gildone

^So the Chinese left us in the dust too. They already have one of the most state-of-the-art air traffic control system in the world-- ours is archaic by today's standards. Just think, all the cheap salad shooters, shoes, and toys we buy from China is financing this. So much for the American Empire...

It's about time someone other than rail advocates said this. :clap:

KJP: Excellent comments. Perhaps on a more basic level, I think the EC is going to attract a lot of new riders from existing areas-- primarily downtown, Cleveland State, all the condos near the Cleveland Clinic (as well as the Clinic itself), and University Circle. Why? Because old Euclid Avenue was in such poor shape-- rough street, slow buses with no light timing whatsoever-- that people who are otherwise driving between these points down Chester or Carnegie (emphasis on between, not driving to from elsewhere) will now choose the bus because it will be faster and more comfortable. Also, I think you're going to get a lot of people (like me) boarding the Red Line from the west of downtown to get to University Circle and Little Italy. The University Circle RTA stop is a bit of a hike along a wide and busy street and even though there are sidewalks, it's not an enjoyable walk because of the traffic and noise. The walk to Little Italy from the stop is much more enjoyable, but for many (not me) it's a bit long. With the Silver Line, people can connect from Tower City and get a faster, more comfortable ride to University Circle that eliminates a substantial portion of the walk from the RTA stop. All the museums and Little Italy are closer to the Silver Line than than the Red Line. I live in Berea, and I can assure you, I will be going to UC and Little Italy more often once the Silver Line is up and running. I will probably also make stops to/from to the new Barnes & Noble and other shops by Cleveland State, to Gallucci's, etc. I'm even contemplating taking the Red Line to Tower City, and connecting to the Silver Line to go to Severance Hall and Playhouse Square. As more development occurs along Euclid, there will be more places to go which will attract still more riders. Just my 2 cents...

This is why you build quality transit like the Silver Line. Better, roomier, faster buses along a corridor that has piqued developers' investment interest, you will attract new riders. The "old" Euclid Corridor was slow, inefficient, along a beat up street, through a "no man's land" between downtown and the Cleveland Clinic/University Circle. The Silver Line is changing the equation significantly. This is what people like Feagler are incapable of grasping.

Glad to hear this is moving forward. I thought this project had stalled.

^Tom Whipple is a reporter for the Falls Church News-Press in Falls Church, Va. He's also a member of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas-- USA chapter.

Another perspective: The $600 billion we've spent in Iraq would have constructed 24,000 miles of European-style high speed rail on our own soil and would have done far more for our energy security.

^If the ridership is so high, why split it up? Isn't a packed bus a good thing for the financial performance of a bus route?

I hate to say it, but in some respects, Dick Feagler has outgrown his usefulness. He really doesn't have a clue about how transit projects like the Euclid Corridor are helping revitalize urban cores in many US cities. True, most other cities are going with streetcars or light rail, but these hybrid buses may end up working just as well, particularly with our snowy winters. My dad recalls the streetcar days and says it wasn't uncommon for snow on the streets to get packed into ice and cause a streetcar to derail every now and then. It's easy to sit back and criticize, it's entirely another thing to get off your rear end and take a look at the building renovations that are already occurring along the corridor. A monorail would look positively ugly along Euclid Ave, not to mention separate people from the street. And who's going to ride it? ME!

^it's 5-8 billion barrels and will likely yield closer to 5 billion. 8 billion is 400 days of US consumption at 20 mbd. We need a Saudi Arabia about every 10 years to keep pace. It isn't going to happen.

A site called "EnergyTechStocks .com" has two articles predicting oil prices-- one says $50/barrel oil could be right around the corner, the other says $150/barrel. Both articles ignore soaring demand in China, India, and many oil producing nations and basic petroleum geology. I would have to say that, IMHO, this isn't a site to go to for tips on investing, especially in the energy markets: Why $50 oil is just around the corner: http://energytechstocks.com/wp/?p=523 (reason given, traders have made the price artifically high) Why $150 oil is just around the corner: http://energytechstocks.com/wp/?p=522 (reason: oil producing countries aren't investing enough to keep production up-- no mention of the fact that production in any oil field eventually peaks, then declines).

JMasek said "closed circuit cable TV" in his original post. That confused me because to me, that means televisions blasting stupid talk shows and cable TV news, not security cameras or LED signs scrolling useful information for riders. I guess I didn't understand the term. It sounds like JMasek meant security cameras. That's a different story then. I don't have a problem with security cameras.

If RTA's budget is tight, I don't think buying cable TV for the rail stations is a necessary expense. Actually, I'm getting pretty tired of seeing TV's almost everywhere I go now-- even at Marc's.

They do have a lot of gas, that's true. But, even that's a finite resource. The fact that they have begun thinking about a post-oil economy is very telling.

That's a nice way to perk up your commute. :)

Russia is due to hit its peak in the next few years, maybe middle of the 2010's at the latest. They also may have damaged many of their fields by overpumping them in the 1980's (which reduces the total amount of recoverable oil). And, there is a lot less oil in the Caspian basin than was originally thought. I caught an article on Energybulletin.net that was about how Russia has begun having internal dialog within the government and with China about "post oil".

