sonisharri

Could HSR be done easily/effectively through PA given the hilly terrain, curves and switchbacks? I’m not an expert but I was under the impression it requires wider curves; maybe this is another advantage to the NY route

According to an article I read a while ago: https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/22

New windows update just dropped (5-16-23) SHW is clearly experiencing some growing panes… they can put up a facade but we can see right through it. Let’s “raise a glass” to even more windows ;) (Puns aside, you can see the new windows in the 2nd & 4th pics next to the patio area)

I took greyhound from Pittsburgh to Cleveland earlier this year, and the full-service PGH station was virtually unstaffed except for the bus drivers. The bus was delayed by at least an hour without any communication, no one was working to answer questions or even direct people to the correct platform, and the driver who was more focused on getting the bus moving was shouting at confused passengers asking for directions. I think greyhound stopped giving a s**t a while ago. That said, being able to use BRT to and from both stations meant I could make the entire trip pretty easily without a car. Hopefully this remains the case—from what I noticed many passengers were fairly young, probably unable to afford a car or without a license, or both. And unless you want to take amtrak in the middle of the night, there’s pretty much no other affordable car-free option to Pittsburgh. Edit: the bus was just about 100% full (I think it had been coming from Baltimore or DC), if anyone’s skeptical about demand.

Two vacant Cleveland school buildings will become apartment buildings in Glenville, Jefferson By Lee Chilcote • May 11, 2023 https://thelandcle.org/stories/two-vacant-cleveland-school-buildings-will-become-apartment-buildings-in-glenville-jefferson/

Library Lofts (5-14-23)

First 12 townhomes on E 97th well underway at Park Lamont (5-13-23) Foundations for 38-unit apartment building on Lamont Ave and more townhomes on Woodward/E 101st

More from tonight (5-12-23)

A few of my own from tonight (5-12-23)

While they’re at it slow down E 55th too, it really isn’t that far of a bike ride or even a walk from the rapid station, but neither feel particularly safe on that road. Edit: even with BRT to downtown, a frequent connection to University Circle would still be nice

“sexy bathrooms” must be a new marketing term

15-minute frequency easily makes sense on many more routes, at least during peak hours, especially in parts of the city where there are few highways to compete with. Many people would rather drive or take an Uber if transit means waiting up to 30 minutes outside. I would actually argue that frequency could get even better than 15 minutes in certain places—anyone that's taken buses between University Circle and surrounding east side neighborhoods during peak hours can see that ridership gets astonishingly high. I once made the mistake of taking the 10 north of UC during the PM rush, and even with 15 minute frequency the bus was standing room only; I saw multiple people walk out immediately upon entering, at least one after paying, because of how crowded it was. I think it's important to remember that population density is only one part of the equation: TOD, parking situations, age demographics and income levels all play a role in transit ridership.

2014 vs 2021. Orca House building on the left was built 1895. Yeah, I know this is a development thread. Maybe historical context could be incorporated into whatever eventually goes there.

It's also worth following Clevelanders For Public Transit (@CLEforTransit) on twitter, they can be especially helpful when RTA does a bad job communicating service alerts, and for general transit news. https://twitter.com/CLEforTransit

1) Transit App 2) @GCRTAalerts on twitter (you can turn on notifications if you want to see every alert) 3) RTA website (a lot of stuff is buried or really annoying to find but often there) For the Red Line specifically, I think someone previously mentioned the account "Is The Red Line Running Normally Today?" on twitter https://twitter.com/IsRedLineNormal Also, this thread is often helpful for major service disruptions known well in advance.

It's on an odd corner, but I can see how it makes sense to face Ashbury which is more of a main road in this case and put the garage access on a side street.

Foundations for the Hessler apartments are in… Crazy to see one of the most vocally opposed small projects finally happening—over the winter I remember being amused at the absurd combination of holiday decorations and “No New Development on Hessler” signs

The options are pretty limited downtown, Wendy Park is nearby and has some too. But further out (still in the city) there are tons of options in the University Circle area and around Case, at pretty much all of the Metroparks including Edgewater and the Lakefront Nature Preserve/E 55 Marina, Euclid Beach Park and so on. Lots of them in parks in east and west side neighborhoods too.

