audidave

OK I didn't realize they were getting the entire parking deck on that side of Huron to build on. I was confused I guess by Gilbert's statements about how one would be able to walk across the street to the casino from the Q. So it looks then that the Amphitheater will be owned by Gilbert? He'll then have an arena, a casino, and an amphitheater. Are park place and boardwalk far behind??? OK. I guess the map above is way off the mark on what was bought since the article said it abutted the amphitheater..

That's pretty baffling! :-o So Forest City sold them a hillside. For a casino! I thought they were going to attach it to Tower City. But realistically with the land they have purchased it looks like there will be an escalator to heaven to connect the two locations to keep it within the constitutionally designated spot. Yes bye bye Tower City Amphitheater. And as I think about it a little more. It will probably be 2-4 levels of parking garage along the majority of tower city amphitheater with the casino above that then the escalator to the mother ship. Maybe this should be called East Flats casino... Rethought some more: I guess the expensive possibility is he does attach it to TC using the current parking deck and builds a new parking deck at the amphitheater.. There would be some serious jutting out over the valley with that plan perhaps knocking out the power plant.. Would this not spur Sherwin-Williams to move?

One other point about the 3C that has barely been made here is that the majority of travel on the 3C will not be end to end. Most people are just needing to get to Columbus whether they are coming from Dayton, Cinci, or Cleveland. Plus people in Columbus who have families in the other cities will have access to visiting those cities via rail. I can definitely see a tie-in for people in Dayton or Columbus wanting to use the airport in Cleveland. Other uses would be for large festivals that seem to be constantly going on in all of our cities. For example, I've thought about going to the music festival in Cinci but it just seems too far to drive just for that. I would certainly consider it more seriously if a train were an option. It seems typically the first use that pop's into people's heads are sports teams as a reason to take the train. Certainly there will be some but I feel there will be many, many more that take it for jobs/school/events/functions/conventions/protests/meetings/adventures than simply seeing Browns/Indians/Reds/Bengals.

Eh, I'm not nixing the idea.. I'm saying it is more a time for Metro RTA to put on big boy pants and start using the rail lines that they own as part of their own expanded service. Whether they would be able to negotiate with the CVNP in order to use the rights of ways through the rest of the Cuyahoga Valley to get to Steelyard Commons and beyond is another question. I'm just saying that not only is this a question of whether it is worth the cost of getting past the Jenning's junction. Its also a good place to re-assess the capabilities of CVSR with their goals and the same with Metro. At this point Metro has decided to leave the "train business" to CVSR. They own a lot of track that happens to go to a lot of populated places. What does it take for Metro to decide that they have the ROW and demand they need to start using the train as a core part of their system? They keep receiving ever increasing amounts of revenue from CVSR for using their tracks and their trains. Perhaps something can be worked out as a dual role of CVSR if Metro starts sending money back to them to provide the service with paid employees and fuel.

Perhaps he means the other mayor in Akron.. This would be a pretty big step up for the CVSR in "service". It would potentially overwhelm their volunteer workforce with throngs of people wanting to bring on packages purchased from Steelyard Commons stores in addition to the sightseeing tourists. I still think a separate passenger rail service from Akron Metro RTA is in order. CVSR does what it does very well. I would hate to see it lose its focus because its trying to be all things for everyone.

The plan to get to Steelyard Commons doesn't seem insurmountable. It makes sense that the primary mover will be the NPS. The next logical step would be to get the CVSR to a major station closer to Cleveland. The relatively deep pockets of the NPS with their goal of improving access would pretty much necessitate this. I don't think there is much usage of the tracks by CSX south of Harvard. Notice on Google Maps that there is a CVSR train parked North of Rockside road.

This was mainly an idea floated by the mayor to reduce the width of the Innerbelt. I don't see it being too realistic. There could be some minor future alterations especially with ODOT looking/needing to work on the Central Interchange in the next 5-7 years. This section of highway gets much usage at rush hour. He was also including the Innerbelt as a reference for the biomedical corridor's outline hinting at using some of the excessive land by the Innerbelt for new companies. I don't think Akron land prices are so high in the downtown area that the government can start to cannibalize the Innerbelt for potential medical companies. Besides, as more success happens to the Biomedical Corridor the more important the Innerbelt becomes as a thruway.

