urbanlife

this was discussed a couple of pages back. i think you CAN hail a cab (if you can find one), but that cabs can't cruise the streets looking for fares - they have to wait at designated cab zones or respond to requests. assuming that a cab had just dropped a fare off and was going toward a taxi zone or a break, then they should pick you up.

yeah, i thought they had to redo the street grid and significantly upgrade the sewers, electrical, etc. i guess the office building #1 would be by the bend in the RTA tracks, so maybe that site is OK, but the residential and other uses? i'm not sure how that will play out.

well, that's true, but in this case the law DOES exist. but, the law also requires an enforcement mechanism to be defined. the state is basically saying, business owners shouldn't be caught in the middle until the enforcement mechanism is clearly defined. so, an owner who allowed smoking IS breaking the law, but in the interim, the state does not plan to enforce the law.

well, winking lizard, boneyard, flannerys and corner alley were all smoke free last night, and i believe will remain smoke free. regardless of lack of enforcement, it is still the law. i think a business owner would be on a fine line (unless literally everyone smoked), from deliberately not following laws.

market is supposed to be open by march, according to a resident. they are going to start doing the serious work inside after jan 1.

Right, and that's your opinion, as you stated. I'm just disappointed that this location...which is THE most transit friendly of all Cleveland locations...is perhaps a no-go without attached parking. I'd hope that the draw and amenities (transit and otherwise) to this location would elicit enough unique demand that people would be willing to walk around the block to fetch their ride. I 100% agree. If we continue to build every new development with a garage, why is the incentive to people to reduce a car or stop using their car all together? i guess i think that this has to be more evolutionary in nature. there are very few cities in the world that are truly car-free, where having a car is a huge liability, cost, inconvienence, etc. Although it makes sense in my mind to build mixed uses, TOD, etc., there are a lot of activities that are still outside of the downtown proper and not easily accessible by transit. Maybe in 15 years as more ammenities and population is downtown, newer developments will not need parking. people have fled cleveland proper for years, and in at least some neighborhoods, including downtown, people are considering coming back from whatever far out suburb they reside in now. i think having the availability of some parking option for residences makes sense. now, you can price these spots for purchase at a rate that reflects the scarcity or the desire to limit parking.

i think the developer CAN line up a parking contract with an existing garage or surface lot to satisfy parking requirements. for example, bridgeview uses the ampco lot across the street (they don't own it) but the sincere building on e4 has 12 condos with NO parking whatsoever. i still think that having an attached parking in cleveland is a good thing and that the developer will have a much easier time selling these units. many people who use transit all the time still don't like to walk 3 blocks [in freezing rain, at 3am, alone] with groceries, kids, etc. i rarely use a car during the week, but i wouldn't live some place that didn't offer an attached garage or an underground spot. the key here is *offer*. maybe i go from 2 to 1 car? sure, but there has to be an option. imo. also, this eliminates some more office space from the market, which could then spur some more commercial development.

so there is some good news. in the 2007 budget, there is funding to buy 20 new 60' foot buses. they will allow increases of capacity on some of the busier routes, without increasing labor costs. they also picked Shen Shen Shang to do some of the public art at the new e55 street station. http://www.riderta.com/pdf/presentations/2006-12-05-E55_Public_Art.pdf

i just walked back from here and e4 was dead quiet, although there was some activity inside corner alley. go speakers go. i think this will make a small impact on this area.

^ or did they give up? i thought their plans were to redevelop, NOT resell. maybe they couldn't get financing or just lost interest. there has been a noticeable difference in the quality of the storefronts on those buildings (fixing broken tiles, regularly cleaning windows, etc.) - even though 2/3 are empty.

and you'd think that the city would want to publicize this presumably larger number, and then break it down by type. for example, "300 housing starts, including 183 single family residence permits."

i don't mean a piped in mall / legacy village type thing where 1 developer plays a certain tune through the whole complex. but house of blues for instance has no speakers outside. so, even in the summer you can't hear the music of tv from inside the restaurant. similarly, i like being able to hear some of the cavs pregame when that is what is on inside. so walking down e4, you might hear 4 or 5 different things as you pass restaurants and bars - extending the restaurant's presence to the street level (similar to the windows that now open from flannerys now).

