rentals, repairs, tours, etc. it seems that this could work near csu/playhouse, warehouse. maybe it plays in with the idea of a bikestation at some point, but not sure that this would do rentals or just storage/showers. Is there space in the RTA station at e9 for something? 2. More distinct branding. The kiosks are nice and very functional, but little touches like the "gaslamp" tag on this rack not only provide another piece of metal to tie a bike to, but also brand downtown areas. Maybe we could get some metals/art people to weld some of these on to the new ones with "Theater District", "Warehouse District", E4, Gateway, etc. I'd also like to see our racks painted - at least some of them. 3. People on the street. Shot of 44th and broadway in NYC from recently after the afternoon shows are letting out. Whoever put the attached parking behind playhouse square really did a disservice to street life.

i saw a few things in gas lamp district in san diego last week that might apply to cleveland/e.4: tequila bar (possibly what we can expect for the new place on e4??) a downtown bike shop, with bike rack (why isn't there one of these in playhouse square or warehouse area? rentals, repairs, etc.) bike racks that are actually branded (i like ours, but this is the kind of thought that i think makes a nice difference):

^but a lot of these people stay in crazy places when they tour anyway. i don't think it is too much to take the intercontinenal and ritz, and have spillover into the marriott or embassy suites, both of which have been redone recently or renaissance. how many hotel rooms would we be talking anyway? i can't imagine more than a couple hundred performer types and i'm sure reporters and others can stay just fine in the crown plaze, hilton garden inn, westin, etc. i think the bigger problem is the local funding to make this happen.

That would have been nice. I wonder how much business they're going to attract in that location, other than from hotel guests. well, it is the same space as the former restaurant, which had windows overlooking prospect (or at least the awnings on prospect by the ritz were branded with the restaurant name). iirc, there would be access from both TC/ritz area as well as the street

it's not like there wouldn't be dollars spent on the construction and maintenance of rail. for as much fault as everybody likes to give cleveland's rail system, rta actually spends a lot of money to keep the cars, rail, electric, signals, etc. maintained. it seems that the contractors and odot just want to do business as usual and not really think outside the box.

at some point in the future, there will be a discussion and purchase of new rail vehicles - possibly changing the entire system to run on consistent vehicles. but this is likely years away as the blue/green line trains are now being renovated to extend their useful life. probably at least 15 years before we'll see a new rail car purchase is my guess, unless we see some expansion of light rail routes. i prefer the low floor entry of the VTA in san jose. it also has room for 3 bikes in the middle of each car. but, VTA also didn't make very smart busines decisions, selling cars to salt lake that still had a lot of use.

^^ the worst part is that this is a re-tread from a usa today piece last week. i'm glad the PD is recycling stories from a top paper and putting a lot of thought into what they publish. it probably took a lot of time to get the local airport information. a better story is a research angle with a local college to survey what users of hopkins (not 24 random passengers) think is missing and think is working. survey 2000 travelers and get some results. EDIT: and on a positive note, I have been very impressed by the general state of Hopkins recently. I've been on 10 flights in the last 6 weeks and things are starting to look good for an O and D passenger from one of the attached parking lots/RTA through security - repainted main lobby with bright colors, new restrooms, southwest finally got rid of their 1950 tv monitor in the baggage claim area, classical music playing in baggage claim area, rta announcements (though i didn't hear them the last trip), etc. however, for a connecting passenger or someone spending time in the actual terminals, i think some more work can be done. Free Wifi (Please), The digital airport initiative, painting the jetways with some fun colors, and a few TVs in the concourses.

the other intersections are supposed to have lights, with pre-emption. i was just trying to figure out how much of a true traffic circle this was going to be (in my mind, this means yield-to-enter signage, not traffic lights controlling traffic entering the circle,not stop signs, etc.). but, with the bus lanes running through the circle, there would have to be some sort of control device to prevent the yield-to-enter traffic from running into the side of a bus trying to cross straight through on a dedicated bus lane. i was hoping that it would be as simple as a red light that stops entering traffic where it intersects with the bus lanes (allowing e-w and w-e traffic to continue to go north or south if not crossing the bus lanes, as opposed to an overengineered, 20 traffic light solution.)