Fun. Sounds like a third potential multi-modal train station in Akron. That would likely link up with the other North/South CVSR trains and also the potential BRT from there to Summit Mall as well as the circulator buses in the Goodyear HQ/East Gate retail complex.

Good travelogue. I took the train on Thursday for the bike and ride and the train seemed to be filled with people. For a weekday I was expecting half as full. Based on that, I would say they should blow last year's numbers away. It sounds like they will need to add sidings to all the Akron stops. Yes, I expect the stations to become much busier in the near future. KJP, was there any insight from your gathering?

^Those numbers are just work commutes, correct? I can't find any demographics about UA students and where they live. Certainly it is several thousand commuting from Stark County.

Interesting. I'm rather dubious of seeing how Hudson will be connected to this. Perhaps a separate line that goes from Hudson to the intermodal station. There would need to be some serious track work in the Little Cuyahoga Valley for it to get to the Northside station or for a train leaving the intermodal to hop on the Metro line. To me, Hudson is an afterthought. I would prefer to see when/if the Cleveland to Pittsburgh line is connected to maybe then consider hooking up either Macedonia and/or Hudson to Akron. The obvious thing to me is Metro should be running the full track in Akron to Canton since this is the core of the system.

I don't believe connecting the two stations in downtown Akron is at all vital since the one is just a bus station. It may be called an Intermodal but I don't see passenger trains stopping there for another 5 years if that. Those trains will likely be coming from Kent. If they want to hop on a train that takes them some place else, they can take a bus or walk to Northside.

Nothing has been officially approved or commented on, but I believe within a few months there will be an announcement. Sources tell me that Summit County is looking at purchasing land for at least one new train station in the city of Akron.

Some old stale news from the CVNP. The signal gate updates took place last Fall. I believe that all road/train intersections in the park have lit up signal gates that close for trains. I'm not sure what that does for allowing higher speeds with those in place.. http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=4771 Alternative Transportation Program Launched Cuyahoga Valley National Park hosted the national announcement for the new Alternative Transportation In the Parks and Public Lands program (ATTPL) program on Monday, August 28th, at the Peninsula Depot Visitor Center in the village of Peninsula. Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett and Federal Transit Administrator James S. Simpson made the announcement joined by U.S. Senator Mike DeWine and Representative Ralph Regula. The grants are part of a program to promote alternative transportation in national parks and public lands. A total of $20 million will pay for 42 projects in 21 states and Puerto Rico. Over the next four years, a total of $97 million in grants will be awarded. The goal of the ATTPL program is to reduce pollution and congestion and preserve parklands and wildlife areas while increasing access for visitors, including the disabled. ATTPL was established under Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – A Legacy of Users of 2005 (SAFETEA-LU). Cuyahoga Valley will receive nearly $900,000 to make improvements to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Funding will allow for the purchase of a railroad maintenance vehicle and a second accessible railroad passenger car. It also includes design funds to rehabilitate existing rail and upgrade and/or install new railroad gates and signals. "We're excited to be included in this first phase of grants," said Cuyahoga Valley National Park superintendent John P. Debo, Jr. "We look forward to many more in the future." Cuyahoga Valley National Park was chosen for the announcement because of the number of grants that it was awarded and the diversity of projects that will be funded, Scarlett said. Other grants were awarded to Acadia National Park in Maine to purchase eight propane buses and two vans with trailers for visitors' bicycles. In Grand Canyon National Park, the money will be used to rebuild a shuttle-bus transfer area. Americans should be free to enjoy our national parks without having to worry about being stuck in traffic," Simpson said. "These grants will give travelers more ways to view America's true splendor. Immediately following the announcement everyone was invited to ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad through Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The speakers, most attendees, and some media participated in the ride hosted by the National Park Service, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association. Following the event, Scarlett spent time with Debo and the park’s non- profit friends group, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association (CVNPA). Scarlett met with CEO Deb Yandala, board president Dick Ainsworth, and select board members to discuss CVNPA initiatives in the national park as well as special projects.

I agree that since the whole purpose of buying the building was for consolidating county offices, they should let the next administration make those decisions. It would be unrealistic to put the building on the market now since it will likely sit for a solid six months unless they do a quick auction. Maybe the next county administration will decide that the building can be used by certain county offices. There had to have been some shred of reason to think initially the building would have been able to house some county workers. It will be refreshing to have one executive's vision vs three talking head's blurry vision.

