DM4

I wish they would have covered the entire garage with glass.

Yeah no big deal. It makes sense to go with the experts rather than assembling a random group of locals to work as a team and put this thing together. They just appear to be mad that they and their friends didnt get the job and $$$

Didn't see this story until now, but I don't watch the news and haven't kept up on internet news lately either. Terrible though. This did happen at East 18th and St Clair though, which is not as surprising as Euclid and East 6th. This quote from the article seems like a stretch. "The downtown area where the student was attacked is a bustling business district during the day."

Just rewatched the Case video. I too am surprised about all of the same video scenes. Not a major issue though. I do like that RTA shot in the Case video though.

Just a guess, and based on the renderings, there will be no parking.

I know we like to call ourselves a "foodie town" but Im starting to question that. Yes we have some great restaurants, but could it be because restaurants are all there is downtown storefront wise? Ive been looking at ad campaigns and nearly every city is calling themselves a food town. Its crazy. They are all boasting there food, culture, arts, etc. Its like watching a Cleveland video but with different pictures/videos. So I decided to look up best food town lists, even though lists are dumb. Basically none of them even mention Cleveland. Are we making out our food scene to be more than it is? Yes its the best scene in the region, by far, which is a great and important thing, but does it really compare nationally? I think we might lack enough food diversity which might hurt us in the rankings. I do like the new campaign though. Its less generic and more Cleveland.

It just seems to me that this idea that Cleveland needs to overcome a negative stereotype is dated. Just last night, I was walking into my local in the French Quarter and there were a bunch of people talking to the bartender. They were all talking about getting to Cleveland soon because the food scene "is just blowing up". None of these people are native Clevelanders, but Michael Symon and people taking notice of Sokolowski's James Beard Award are huge contributors to this idea. And now our campaign is "Don't believe what you hear about Cleveland"?!? "The word "Cleveland" elicits a negative reaction in focus groups unlike anything researchers have ever seen. Gilbert says that among slogans in competing markets, "Cleveland Rocks" was the most recognized behind "Pure Michigan." But the "Cleveland Rocks" slogan does not motivate people to come here. The slogan turns off people under the age of 45." http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2014/03/positively_cleveland_looks_to.html

For that area, those actually might be the only "pedestrians"! Terrible intersection.

From Twitter "Red Line gets a safer, smoother & faster ride after June, when RTA completes a $3.1mil track upgrade from Kinsman to Cedar-University." "Shaker Square drivers are in for a treat. RTA will spend $2.6 million to upgrade two grade crossings. Work starts in May or June." "RTA will build a new station on the Green Line, at E 116th & Shaker Blvd. The design contract went to City Architecture today for $489,000."

People want newer houses that have the amenities they desire. Central air, attached garages, large master bedroom with bathroom, large updated kitchen, etc. Today, crime and schools play a big part of it as well. Back then there were even more factors such as pollution and just a generally bad life in the city at the time. Most saw the opportunity to live in a clean, green city and own there own house as moving up in life and providing a better life for their family. And they were at the time. Cities were a much different place. Cities had no competition other than other central cities at the time. You cant build a crappy city and expect people to stay when they have other options. Its interesting because cities that built better neighborhoods still have those stronger neighborhoods today. They did face some decline but rebounded much faster and never got to the point that most of our neighborhoods reached. Their worst neighborhoods that saw the most decline are the neighborhoods that resemble our declining neighborhoods. Cleveland Heights is a good example. The better built, more attractive parts of the city have remained relativly stable while more generic sections are struggling to a degree. The same thing goes for most suburbs these days, but most lack the better housing stock Cleveland Heights has in sections, so when their time comes, they will probably be hurt much more.

^ Exactly. Pricing is based on the market and demand. New York City doesn't have extremely high housing costs for the hell of it. So many people want to live their that the prices continue to get higher and higher until nobody is willing to pay that price. And that hasn't happened yet!