does anyone have renderings of these traffic circles on euclid? this is the first i've heard of them. would there be a pre-emption device to stop traffic from entering the circle when the buses are crossing and at other times it would be a regular yield-to-enter circle?

the city should require by code that any fence that is erected be covered with a green screen. this is relatively cheap and makes a big difference from the street. photos or poject plans are also a nice touch. another thing that should be required is that boarded up windows during construction should be PAINTED black or blue or whatever. e4 and euclid is one example where the unpainted contsruction fronts for the new pizza place and tequila place look dumpy. i've never been in another large city where the boarding was not painted (i don't know if it was required, but i haven't seen unpainted plywood be put up for weeks, months, years at a time anywhere.)

how are they different from the other awnings?

I agree as well. I had posted before the page break that the main reason for 2 systems is cost. It is actually 1 physcial system, but it will be operated in 2 different ways, making it confusing. But until the remaining Blue/Green line stations get power and fiber, RTA doesn't think it is feasible to link the Ticket Vending Machines on the blue/green line. How much would this cost? Can we find a grant or get the individual cities to pitch in? Could onecleveland play a bigger role through wireless/mesh/microwave connections to these outlying stations? Perhaps we can speak up and get the board to approve some additional money? i don't know. We should be targeting elimination of the hurdles that keeps our system from become truly world class, and more importantly easy and intuitive to use - "Here's how the train works, here's how the bus works", not the current, and future, "Here is how the 1 train works, and the other 2 trains work this way on part of the system, but a little different on other parts and you pay getting on here, but getting off there, unless you get on at one of these stations and are heading this direction". at the very minimum this will eliminate the confusing red line boarding with multiple cars with unattended stations.

i think they have closed. my understanding is that none of the ground floor tenants of the theater buildings are paying ANY rent during the construction. apparently business is way down in this area, and is probably why the new irish bar is in a wait and see hold pattern until the section in front on euclid is complete.

here is a link to the presentation regarding the change order and soil problems at w117: http://www.riderta.com/pdf/presentations/2006-10-03-West117.pdf

Any ideas on why this space has been empty for 4 or 5 months, with no medntion of new tenants? are there no tech companies that want this exposure or did the experiment not work? i would think people would line up to have this exposure downtown, even if it was only a satellite office space.

why doesn't downtown cleveland have: - convienently located (or any really) recycling containers for residents/visitors/transit users - that are within walking distance of large population clusters. - unified approach to streetscape, signage and amenities (tashcans, benches)

i'm a bit confused on the model unit price. it is listed on MLS for 289900. but i have heard that it is "reserved" by the developer, and that there are actually significant upgrades, upwards of 75k, that were done to the unit (it makes sense if you see the wolf range/oven, subzero, automation system, lighting, etc.) my question is: 1) why list a unit that is not available for sale and 2) why (and are you allowed?) post a MLS listing that is actually at least 75k less than the actual asking price? i figure it is mostly about "buzz", but advertising a 289k unit that is not available, and in reality costs much more, is rather misleading. so, the unit is more accurately at least 350k for 1269 sq ft or so, which is $275/sq ft, much different than the advertised price of $227/sq ft. i still think that the building has potential though. i'm interested to see what the condo fees will be (i've heard they will be higher than pinnacle on a psf basis due to old elevators, new elevator from parking structure, old mechanicals and other factors- over $3.25/psfy - so on a 1269 unit it is ~$350/month additional condo fee). I would think they would try and capitalize a lot of these expenses into the initial purchase prices and not the monthly maintenance fees. Also, the information on tax abatement suggests the 12 year renovation credit, but starting at only 75% for 4 years, then 50%, then 25%, then 0.