Local rail station would make sense. This being a high speed end point coming from Orlando seems a little over the top. Sounds like their article states that the local transit though connects series of office parks but doesn't connect communities and a stadium wouldn't help, but that's not the stadium's problem...

^Agreed for most part. I usually just walk on the little path over the tracks from Northside to get downtown. It is hardly an arduous adventure to get over to Crave, Musica, or the art museum from there. That intersection scores the top composite score in the 2 county area for crashes. That data was over 2006-2008 when the lofts were just being built. (See table 2 on page 10 - http://www.ci.akron.oh.us/amats/pdf-temps/2006-08%20Traffic%20Crashes%20Technical%20Memorandum.pdf) I'm sure 70+% of it has to deal with the dramatic speed drop that is needed as "America's loneliest highway" abruptly ends. Hopefully AMATS will look at burying a couple lanes of 59 so that it can get past under Main St and under the Y-bridge before popping out onto MLK/Perkins.

Announcement! New hotel in place of 2nd tower with more condos at Northside Lofts basically... It should be pretty sweet from details! http://www.akronnewsnow.com/news/itemdetail.asp?ID=39947&section=news&subsection=localnews&title=A_New_Hotel_Coming_To_Downtown_Akron_ Plans have been unveiled for a new $16 million development in on the north end of Downtown Akron. It's a $16 million, 10-story, 120-room Marriott Courtyard Inn, to be built by the Testa Company. The new building will sit next to the Northside Lofts and the Vegiterranean Restaurant. The eatery is owned by Akron rock musician Chrissie Hynde.

Would a $20 million bike path be asked for if this bridge were re-situated further south to tie in to 77? ODOT could save some $$.. Plus with the expected $2billion+ building boom in downtown maybe the expected savings in new downtown land would appreciate to make it worth ODOT's time to re-evaluate.

Hard to say whether this should go into a city thread or here.. This is in downtown Cuyahoga Falls. The first is looking up the Cuyahoga towards the Sheraton Hotel. The other is looking further down the Cuyahoga Glens with a scenic lookout. I'm not sure if the waterfall is pure runoff from the highway and the downpour that came from the storms minutes earlier.

I think there's 2 different issues. Internal and external announcements. A moving bus making external announcements is silly. I'd say the perceived need for this is that buses have become much quieter over the years and like hybrid cars can sneak up on people at low speeds. I think a deep bass rumble towards the front of the bus will get more attention and be less annoying than a constant announcement. A rumble can be felt and is immediate.

^Good civics lesson.. You forgot political donor$.. Its the way the system is set up. In an ideal world we would have people making informed decisions for us but those are administrators not politicians. I would say that if there is nothing political pushing them then they may go for the informed choice. Its probably important to realize that its the "will of the people" the politicians are focused on. Its a very bold politician that goes against that. That's what makes 3C so tricky to implement is that there are so many politicians in the state house that will not be directly affected by it. Of course, there are those that will and still do not see the benefit or rather play political football with it and punt. I believe that the gubernatorial election will be a de facto referendum on 3C.

To me his opposition is pure politics not a lack of facts. He's a leading republican in the state and the 3C project is something proposed by Strickland. So as a good republican in an election year he opposes the project since they want to create the 3C as a total debacle to hang around Strickland's neck. If that is his party's strategy do you think he is wanting to see a holistic picture of the purpose of 3C rather than seeing this as a Democrat(Strickland) wanting to spend more money on something most of his North Central Ohio republican constituents will never ride?

Does it matter about the education of Bill Harris since he's a term-limited lame duck? There will be a new President of the Senate come January 2011. Not sure any financing decisions about 3C will be made before then..

Tremont sounds like a winner for everything that the OP has requested. Wanted to address the indie rock seen angle of which there is definitely a small one in Tremont. However, the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights gets the bulk of the touring, regional, and national indie rock acts that come through Cleveland. Check out the grogshop.gs for the amount and quality of upcoming shows.. Local shows on the Westside can be had at Cranky's Manatee Pub(formerly Matinee)in Tremont and also Happy Dog on Detroit Av. among some nice venues heading into Lakewood like Now That's Class and Brothers Lounge. Otherwise, Northeast Ohio has a huge and diverse music scene.