i'm also happy to see speakers on the outside on e4. the one thing i never understood is why house of blues and pickwick don't play more of their music to the street - i don't mean blasting music until 3am, but having focused speakers on the area directly in front of their restaurants. even when those places are hopping, the street can still feel and sound very quiet. when i'm going to a cavs game, i want to walk down e4 and hear the pre-game. at 10pm, i want to hear some music. similar to what chophouse does in front.

http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1164880577222660.xml&coll=2 A little bowling is right up new downtown spot's alley Thursday, November 30, 2006 Bill Lubinger Plain Dealer Reporter The two-tone bowling shoes and agonizing 7-10 splits will look familiar. Beyond that, the new Corner Alley doesn't evoke the whispered tones of sportscaster Chris Schenkel, Earl Anthony's crewcut or even your neighborhood bowling league....

what is going on in the parking lot in front of fenn tower (next to the new building on euclid)? it looks like there is some sort of porous pavement being used. are they continuing to experiment? why isn't this publicized more?

^well, you can do what you want with the shell. that is what i like about their concept. if you want to finish the place off, fine. if you want a toilet, shower, a bed in the middle of the room and cement floors, that is fine too. for the parade of homes, most of the units were more "finished" than a typical loft, but there were lots of different finishes - polished cement floors, wood, carpet, exposed ductwork, half walls, etc.

^ i think it already makes a difference by eliminating lanes. the sidewalk in front of the park building is roughly double what it was before. i think this goes a long way toward making the square more pedestrian friendly while still allowing some traffic through.

anyone that wants to see what urban housing should look like, needs to go through these units. these units are SPECTACULAR and in most cases very reasonably priced. you can buy a "shell" - floor, windows, and exterior/fire walls for roughly $180,000 to start and basically customize it how you want. maybe 25k to finish out with loft finishes or you could spend 100k and really fix it up. the parade of homes showcased about 7 finished units, plus the ability to walk through the unifinished areas to see views, etc. The parade of homes runs through Dec 10: wed-fri: 5-9pm sat: 12-9pm sun: 5-6pm $5 to get in I hope cleveland developers take note: This is exactly the type of development that downtown cleveland is missing. well built, good location, multiple price levels. EDIT: Here is the link where you can see the floorplans for the units on display http://www.northsidelofts.com/story_detail.php?home_storiesid=17

i should have clarified, it is a laser tape measure, similar to this model: or maybe i'll call RTA and just ask them. we'll see how warm it is...

wikipedia discussion claims 14'6" height in NE. I'll take my tape measure out in the morning and see what the clearance on the red line is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilevel_car "The north eastern US can accommodate split level (double deck) cars only if they are no higher than 14'-6" or 4420 mm. These double deckers run on the Long Island Rail Road: [1]: and on New Jersey Transit: [2]: (contact Bombardier Transportation: [3]) due to the size of the loading gauge (i.e. bridges, tunnels, etc. are too low). "

clean it and light it at night and it will be fine. this same thing goes for almost every building downtown: please clean your building every couple of years and put some accent lighting somewhere on the building.

i think this is the abestos removal team's office. both buildings need to have the asbestos removed before anything can happen.

^that's what makes no sense. there is already a crossing at chester, walnut and superior. it would have made more sense to put some chess tables, regular tables, and expand the sidewalk on either side of the median. they are using the trees as a scapegoat here for the true problem of drug activity and pan handling and lack of people in general that scares off people and retail in this area. in any major city, you can only expect to cross at intersections. it isn't as if the blocks in cleveland are so large that this is a true pain.

Anyone notice the misspelled amtrak sign that was recently posted on I-77/I-90 interchange (heading north), just beyond E14 exit in Cleveland? They replaced all the signage along this stretch, but it now says "Amtrack Station"

bowling alleys in corner alley are operational. workers were in there testing the electronic scoring systems this afternoon - pin strikes could be heard from the sidewalk. pretty cool. i also walked in and checked things out - it is looking very nice. lots of plasmas. it doesn't appear to be 2 stories anywhere though. i think the original renderings showed a cut through to floor 2. maybe this is a future phase or a cost cut.