KJP

Years?

I think that was "Moses" -- the aquarium's biggest and oldest grouper. It died a few years before the aquarium closed. Its death was considered by some to be a harbinger.

But we are talking about long-term overhauls, not in-service, active-duty missions where a ship may have to be called away at a moment's notice.

Quoting the above to put the Dec. 1 rail facility tour at the top of the page as an easy-to-find reminder. But here's the real reason why I'm posting.... GCRTA's board will vote Oct. 31 to increase the 2023 capital budget by $32 million (from $139 million to $171 million) so GCRTA can exercise the first of its options to increase the size of the railcar order. This option is for six additional light-rail vehicles (and spare parts).

Which is why I hope, when the site to the south of Medley gets spoken for, they seek a variance to exceed the 60-foot building height max in the zoning code and put in some ground-floor uses that are worthwhile to broad segments of the population like a Discount Drug Mart, 24-hour cafe, indoor/outdoor playground, discount shoe/clothing store, urgent care center, etc. Across the street on the east side of East 105th, I still think that's where Canon Healthcare USA is going. But we'll see.

Yep (near the end of this article)... https://neo-trans.blog/2023/08/29/midtown-developments-accelerate/

And then run a streetcar down Detroit.

@CleveFan sorry but unless someone's got their own money, it's going to be very difficult to finance big buildings in this market.

Old Aquarium razed for South Gordon Park plan By Ken Prendergast / October 26, 2023 After sitting empty and rotting away for nearly four decades, the old Cleveland Aquarium at South Gordon Park was finally demolished yesterday by contractors for the Cleveland Metroparks. The regional park system, whose long-term lease of this city-owned site took effect earlier this month, wasted no time in taking down the long-closed aquarium building. In the coming months, Metroparks officials said they intend to seek community input on how to improve South Gordon Park. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/10/26/old-aquarium-razed-for-south-gordon-park-plan/

Mary Kay believes the Browns could likely pry Jacoby Brissett away from the Commanders before the trade deadline, and they should definitely try. I won't bother posting the link because it's behind a paywall and I would be stunned if the Commanders would give up a veteran backup QB.

Great to see the Cavs get a road win in their opener. First time since 2000 -- despite all the years with Lebron!

Here's some graphics about the Ravenna Connection. These are probably the most recent ones I made. I was 21 years old in 1988 when I started advocating for the restoration of this track connection...

I updated yesterday's article with new information -- including a confirmation from Skylight Financial that they're moving.

If 7 people were killed and dozens were injured on transit yesterday, it would be on prime time with wall to wall coverage with headlines reading “is transit safe?” Yet, this is just how desensitized we are in a car dependent America.... At least 150 vehicles collided on 1-55 outside of New Orleans Monday morning amid a "superfog." At least 7 people were killed, and more than 2 dozen were injured. Smoke from nearby marsh fires contributed to the dangerously low visibility. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-dead-100-car-pileup-louisiana-interstate-rcna121809

Read something similar to this from Allard when he was with Scene... Tax-exempt Cleveland Clinic spent only 1.5% of its revenue on charity care - among the lowest figures in the nation - while paying CEO Tomislav Mihaljevic $6.6 million...and owning $2.4B in tax-free property https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/10/18/cleaveland-clinic-charity-care-ceo-pay

Very close to downtown, and the latest office tenant to shrink.....

Names will be changing next spring on one of Ohio City's largest buildings....

Ohio City finance firm moving to the Flats By Ken Prendergast / October 24, 2023 Another significant office tenant with naming rights to their building is on the move — and shrinking. This time, it’s Cleveland-based financial planning firm Skylight Financial Group which is a general agency of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) in multiple Ohio cities. But unlike Ernst & Young (now EY) moving from one side of downtown Cleveland to the other, Skylight Financial will be leaving Ohio City’s Market District in 2024 for Scranton Peninsula in the Flats. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/10/24/ohio-city-finance-firm-moving-to-the-flats/

Crain's jumped in on the Greyhound story this week. Suffice it to say, there's a lot in play in this area. I can't say anymore right now, as I was probably a little early in sharing that Greyhound site story. But that's what we do at NEOtrans -- "we're usually first and always free!"

