TPH2

RTA approves budget with possible fare hikes By James Ewinger, The Plain Dealer Follow on Twitter on December 15, 2015 at 2:16 PM, updated December 15, 2015 at 3:45 PM CLEVELAND, Ohio – The RTA board of trustees on Tuesday approved a $308 million operating budget that takes effect Jan. 1, 2016. Passage gives tentative approval to fare increases and what have been called minor service cuts. Joe Calabrese, the transit authority's CEO and general manager, said at the meeting that there will be no service cuts to paratransit service. Earlier, RTA said light and heavy rail lines would not experience service reductions. http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/12/rta_approves_budget_with_possi.html

The north end of the ticketing concourse is complete

Do we even want to get into a conversation about the amount of things the Clinic has demolished in the neighborhood?

What sickens you about the parking garage? Mainly the fact that the Clinic sits in one of the most transit rich areas of Cleveland and yet spends millions of dollars to build huge parking facilities, thus encouraging their employees to drive to campus, thus creating lots of congestion in University Circle. This is also the first major development to take place along the new "Opportunity Corridor," which basically shows that the main purpose for the road is to just funnel cars from the west side into the Clinic's parking garages.

That could be. I grew up on both the east and west sides, but I never lived south of I-480

Good thing we're building another $300+ million road then...oh, wait

As a Clevelander, I never hear people here say things like that.

^ Welp, I guess it's going to be a while before I can see the inside of the old National City Bank lobby again... (hoping that one day I'll be able to afford eating at Jeffy Ruby's)

I had a feeling you would be chiming in with that comment haha. I was surprised to see that as well. I never saw renderings for that area

Some new construction photos: More at http://tribevibe.mlblogs.com/2015/12/13/photo-gallery-latest-images-from-cleveland-indians-progressive-field-renovations/

Philly is planning to spend $700 million over the next decade for new streetcar rolling stock and other upgrades to the system Route to the Future Jason Laughlin, Staff Writer Posted: Sunday, December 13, 2015, 3:01 AM One daughter under her arm, another by her side, Yashika McKnight struggled to carry a collapsed pink stroller up the trolley's steep steps before its doors closed. She put her daughters, Faatimah, 5, and Saajidah, 20 months, in seats and caught her breath as the Route 34 trolley - a white Kawasaki streetcar that dates to the Reagan presidency three decades ago - pulled away from the underground stop in Center City. They were heading on a recent day to the dentist from home in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood. "They need a newer trolley system," a frustrated McKnight said. "They need one badly." Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20151213_Hed_W_Initial_Caps.html

I found that the USS Gar was there from 1948-59 as both a Navy Reserve training ship and a museum ship. I haven't been able to find anything yet on a submarine that was there before that.

Report: Gilbert's Quicken pulls trademark on 'RocketRail', has M-1 Rail name rights By Ian Thibodeau | [email protected] on December 11, 2015 at 4:15 PM, updated December 11, 2015 at 4:16 PM DETROIT - Crain's Detroit Business reports Dan Gilbert's Quicken Loans trademarked the name "RocketRail" not long after postponing a naming announcement for the M-1 Rail streetcar in Detroit. Officials said in November "The streetcar's name will be announced at a later date as we have some additional steps to complete in the process ... construction continues on schedule as we build toward passenger operations in 2017." http://www.mlive.com/business/detroit/index.ssf/2015/12/report_gilberts_quicken_pulls.html

Great picture, thanks for sharing. But looking at that parking garage makes me sick

^ Despite your reservations, I think the Metropolitan would still be a good choice. Plus it's part of Marriott's rewards points system. If he's okay with slightly "lower class" I also suggest the Holiday Inn Express on Euclid or Residence Inn (also Marriott) on Prospect. Those are probably two of the best location wise and they are both very nice, despite not being luxury brands. The Residence Inn also was recently renovated The Wyndham is a good option as Playhouse Square looks great these days. What about the Hyatt at the Arcade? I've never actually stayed there myself so I can't speak to the quality of the service or rooms.

Are we surprised by any of this? Cleveland City Council has long been a joke. Not only are half of its members overall incompetent, the body as a whole is just a rubber stamp for the administration. This ordinance was a rarity in that some members actually voted no. The system that we use for city council is so antiquated and we would benefit from a charter revision that blows it up and starts anew.

The first of the new trolleys has arrived. I think they look great. The 35' length is a big improvement too.

I've been saying for years that the Cod should be moved closer to North Coast Harbor so that it can be better integrated with the other lakefront attractions. Below is the USS Torsk museum ship at Baltimore's Inner Harbor which is docked right across from the National Aquarium. I remember seeing this for the first time and wishing the Cod was similarly situated near the Rock Hall. I especially don't like how the Cod site is surrounded by a barbed wire fence.

Reminder that the public meeting for the proposed changes to the #45 & #21 is tonight at the new Max Hayes High School. First meeting is from 4-5pm, second is 6-7pm. Address is 2211 W. 65th St. RTA suggests taking the #22 bus to get there, however, the #45 (the one on the chopping block) is much more convenient. http://www.riderta.com/news/dec-10-2015-rta-sets-public-hearings-discuss-routes-21-and-45-45a

But Public Square was not an attractive place to be before. It was a place I actively avoided walking through unless I absolutely needed to, or if I needed to catch a bus. As a downtown resident, I can see myself walking the distance to go to the new Public Square just to be in an attractive green area, whether that be to read a book, eat lunch, just hang out, etc. I'm confident it will be a draw for people, even those who don't reside/work right adjacent to it. It also makes development around the square that much more attractive. And the eventual May Company conversion and Weston's WHD development will also put a lot more people in proximity of the square 24/7. Also, I can't imagine Jacobs' lot staying idle that much longer.

Or Campus Martius in Detroit... I am not impressed with Fountain Square. Campus Martius is a much better example I would like to see for Public Square. More open and better public interaction with the space. It's hard to make great comparisons between Public Square and Campus Martius/Fountain Square as PS is massive compared to both of those. The thing I like about both of those parks in Detroit and Cincy is that the buildings create a sense of intimacy when you're on the square, especially in Cincy. PS will be different because all of the components will be much more spread out, so I think it might lose some of the things I like about FS and CM. But I also like the idea of a larger park type space in the center of the city. Public Square will finally actually function as a New England style "village green."

I never had strong negative feelings about Public Square either...until I started spending a lot of time in other peer cities and saw how much better it could be. Then I fully realized how ugly, unusable, underutilized, and awful it was.

Programmng special events never seemed impossible. 4th of July Cleveland Orchestra events worked great. So did Winterfest. The 4th of July concert and Winterfest were nice because the roads in the square were shut down. It was during those events that I would often think about the untapped potential of Public Square and how it could be an active civic gathering spot for more than just a couple days during the year

Or Campus Martius in Detroit...

What about the $30 million that was raised with private funds? I agree that investing in neighborhoods is important and has been overlooked in this town, but Public Square has been an awful public space at the center of our city for decades. I think this project will be transformative in so many positive ways for decades to come. Plus it's going to a space that can be used by everyone in the city and has the best public transit access of any place in the region-- as opposed to shelling out millions to build a facility that will be managed by a private organization who gets to reap the profits of said facility and charge premium prices to the city residents who wish to access it.