Looks like near east is safer than near west! :-P Cleveland police: 66 rapes, 13 homicides in city since Jan. 1 Second District officers responded to the most rapes, 21, and the most homicides, 5, according to police. The Fourth District logged the most robberies, 113, the most felonious assaults, 65, and the most burglaries, 277. Third District officers responded to the fewest rapes, 9, and no homicides. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/03/cleveland_police.html

For me, the park is way to open. There seems to be a lack of a pathway system, places to escape the sun, smaller lawns, flowers, etc. All examples have several things in common. A central focal point, often surrounded by a large area (circle) or pavers. Outside of the center, there are pathways lined with trees, benches, landscaping and flowers, iron fencing, smaller pocket lawns, and lots of trees. Our center of our design is still a street. Superior needs to close in order to design a great space. Examples from successful parks

There is a huge size difference between the two spaces. Trafalgar Square is about 2 acres. Public Square is about 6 acres (almost 10 if you include the surrounding streets) Trafalgar Square is also home to a major museum which is a huge traffic generator. Add in the fact it has several historic monuments, completely surrounded by historic architecture, and is a tourist destination in a global city, the two spaces just don't compare. Public Square needs a massive, monumental fountain at the center of the square. This requires closing Superior but is well worth it. People are drawn to fountains. A massive one right in the middle could be seen from far away and would provide interesting views from Superior further East and West, Ontario, and other parts of downtown. Offices do very little for public space. Especially in a city where every building has an attached garage. Although that would be a little draw, the space itself doesnt really matter as much as the surroundings. You can build an amazing space but if the surrounding uses remain the same, the square will never be successful. You would probably get more people than there is now, but it would be far from being a great space as a whole.

It doesn't lack green space/plazas, it lacks GOOD spaces and well located spaces.

I think the main issue is the rapid station. Everybody leaving once the parade ends creates chaos. This is the best picture I could find but it is literally impossible to move and the place is packed and backed up to all of the entrances. If I remember correctly it takes hours to get through that line. I wouldn't be surprised if that situation hurts ridership for this parade. Still should be larger than usual though.

"The GCRTA itself launched a large scale branding campaign, which defined BRT as "Better Rapid Transit" and repeated this BRT mantra: "It's not a bus. It's not a train. It's the future.""

I think a lot of cities will be extremely disappointed with the results of their BRT if they head that direction. Our $$ number is because its Euclid Avenue which happens to be home to MAJOR institutions all with massive expansion already planned. So unless they have a similar situation I doubt they will see much development at all. Unfortunately I do not think we deserve #5 at this point. Im starting to question the validity of all these articles which blindly spit out our inflated number. If they truly believe the Healthline numbers, I cant really trust anything they report on.

Could West Prospect be used more? I know they already have several bus stops there and that area does provide slightly better rail connections.

I think a big factor which wont be a popular one is that most riders are heading to Tower City/Public Square. For those who are heading from east of University Circle, taking the train seems like the logical choice. But the ridership is lower than the Healthline. Why? I think it may be because for the Red Line, to get off at Tower City you NEED to have a ticket. For the Healthline you don't. That may also be why the Red Line is a much calmer crowd than the Healthline.

^ I agree that the stations should not be removed. They don't really cause much delay anyways. The biggest issue is red lights. Every trip the bus seems to get stuck by several long red lights. Why were the stations built after the lights instead of before?

I take the healthline often and time my trip almost every time. Consistently the trip between MOCA/Uptown and Playhouse Square takes between 30 to 40 minutes. If the Red Line had more downtown stops I would never take the Healthline, which is a shame since it has more convenient stations. Additionally the lack of a true schedule makes waiting for the healthline a pain, especially in poor weather. I always seem to wait 15 minutes for the next bus which is not pleasant during winter, especially when combined with the long trip time. At least the redline is usually right on schedule so you can better plan your commute.

Maybe not for the clinic due to walking time, but for UH and Case it is extremely faster to use the Red Line. Usually half the time. The new little italy station will make things even better. I use the healthline often due to the Red Line only having one downtown station and it is very slow. Extremely unreliable too with busses showing up completely at random. The "next bus" signs at the station also give meaningless information. You will see 4 busses in a row backed up and then not see another one for 15 minutes. And this is during the time when it should have 5 minute intervals. The Red Line is usually right on time in my experience and makes for much better planning. Also takes about 15 to 17 minutes to get downtown compared to the 40+ minute healthline. Which is funny since the other joe said "Cleveland population would have to double or triple." in order for them to convert it to rail. Although rail would be great and probably attract more development and be quieter (the busses sound terrible), it would still face all of the same speed/time issues. It would make things less packed which would be a huge plus but would fail as a transportation mode due to slow speeds.

It's not the third oldest

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History raises nearly $39 million and plans expansion start in 2016 Now it’s another museum’s turn for a big makeover. Just a few months after the Cleveland Museum of Art finished an eight-year expansion and renovation, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has announced it will finalize architectural plans for a similar physical transformation and break ground in 2016. The museum has also announced that it has raised nearly $39 million in cash and pledges toward the $125 million project since it began a capital campaign 16 months ago. http://www.cleveland.com/architecture/index.ssf/2014/03/the_cleveland_museum_of_natura_1.html