It has been about 5 years since I rode Amtrak out of Cleveland. I always used to park my car there long term and it was never an issue. I still see cars there during the day, so people are parking long term anyway. They also close the gate when the station isn't open. I doubt that Amtrak personnel enforce long term/short term parking there. I once saw the same broken down car with a front wheel jacked up (no tire) parked in the same spot there for nearly a year. Your train will likely be on time on the return trip. The freights tend not run many trains on holidays.

^yes, peabody99, just read Sleeping With the Devil: How America Sold Its Soul for Saudi Crude by Robert Baer (CIA agent who worked in the Mideast for 22 years and who George Clooney's character was loosely based upon in Syriana).

Although China doesn't get a lot of oil from the Saudis now, 30% is still a big increase--especially since it appears that Ghawar has peaked. With news like this, $100+ per barrel can't be far away... China seeks 30 pct increase in Saudi oil imports * Reuters * Friday November 9 2007 BEIJING, Nov 9 (Reuters) - China has asked for a 30 percent increase in crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia for 2008 and also aims to raise imports from Iran, partly to feed two new refineries amid steady demand growth, trading sources said on Friday. Sinopec Corp, Asia's top refiner, wants to increase Saudi crude imports to 600,000 barrels per day for next year, up from this year's 460,000 bpd, a trading source close to the supply talks told Reuters... http://news.oneindia.in/2007/11/09/china-seeks-30-pct-increase-in-saudi-oil-imports-1194606324.html

Good point. I didn't think of that, although a lot of Chinese restaurants are take-out or fast-food style eat in, so they don't have wait and buss staff. Of course, most Chinese restaurants are independently owned and since BW3 is a chain, there is a whole corporate structure to support.

A chunk of those "grow nothing" subsidies are for the conservation reserve program which is designed to conserve topsoil. Since we're still losing topsoil at an alarming rate, it's one of the few farm subsidies that actually does anything good, IMHO.

There's a confluence of things happening that's causing the price of wings to go up-- Increased transport costs due to higher oil prices as referenced earlier, the increase in the cost of corn-based animal feed due to the ethanol boom, and in Ohio the increase in the minimum wage.

Always be wary of estimates that say a field could hold "as much as". When petroleum geologists calculate estimates for the amount of recoverable crude, they give a range of numbers using a system of "P" estimates. The high number is referred to as the P10 estimate which means there is a 10% probability of having X number of recoverable barrels. The low number is P90 which means there is a 90% probability of having Y barrels. The P10 estimate is always the highest and least accurate. The P90 is always the lowest and most accurate. The P10 estimate is what almost always gets reported by the media when a new field is discovered. So, look for the actual number of recoverable barrels to be less than 8 billion. I just did a different calculation than 8th and State: even if the number is 8 billion, that represents 400 days of US consumption at 20 million barrels per day. I seem to recall from Matt Simmons' book that we need a Saudi Arabia about every 8-10 years just to keep the current level of production going for the next several decades.

JMasek... maybe you can find something out for me. Over a year ago, I notified RTA of what seems to me to be both a potential liability problem and a customer service problem with the 86 bus. RTA has done nothing that I can see to address this potential problem (for those who don't know, the 86 runs between Lakewood, the Brook Park RTS, and Sprague Road in Berea). The problems are as follows: The southbound bus makes a stop at the northwest corner of the 237 and Cargo/Eastland Road intersection (I drive through this intersection daily). All four corners of this intersection are marked "No Pedestrian Crossing". Many people who work at the various industrial businesses on Eastland Road (between the NS tracks and Sheldon Rd) need this bus to get to/from work. On some if it's runs, the 86 does go down Eastland to Sheldon, but the first two runs of the day, for example, it does not. During these runs, the bus arrives at 237 and Cargo/Eastland at about 5:25 AM and 5:55 AM. On many occasions I've seen anywhere from 2-7 people at the 5:55 stop have to cross 237 in the dark to get to their jobs on Eastland Road. I've also seen people getting off the bus and crossing there at the ~5:25 AM time. The reason I see this as a potential liability problem is because these people obviously need the bus to get to work, yet they have no choice but to illegally cross 237 to get to their jobs. All four corners of the intersection are clearly marked "No Pedestrian Crossing". RTA should run the first two buses of the day down Eastland-Sheldon like it does for the successive 4 runs. What's just as bad is that for the southbound buses that do go down Eastland to Sheldon, there are only two stops on Eastland: one on the north side of the very busy NS tracks and one at the Eastland-Sheldon intersection. Why can't the bus make a stop somewhere in the middle for these folks who are going to/from work? It would make for better customer service at no real cost to RTA. I also see it as a potential liability to make people cross the busy tracks on these runs, not to mention walk much farther than is necessary along a heavily trafficked street with no sidewalks. In the afternoon, I also always see people waiting for the 86 on Rt 237 at various times in the afternoon. These folks also have to walk along very busy Eastland and cross the NS tracks. I can't believe that the cost is anything but negligible to run a couple more buses each way per day along Sheldon/Eastland and to put a bus stop at a more convenient location along Eastland. Can you look into this and find out why RTA either never followed up or presumably decided not to make any changes?

Perhaps we should rename this thread "car-sharing" so we have an official thread on the subject? Isn't a car sharing project starting up in the W. 65th neighborhood? "City Wheels", or something like that?