The city/NOACA/ODOT is going to be tapping federal dollars from a new USDOT program called "Reconnecting Communities" intended to remove highways that divide disadvantaged communities from opportunities, including recreational ones. That's why you're hearing a lot of commentary from the mayor and others about using this lakefront vision to "heal" the community and foster social justice. All of those goals will appear on the funding application for the federal money to downgrade the Shoreway. ODOT funding to promote economic development will be the non-federal share since its traditional funds used to move cars faster, safer and in greater numbers cannot be tapped here. This is Cleveland's first big transportation project that seeks to reverse the Norman Bel Geddes "Magic Motorways" theory of urban transportation that has dominated USA traffic engineering for 80+ years -- "there's no more reason for a car to slow down when passing through a city than a plane flying over it." (except for perhaps 5,000 years of proven city-building along trade/transportation routes)

Given that this is federally compliant planning process, intended to be eligible for federal funds from multiple pots of funding from federal agencies (Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Housing and Urban Development, Army Corps of Engineers, etc), we're probably another year from completing preliminary engineering. Then there has to be an environmental Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) by each relevant agency. That will take many monyhs. But if the city gets FONSIs for each element, it will allow the city to apply for federal funds for final engineering and construction for each part of the project overseen by individual agencies. Assuming all requested funding will be secured in a timely manner, there's going to be another year or two before construction begins. When done, I won't be surprised to see that this is a $1 billion project (downgrading Shoreway, land bridge, park, water's edge, multimodal transportation center, the Villages, etc). That doesn't even take into account the stadium which is probably going to be another $1 billion.

Multiple bills introduced by Ohio republicans would absolutely outlaw IVF fertility treatment and imprison doctors that provide it. If you drive someone out of state for IVF you could be sued for $10k. Don’t believe them when they say they won’t restrict fertility treatment. They could have written explicit exclusions for IVF into the bills - they chose not to. https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/134/hb480

They're either rocks or discarded tires...

The Capitol Limited was Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's flagship passenger train until Amtrak arrived in 1971. Under B&O, it ran between Chicago and Washington DC, routed via Fostoria, Akron, Youngstown and Pittsburgh. It was restored in 1981 by Amtrak as the Washington section of the Chicago-New York City Broadway Limited that ran on the old Pennsylvania RR, then-Conrail mainline via Fort Wayne, Lima, Crestline-Mansfield, Alliance (without stopping), and Pittsburgh. The Washington DC cars were switched out/in at Pittsburgh, taking the B&O to/from DC. The Broadway and Capitol limiteds were split into separate trains on different schedules all the way into Chicago in 1986. But, by then, Conrail was consolidating freight traffic onto fewer lines. Chicago-East Coast traffic was steadily being moved onto the former New York Central RR mainline via South Bend, Toledo and Cleveland with the former Pennsylvania RR mainline trains using the ex-PRR branch from Cleveland to Alliance to return to the former PRR mainline to Pittsburgh. Conrail upgraded the flatter, straighter Cleveland-Alliance line to mainline standards in early 80s while abandoning the gradient- and curve-heavy former Erie Railroad from the Cleveland suburbs through what was left of Youngstown. Conrail continually downgraded the former PRR, especially west of Crestline-Mansfield through the 1980s. In 1989, Conrail offered to pay for stations and infrastructure needed to reroute the Broadway and Capitol limiteds to other routes so it didn't have to maintain the ex-PRR to mainline standards. So in 1990 the CHI-NYC Broadway was rerouted to the B&O (now CSX) west of Pittsburgh via Youngstown, Akron and Fostoria and the Capitol was rerouted west of Alliance via Cleveland, Toledo and South Bend. The Broadway (later called the Three Rivers) stopped running in 2005. The Capitol continues running to this day. Ever since I was director of the Cleveland-Pittsburgh of the Ohio Association of Railroad Passengers (now All Aboard Ohio) back in the 1980s, I have tried in vain to find funding from whatever source to restore a missing link between Cleveland and Youngstown. This 4,000-foot gap, the Ravenna Connection, would link the Cleveland-Alliance line (now Norfolk Southern) and CSX into Youngstown. Then at New Castle, PA (Amtrak restored this connection for the Three Rivers), Amtrak would return to NS into Pittsburgh. Restoring the Ravenna Connection (there were actually two connections prior to 1970) would probably cost about $15 million to $20 million today. Amtrak doesn't want to pay for it because they don't believe rerouting via Youngstown would add more ridership than via Alliance-Canton. And no one from Youngstown has been able to get local, state or federal money to take a train away from Alliance-Canton and give it to Youngstown. A new train might, but who's going to pay for it? So far, no one.

That site might be more attractive to development if the Waterfront Line went somewhere beyond the parking lot, as was originally intended.