I'm not sure I understand how feeding hungry people is a bad thing. If I'm not mistaken, the city belongs to "street people" as much as it does to you. Would you prefer they get fed somewhere you don't have to look at them? Do you have evidence this practice negatively impacts business? It doesn't seem to be the case in other cities where the homeless are fed in PUBLIC areas. Feeding hungry people, helping the less fortunate, being a good neighbor are all good things in my book, and probably don't happen enough. these can and certainly should happen anywhere there are people in need. but, when it has gotten to the point that suburban church goers think they are solving the homeless problem or the war on hunger by sending a van to the center of the city to hand out meals in the cold rain and then watch the gathered "street people" eat in the cold rain, i think the "i live in the suburbs but i helped a hungry person" routine has missed the mark. I think the "street people" would much prefer to be bused to crocker park for an afternoon of lounging in a a new place, where they could enjoy there meals on the promenade a few blocks from the helpful churches. i am only advocating for additional coordination of what i consider to be well intentioned efforts to help the less fortunate. i don't really care where these activities take place, but it would be nice if there was heat, maybe a roof in winter? maybe i am asking too much, afterall, the "street people" probably like to eat in the cold and rain. there should be a warm place to eat, sit, socialize. maybe a shower facility? maybe some healthcare screening? giving someone a sandwich and a cup of coffee in the rain doesn't begin to SOLVE this issue. I strongly advocate that this region needs to re-start innovating and solving problems and not sticking with the status quo. and although it is a public area, i have NEVER walked 5 blocks in any major city in the US, Asia, Europe or Australia where I have been asked for money or followed as many times as I am after these mass food drop offs. I'm a believer in the city, i live downtown, and i participated in organized programs that are addressing hunger and homelessness. Now again, this is a chicken/egg problem. If there were thousands of people on the street this afternoon at 4pm, then this effect is obviously diluted. But, it doesn't change my experience.

^ that is nice. and i think we should expect more from all of our stations. for instance, some of the newer ones don't even cover most of the platform space? what is the story with this? on the blue/green line upgrades: apparently the problem with POP and TVMs is that many of the stations do not have adequate electrictity or fiber to support inclusion in the network. the cost of adding these was considered prohibitive at this point. so, it seems the real work (ie innovation) should be taking place around figuring out how to connect these stations through wireless clouds, solar, or other electricity. onecleveland? ip over powerlines? microwave? this is where the disconnect is: when the going gets tough (ie expensive) in cleveland these days, projects are scrapped or pared down. as a region, we weren't always like this - we found solutions, and we prospered. let's step up to the plate and FIND SOLUTIONS, and not let problems like cost and complexity dictate what we get.

Tower City Retail Update Bad News: The GAP is closing at the end of January. Anyone who wants to get a crack at the racks and shelves can show up on January 28. Good News: Brooks Brothers has signed a 3 year renewal on their space and have no intentions of vacating TC (and have heard nothing to the contrary from corporate). Apparently the negotiations have been going on for the past few months, but were completed in December. From the mouth of one of the regular salespeople: "year over year sales have been growing and last year was one of the best ones." I'm happy about the BB news, but confused on the GAP. I feel like there is momentum growing downtown, but we can't keep losing basic retail. This was one of the few places to buy a t-shirt or pair of socks after Dillards left. There was also a good mixed crowd on a Sunday afternoon, a little thin in some areas, but much more representative of the mix tower city needs to draw on a consistent basis. On a negative note, 2 food buses from the suburbs pulled up to serve lunches on public sqaure. THIS HAS TO STOP. This is not the proper location - there wasn't even a covered area for the people taking the food to eat in the rain. The suburb churches need to partner with cleveland proper churches to provide these meals and services, and a warm place to socialize and eat - not the middle of public square in january. oh, and the fact that each of these people then went on to panhandle the people leaving TC. this current set up is not good for business and not good for these people. imo.

there is a johnston and murphy in TC. we could also use a baja fresh. i think a baja fresh / jamba juice combo would make a killing. unfortunately, the real estate people at both of these places don't think so (and i've contacted them consistently for the past 2 years). it does suck not to have a 24/7 place downtown though.

What exactly are floor plates? the size and orientation of each floor. so, the park building has a small floor plate/footprint/total sq ft. this means that almost all of the rooms have windows, or aren't far from natural light, there are less units per floor, etc. the may co building (and others, eg higbees) even on the sunniest day in cleveland, when standing in the middle or any of the existing floors, it is pitch dark - basically the building spans an entire block - great for a department store with no windows, great for a data center with lots of computers, but not necessarily great for residential space.