Enginerd

I'm hoping that new construction or conversions will include some amounts of condos. But I also had never heard of the "5 year rule" that was mentioned in the Scene article. I wonder if we'll then see more apartments-to-condo conversions, or lease-to-own, of existing inventory like Water Street.

KJP[/member] I totally agree with the sentiment on downtown ownership. You can take a look at real estate websites and see how truly limited the inventory of condos is. I've been looking to buy (millenial here), but it's discouraging when there are only two buildings with options...and one of them (Water Street) seems to just be converting as we speak. I'm not sure how analysts determine when there is "demand" but I can't imagine you could accurately judge it by one building having units available.

I alluded to this Plain Dealer article (2013) in the Mayor Jackson thread, but I figured I might as well post it here. It compares Cleveland's city council to peer cities. Just my two cents on Council...different 'scandals' are continually brought up, but all that happens is a council person will speak out with no real action taken. They've been critical, which is good. But they never actually do anything. With regards to efficiency though, I think we all have some sort of an idea of how poorly run the City's departments are, as wasteful spending has been reported on repeatedly. The administration probably thinks it's easier to tax it's working commuters and throw money at the problems than it is to actually fix the issues plaguing the city. Apologies for the pessimistic post. http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2013/05/cleveland_city_council_makes_m_1.html

Columbus has twice as many residents as Cleveland, and Pittsburgh has roughly the same as Cincinnati (~80,000 less). Also, how are you determining that council members do 5.3x the work of other employees? If it's comparing hours worked I don't think that equals productivity in either case. All these other cities have either 9 or 7 council members. Is Cleveland really getting that much more out of their 17? I think that's a fair question to ask.

Comparisons between Cleveland and peer cities have shown that this council is not the norm. They have more members, make more and spend more than similar city councils (Columbus, Cinci, Pittsburgh, Detroit).

This has been happening with celebrities for a while....they think if they apologize all repercussions should go away :/

That didn't mean mergers, because if it did those local governments would have turned on them hard and gone to their electorate. My point all along regarding this topic is that advocating full mergers, especially coerced, poisons the case for actual regionalism among people and towns who would benefit. I agree with you, going from independent communities straight to a merger would cause massive backlash. This is even evident in East Cleveland, even though they may have no choice really. Like anything else in government (and public opinion), change takes a lot of time. It makes sense to make small incremental steps. I think once these communities share a large amount of services, people may come to the realization that so much is shared already we might as well merge. That's how I imagine regionalism progressing. Some little nudges might be needed along the way.

If I remember correctly, Kasich and the statehouse republicans' rationale for cutting the local government fund was to try and 'convince' municipalities to embrace regionalism and pooling of resources. That didn't seem to be the course of action many of these cities took however.

An interesting article...GM has been making a lot of noise lately with the company investing in things other than their typical business. Now Maven, a ZipCar competitor. Looks like GM might think this is their future? http://www.wired.com/2016/01/maven-gms-car-sharing-scheme-is-really-about-a-driverless-future/

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to treat the roadway the exact same way we do today. The only difference MAY be if there are overhead wires limiting the truck bed height.

I know it would be a little more complicated than this...but it really seems like all you'd have to do is sawcut a slot along the current healthline route, then insert the metal guide trench. Can't be that much more to it. A cost estimate however, I have no idea.

Yeah, Grand Jury's are used to determine whether there is probable cause to issue an indictment. But I don't agree that kill a person = guilty. There are many other places within the ORC that detail this. It may not be apart of 2903, but other sections (like 2901). http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2015/08/when_does_ohio_law_allow_resid.html

Let me start by saying this is anecdotal, but as a 25y/o speaking to all of my friends, if the station isn't within a 10 minute walk of home it's unlikely to be used in everyday situations. With high traffic situations (e.g. Sporting events, festivals, ect) that changes because the cost/benefit shifts. I very much enjoy using the Rapid, but that's today's reality IMHO.

Agreed. Besides the mammoth price tag (should the State's largest ever project really be in Sciotio County?), Portsmouth was already in trouble. This doesn't help any of those people...only "commerce."

It is true...its be announced publicly shortly I believe. But the above its also correct, because a complete rebuild of the road is considered a major rehabilitation as long as no lanes are added. And my guess is that Brent Spence will still be happening. One way or another that brings needs to be rebuilt. But also because the bridge is owned by KYTC, it is in somewhat of a gray area within the new policy.

taestell[/member] will be be happy to know that the ODOT expansion of the past has come to an end. There is a major, yet to be announced, policy shift that will completely change the way ODOT prioritizes projects. And this includes no more capacity adding projects. The last capacity addition jobs will be completed in appx 2019 (after the final sale of Turnpike bonds), and after that ALL funding will be appropriated to rehabilitation projects.

With the way the City of Cleveland currently runs things...it would be in everyone's best interest to create another port authority (or perhaps incorporate it with the current Port Authority?). But what incentive would the City, or any other airport have to do that? I'm not sure how this process has worked in the past, with the creation of today's port and GCRTA.

^ I would assume busses slated to go straight thru Public Square would have their respective stops located so that they will not be in the curb lane at that time.

I think this is really going to come down to what the City wants to do. ODOT may be getting the flak in the article, but I'm pretty sure they're just managing the project (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). The City is responsible for the scope of the work...and any strategic decision regarding the truck/pedestrian traffic will need to be driven by them. Pun intended ;) I don't get the feeling that City Hall is going to say much. But then again that has never been Jackson's style.

It's really amazing (and fantastic) that many, if not all of the buildings in this view are still with us today.

It's pretty well understood that, in general, speeds cannot be restricted simply by speed limits. Cars will drive the road's natural "free flow" speed regardless of what's posted. I'm sure everyone has noticed this before. So I agree with the above. You can post the '35 MPH' sign, but unless you make other adjustments to the road itself or a massive enforcement campaign, you won't notice a difference.

^any agency with police powers, whether public or private, has all authority bestowed on them as a peace officer. So maybe UCPD didn't used to be a full fledged agency? Also, any citizen may do a 'citizens arrest' in the case of a felony, which a robbery is. If I remember correctly, this is why police in Ohio are able to make felony arrests anywhere, regardless of thier jurisdiction. I believe there was a Ohio Supreme Court ruling about this. This story is pretty disturbing. If UCPD didn't have a mutual aid agreement with CPD...that seems like a big issue. Thier jurisdictions would be concurrent anyway, so it would be extremely silly not to have an agreement in place. Additionally, shouldn't thier duty be to investigate whether this 'was just a fight' or not?? That seems pretty negligent to me.

I'm baffled by this. I'm sure in some specific instances this may be a preferable configuration...but I don't see any reason here. And Andy Cross' explanation makes no sense. Why would this configuration discourage 'hook' turns and the other promote them? Some in the attached article were citing it as an area to place plowed snow, but that is silly as well. Andy Cross sounds more like a stubborn designer who 'knows more' then all of these publications seem to.

Not only is it a monumental project, but the need to maintain traffic doubles, if not more, the total construction duration (and adds MAJOR costs). When balancing saving time/money with minimizing delays, minimizing delays wins 9/10 times. So yes, it's been going on forever :)

Frank Jackson is good at a lot of things, but the stark cronyism that he has shown with hires and fire all across the City is really outrageous. Almost none of his administrators seem to have been hired for competency.