TPH2

^ Agree 100%. Also, it particularly bothers me when people complain about spending money on renovations instead of on the team because I wonder how many of those same people would be complaining if public money had been used on the renovations. Why don't we applaud the Dolans for making a big investment in the facility with their own money, as opposed to Unlce Jimmy who wanted the city to foot the bill for FES upgrades? And as for the team, it looks like they're going to have a pretty good team this year too.

I'd rather they put a 1st place team on the field. Then they wouldn't have to worry about marketing gimmicks. They might just sell out multiple seasons at 81 games each.... Professional sports has to be multi faceted today. A team in our market can't bank on making the playoffs every single year and there aren't enough hard core baseball fans to fill the stadium every night. You have to give casual fans a reason to come, especially for those years in which the team might not be a contender.

And according the Washington Post, the third best beer selection in all of MLB: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/sports/best-beer-in-baseball/

Last year I believe it was $7.75 for a 12 ounce Great Lakes. Not cheap, but I've seen worse. You can't beat the $4 12 oz domestic draft deal though.

Replace? Like with BRT? Touché, but no, he mentioned in last week's Sound of Ideas program the need for new rail cars. Per KJP a few months ago, will be interesting to see how many they order to get a sense how committed they are to current service levels on the entire rail system. He mentioned the need for them, but also admitted that they have no plans in place to replace them nor any idea how they'd pay for it. If that's indeed true then I'm with Vince. Because that is absurd. My apologies, I was mixing up things in my head. He said that we have the oldest average rail fleet in the country and will need to be replaced in 2025 at a cost of $250-300 million, and said that's something "we're looking at in the future as well." It seems though that there are some doubts about the rail fleet making it that long, as KJP as noted a few times.

Replace? Like with BRT? Touché, but no, he mentioned in last week's Sound of Ideas program the need for new rail cars. Per KJP a few months ago, will be interesting to see how many they order to get a sense how committed they are to current service levels on the entire rail system. He mentioned the need for them, but also admitted that they have no plans in place to replace them nor any idea how they'd pay for it.

I'm not sure minds are capable of being opened at ODOT unfortunately...

Right before they removed the home opener as an available game to buy tickets, a few new seating sections appeared on the menu, including standing room only. So you may be right.

"@Indians: Our Home Opener is SOLD OUT -- and did so in 11 minutes. See you on April 10 vs. Detroit!" 11 minutes? That's funny. I was online at 10:00 on the dot trying to buy tickets, but nothing was available. Yet there are thousands of tickets on StubHub already. Thanks, Indians.

^ Here we go again. It's obviously frustrating for the Green Line riders, but it's a whole lot more frustrating when RTA doesn't relay the reason behind your inconvenience (and in this case, your ~seventh day in a row of being inconvenienced). Edit: 500th post! Woohoo

American mass transit is dying Three of the four largest systems in the country have been crippled this winter — and the worst is yet to come "We’ve learned to expect such things from our ancient and perennially underfunded subway. But the slow decline of its infrastructure doesn’t explain the MTA’s obscurantist approach to its own shortcomings. When things go wrong, the agency never effectively communicates the scope of the problem, leaving commuters to guess their best route home — or whether they should remain in the subway at all or try their luck above ground." Sound familiar??? http://www.salon.com/2015/03/01/american_mass_transit_is_dying/

Cleveland.com gallery of our historic streetcars: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/03/clevelands_historic_streetcars.html#incart_gallery I always enjoy looking at these, but then I always feel sad afterwards.

The reason I'm unbelievably frustrated with all this is more so the lack of communication from RTA and the lack of competence of RTA staff. Looking through the Tweets and Facebook posts, you see that people were not given clear instructions on what was happening. No answers to whether the trains were delayed, whether shuttle buses were coming, whether they needed to find an alternate way. When problems arise, people are significantly less likely to be very upset when you fully communicate the problem to them and you tell them how you are going to rectify it. And if you are friendly and apologetic about it, that also goes a long way. I'm going out on a hunch here saying that I doubt the RTA staff acted in such a way. This is not how you increase ridership on your transit system...

Well, according to the esteemed CEO of the best public transit agency in North American in 2007, we should plan for delays when the weather is bad. Those rapid riders this morning should have known to leave an hour earlier than normal.

Why have a 15 minute delay, when you can have a 30 minute delay?! @GCRTA 17m All rail lines are currently on a 30 min delay.

Damn I love that city. Just looking at your pictures made me feel warm and happy

I can't wait to hear Tom Hamilton's voice again on the radio for the first time.

Yeah, I'm okay, there's just something in my eye...or someone's cutting onions in my office or something... 9_8nY_LQL3w

Chillwave is my number 1 favorite beer of all time. They are starting to sell 4 packs in the GLBC gift shop today as well.

Response from RTA's Facebook account regarding the cause of the delays, "Tom, this extreme weather we've been experiencing over the past few weeks has really taken a toll on our equipment. That being said, many trains are in for repairs and we are not able to run all equipment that is needed for full service. Our mechanics are working around the clock to fix this issue so we are able to provide a higher frequency of service. At this time, we are doing the best we can with the equipment that is available to us. Thanks for your understanding."

It's like clockwork: @GCRTA: All Rail (Red, Blue & Green Lines) are currently on a 20 minute delay.

That's all true, but prepared foods and the food stations probably have the smallest profit margins for the store (if they even make money at all). I think they'll be more successful with these things than their other stores, but relying on those sectors financially is still risky.

In fairness to RTA, Cleveland has had more snow this year--more than twice as much as the Twin Cities, for example--than any of the other Midwestern cities with rail, which, of course, are not very numerous. I haven't lived there in years, but I remember during my decade of life in Chicago that its rail system--the L, anyway--was sometimes nearly disabled by the wintertime weather. I have experienced some delays in RTA's rail service this winter but none have been extraordinary. On the other hand, there was a day a month or so ago when I drove to work and spent a good two hours in east-side gridlock on the way home; it was a day when it was snowing during the evening rush hour. It's not so much the snow that has been causing issues, but rather the cold temperatures.

I don't disagree with that. But when the caller asked Calabrese what can we do to make the light rail more reliable, he immediately went into excuse making mode (Look at Boston, we can't control the weather, we can't control water main breaks, etc). He then said RTA is investing in upgrading the system and then as examples talked about rebuilding stations, at grade crossings, and replacing railroad ties. That's all great, but those things don't help with the issues that have been facing the rail lines this winter. But to your point about bad weather, it can be sunny skies yet 2 degrees and a commute via car would be fine. Yet, that causes problems for rail. Between bad weather and cold air, that is a huge percentage of the days during the winter.

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance projects that there will be ~18,000 residents downtown in the next couple years, and ~25,000 by 2022. Like BelievelandD1[/member] said, Heinen's knows they jumped in a bit early and were well aware of the risks. But I have a hard time believing this won't ultimately be successful. I know it's only the first two days, but the energy there has been great.