Roger DuPuis

Thanks to MuRrAy Hill for linking to my blog post, and to ClevelandOhio for the kind comments. Glad to have discovered this site and these forums as a result; had not seen them before, but will definitely return. Finding the transit discussions especially worthwhile and enlightening. As you can see, I visited Cleveland very much as a tourist -- albeit a transit tourist -- and so both my experiences and impressions are somewhat more superficial than those of a resident and regular rider. I will say that I was generally impressed with the system, though it's obvious from previous posts that funding issues continue to dog RTA as they do many cities. For all that, the rail vehicles seemed to be in good repair (though some stations, as I say, clearly need work) -- or at least those that weren't rusting away in the yard. I was in Pittsburgh for a few days before I drove up to Cleveland. I've had much more experience with that system over the years, but hadn't visited since 2005. The shadow of massive cuts to come seemed to hang heavily, and one can only hope that Port Authority is playing chicken with Harrisburg. That new North Shore subway seems rather a line to nowhere at the moment, but perhaps it will prove its worth over time, especially if extensions are ever possible. Off-peak headways on Pittsburgh's T, especially Library, seem quite longer than they used to be. Whatever the problems in Cleveland (and I confess I have much to learn), the general atmosphere seemed a lot less fatalistic. I hope to explore Cleveland some more in the future. In the meanwhile, feel free to explore my blog some more. It is admittedly geared more toward enthusiasts and historic issues than transit development and economics, though those issues do appear. I write a lot about Britain, also, but Ohio topics appear from time to time. For those of you with an interest in Ohio's interurbans, please see the August 11 post at http://tramsstophere.wordpress.com/wednesday-postcards/august-2010-postcards/ Thanks.