PHS14

Public Square isn't going to be officially re-opened until June 30. Not sure what that has to do with what i was asking. i already knew the official re-opening date. Perhaps the points you made regarding the canon, lighting and the wood-stained bleeding will be addressed prior to Thursday. We'll see. I already mentioned the lighting at SS Monument and I expect the seating issue to be addressed ASAP.

Public Square isn't going to be officially re-opened until June 30.

Of course it's perfectly viable. It's not about completely relieving our sales tax burden, it's about at least making non-residents pay more of their "fare" share on the limited, usually busy occasions they choose to use the system. And the one-time cash infusions can help service run more smoothly on those busy days. And it's pure spin to say that people not living in Cuyahoga County are the ones paying a "penalty fee" with my non-resident fare plan, because at $5 per round-trip pass, they're coming nowhere near covering the full cost of their trip. Unless that price was increased to more than $25, there is no "penalty." But hey, with our county sales tax which applies to everyone, non-residents only need to spend $2000 while in town to make up the difference to more fully cover their trip! If anything, it's Cuyahoga County residents who pay the penalty for having to fund the system at a base level and then pay the exact same fare as non-residents. Again, wouldn't normally be a problem in my opinion except on busy days when we're getting bumped. Best of luck in your endeavors.

Start with an automatic across-the-board rate hike of a few bucks on days when usage is projected to be the highest. Then, people that don't want to pay the one-day higher fare either buy a fare card IN PERSON the day before or buy a fare card online using a credit/debit card with a valid Cuyahoga County home address. Obviously non-residents could come in and take advantage of the in person discount the day before, but that would require them to make a long drive for minimal savings. I'm sure there are imperfections in the above plan, but it's just one idea to help balance the burden off of Cuyahoga County residents. Just drive and park. This isn't even a viable idea. What are the projected highest usage days? St Pat's Day, Indians opener and hopefully some more championship parades. Otherwise, this is not going to relieve County residents' RTA sales tax burden. Great for visitors, conventions etc...you pay a penalty fee for not living in Cuyahoga County.

Just watched this video on youtube...lol.

They're not interlopers, but they also shouldn't bump taxpaying residents. Do you see any problem with my solution for an alternate pricing structure on really busy days? Or do you think this current free riding (get it?) situation is okay? Is the 1% RTA sales tax applicable to only county residents? Are non-county residents exempt from paying this tax? The number of taxpayers paying any taxes in Cuyahoga County is decreasing. The county and city needs to increase its tax base by attracting residents, jobs, visitors, tourists etc. Of course non-residents still must pay those taxes when they shop in Cuyahoga County. But again, I'm sure if we had access to the numbers, the vast majority of the revenue from that tax comes from Cuyahoga County residents. It would be shocking if that were not the case. As long as taxes are higher here in Cuyahoga County, as long as residents are the ones footing the bill for things like public transit, parks, stadiums (!), that everyone in the region has equal access to, incentives exist for people to move outside of the county. Here's a localized example: I live in a city that has no ice rink. The neighboring suburb has a rink that their residents have paid taxes towards building and maintaining. If I want to go skating there, they will let me, but I must pay a non-resident fee which is greater than what residents pay. There's absolutely no reason why services such as public transit couldn't follow a similar pricing structure. Why would anyone want to live in Cuyahoga County to pay higher taxes and be charged an additional fee (which is the same as non-residents) for the services we're already funding? In terms of attracting visitors, if the RTA charged more for non-residents, especially on its busiest days, you wouldn't really be scaring anyone away. The comparison of a local, suburban ice rink admission fee to a major, regional transit system is ridiculous. How would you structure a fare penalty for transit riders based on residency. Let's see: for starters, ID checks at the airport? Then expand it to every station and bus stop in the region. Please.

Consider as well the RTA cost related to the Square being closed off for special events.

I thought you were all about saving taxpayers' money? It can be closed off; don't understand your statement.

Buses routed around the Square seemed to be doing OK during construction. Close Superior to all bus traffic. It's going to be closed for special events; why not just close it off now?