I grew up on an island on the East Coast, and I'm very familiar with a number of waterfront cities, but there are many approaches to waterfront access. Boston's developed waterfront and Chicago's huge parks and beaches are very different but each have their own benefits. I doubt you'll find many people swimming around Boston Harbor, though.

I agree, but the nature of how that money is used and who it benefits is another matter. More than half of the city's population wasn't alive less than 40 years ago and many of us have relocated from other places; this project will serve a vastly different population with different ideas that I don't think should be discounted.

I agree that the "corrupt scheme" framing from the Crain's article is a bit of a stretch and sounds a little conspiratorial. However I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that offering benefits to large developers while many existing communities could stand to use the money better is a bit regressive in nature. Though I realize the state may not give any money otherwise. This is why I'm a fan of a frequent transit connection from across downtown, one way or another.

I do think there's a difference between being opposed to lakefront development on its own and being skeptical of using public money to try to encourage development. At the very least, I think discussion and public input is a positive and important thing for these types of joint projects.

In reaction to the Crain's article about stadium/lakefront deals posted in the Browns Stadium thread, which to be fair had more to do with the "gift-giving" aspect of the land bridge than the parking aspect. I don't want to derail this discussion too much, though. https://www.crainscleveland.com/opinion/stadium-deals-gift-riches-owners-such-browns-haslams

I think our tangent was a little more about handing over a big new parking garage to one specific developer just to enable a development in one specific corner of the lakefront, especially when much of downtown is still empty, and maybe instead finding a way to justify an investment like this as something more than a bridge to a single development project (I agree new parks would justify better connection, but Burke still extends much further to the east). But then again, if a big handout is the only way anything will realistically happen maybe that’s our best bet.

Personally I don’t think it’s the best use of lakefront land, but the lot is only a little over a quarter mile across and they have an agreement to uphold. With the Port right next door and unlikely to relocate in the foreseeable future, there’s going to be a decent chunk of underutilized land in that corner anyway—the only real advantage I see to lakefront development existing on the western side of downtown is if it could function as an extension of the Flats, which it couldn’t. I understand the core-to-shore concept and the goal of connecting the lake to the center of downtown, but Public Square is not really that close to the waterfront in the first place and I can’t see most people actually walking or even realizing they’re that close. Here’s what I wish would happen instead, if I could wave a magic wand or whatever: - Leave the Browns stadium and it’s parking as it is for the time being, prefer a renovated stadium with the smallest public commitment possible. I don’t view stadiums for private sports teams as a public good. - Close Burke and replace it with a park, which along with CHEERS and Dike 14 could form the basis of Cleveland’s world-class lakefront - Focus residential/mixed-use development in the eastern portion of downtown and further, across from the future Burke park, with pedestrian bridges as necessary. Chicago and Milwaukee have incredibly accessible and popular green lakefronts with highway/boulevards in front of them and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. - Finally, with new residents, businesses, restaurants and retail in the eastern portion of downtown, I think a downtown loop extension of the WFL could be justified to the public, offering transit connections to the largest part of the lakefront from across the city. Rather than swallowing up demand with development in an area that already has transit. With (actually useful) rapid transit passing in front of the mall, build the parking garage as part of a new transportation center in the spirit of Burnham’s original Group Plan, offering a pedestrian connection to the lakefront sheltered from the elements. If it could serve as a hub for expanded Amtrak service, the now-homeless Greyhound bus, AND light rail that would actually have a reason to run late, then you could not only justify the cost of the garage but also have an excuse to construct a physically massive structure to serve as a monument to public transportation. Rather than a big garage with a green roof. But I can’t wave a magic wand, and I understand many people are tired of waiting decades for anything to happen.