They can't do both? You equate wifi, electric vehicles, and autonomous navigation with politics? You are suggesting this grant was given so as to help Clinton get elected? Do you have support for that statement outside of conjecture? Personally I was under the impression this initiative was being done as a pilot program to challenge cities to incorporate emerging technologies into their transportation infrastructure in order to increase efficiency and reach. It's a relatively small amount of money in transportation budget terms, but it served its purpose well - by being a catalyst for private funding and a motivating factor for cities to modernize. If Columbus can use the opportunity to gain critical insight into how the technologies function, they can utilize them in the existing or any proposed transportation systems. I haven't heard anyone say this will solve transportation in Columbus, simply that it will enhance it. You're naïve if you completely miss out on the political aspect of this nonsense and other pork barrel baloney, party affiliation aside. Enhance what transportation system in Columbus? It barely has a bus system; it just started a bus shuttle to its airport last month. Finally the remedy for inner-city job woes: driverless cars to take inner-city residents to jobs because we all know that it's not a lack of skills but lack of transportation to get these folks to those high-paying corporate positions.

Buses routed around the Square seemed to be doing OK. Close Superior to all bus traffic. It's going to be closed for special events; why not just close it off now?

Looks great. Now let's keep it from turning into a $50 million homeless camp.

Kamms Corners needs more middle class families to keep it stable.

So, this Smart Cities grant$+ is to provide driverless cars for Easton and 'hood neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio. I would have thought Columbus would want to create a real public transit system first. Kiosks, driverless and electric cars, wifi....sounds like political porkbarrel. Oh wait, it's a big presidential election year. Which state is crucial to carrying an election?

They're not interlopers, but they also shouldn't bump taxpaying residents. Do you see any problem with my solution for an alternate pricing structure on really busy days? Or do you think this current free riding (get it?) situation is okay? Is the 1% RTA sales tax applicable to only county residents? Are non-county residents exempt from paying this tax? The number of taxpayers paying any taxes in Cuyahoga County is decreasing. The county and city needs to increase its tax base by attracting residents, jobs, visitors, tourists etc. The RTA needs to handle busier days; yesterday was a once in a lifetime event. St Paddy's Day and some big sporting events are considered busier days. No system can handle that large of a single day passenger increase. People were told not to drive and to use RTA. Turned out that driving was much easier; RTA rapid lines were hours long.

Looks like the soft opening is going on now (7:10pm) Thursday.

It works: Malls A-C; who wants names attached to these public spaces. Too much controversy today anyway with the ''naming''. Selling naming rights would generate $$ but who wants more corporate names for these magnificent public spaces?

Obviously Public Square is open yet but I hope the S&S Monument is better lit at night. I recall a blue lighting hitting the top of the column in the past so I'm hoping there is at least a duplicate of that, even if it's not blue-lit. Softer lighting of the base would be nice as well.

A true classic! Thanks for posting this.

It's almost here....

Attracting kids and families was the point of these things. Hope to see tons of families downtown this summer enjoying these things (and spending money in local businesses!) Good excuse to use the Rapid, kids love riding trains as well.

This is not a beat-up on Love but, as you state, looking at the facts. I've been thinking the same thing about him. This is the Finals Game 7 after all. I'm trying not to think too much about Game 7; tough not to though. Just want to head out at 7:50pm tomorrow, grab a beer and see what happens. LeBron has been amazing the past two games (at GSW and CLE)...OK, I'm talking about it...I did say I'm trying. This is a brutal weekend.

Sure looks like he targeted that guy. There's a pause, look and then that spiral right into that fan. I knew Curry wasn't as easy going as he comes across. Spoiled brat.

Of course Curry isn't going to be suspended for Game 7, but he should be. Does it matter if he was aiming for a particular fan? No. That thing was going to hit some fan in the seating area regardless. Players that throw objects into the stands should be fined and suspended. End that issue once and for all. Someone will get injured. What's 25K to Curry?

Curry should be suspended for Game 7. Throwing his mouth-guard and hitting a fan is not acceptable. He didn't even aim it toward the floor; threw straight into the stands. Lucky he didn't hit someone in the face with that thing. Unacceptable behavior from anyone let alone the NBA's ''MVP''. Just showing his true colors I guess. Things not going his way, lookout. Next season maybe the NBA should place hockey like glass shields where Curry plays in case he has another tantrum. Win or lose, it was nice seeing Curry on his #ss a couple of times and that brutal Curry blocked-shot by LeBron will be on my replay list for some time to come. To add: watching the video again from another shot it looks like Curry was aiming for a particular fan at courtside. Right at him and Curry, of course, hit his target. What a brat.