KJP
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Everything posted by KJP
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North Coast Connector: ready for its close-up By Ken Prendergast / May 2, 2023 The North Coast Connector — a project that’s considered by many city and community development officials as the key to unlocking the potential of downtown Cleveland’s lakefront — is starting to come together. The state is moving forward on a big piece of funding for its construction. The city is moving forward on funding for detailed architectural designs. And public involvement meetings to help shape those designs will be held starting this week. To quote Gloria Swanson in the 1950 classic movie “Sunset Boulevard,” the proposed land bridge is “ready for its close-up.” MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/05/02/north-coast-connector-ready-for-its-close-up/ -
My wife and a friend were at the convention center today for a conference of content creators. It's a three-day conference but my wife attended only one day.
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@MyPhoneDead to keep this thread on topic, I redirected that discussion here...
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Ten years ago, a project like this would be very high profile. Now, it barely gets mentioned.
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They seek routes with at least 500,000 riders per year at the outset. That's possible with 3C, but they would have to operate at 110+ mph and that means having tracks separate from freight. That's doable in the short term between Galion-Columbus-London but would take a lot more effort to do over the entire route. The freight trains on the CSX and NS lines between Dayton and Cincinnati could consolidate onto one line, leaving the other for passenger traffic. There is an abandoned rail ROW between Dayton and Springfield, and passenger-only tracks could be laid next to NS between Springfield and London, and next to CSX between Galion and Cleveland. So it's certainly possible but will not be cheap.
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Yes, NS's Cleveland District through Lakewood. I try not to anticipate what someone else will believe, let 50,000 people, without asking them first. Even so, the deal with NS to cap the number of through freight trains at 13 daily expired four years ago. Even if it wasn't, if Brightline acquired the line, it wasn't a party to that agreement. Cleveland-Chicago trains wouldn't run to Detroit. I would run them as per the map below which would offer a 3.5-hour running time for Detroit-Chicago trains, two hours for Detroit-Cleveland trains, and four hours for Cleveland-Chicago trains. There would be direct Cleveland-Chicago trains, but all Cleveland-Detroit trains would have cross-platform connections to trains traveling Detroit-Chicago, just as Detroit-Cleveland trains would have connections to Cleveland-Chicago trains. Key to the map...... Orange line -- Brightline acquiring or leasing existing, upgraded tracks Black line -- new Brightline tracks along existing, active railroad tracks Yellow line -- new Brightline tracks along existing highway Red line- new Brightline tracks along new right of way or abandoned railroad/other right of way The reason why Brightline would succeed in expanding in Ohio whereas Amtrak may not is because Brightline supports political campaigns, and Ohio is a corrupt, pay-to-play state like Florida. Brightline will also subsidize the trains with real estate revenues whereas Amtrak will require the state to financially backstop the trains, even if Amtrak is paying the subsidy in the first few years.
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A financial donation to the project counts as a "gift."
Redirect from the SHW HQ thread.... Nice job blocking the sidewalk along Euclid Avenue. The property owner, the contractor and the city could be sued for violating ADA.
I would have Brightline use the South Shore instead, then the Turnpikes or alongside NS, to near Vermilion and take it over to enter Cleveland. I'd also take over the CN/GTW between Toledo and Detroit, utilizing 200 miles of existing track.
Very busy planning commission agenda this week -- especially with funding for Irishtown Bend from the city's ARPA Waterfront Activation Fund. https://planning.clevelandohio.gov/designreview/drcagenda/2023/PDF/CPC/CPC05-05-2023.pdf
Very busy planning commission agenda this week -- especially with detailed design work for public infrastructure improvements and demolition of the Eagle Avenue ramp all funded out of the city's ARPA Waterfront Activation Fund. https://planning.clevelandohio.gov/designreview/drcagenda/2023/PDF/CPC/CPC05-05-2023.pdf
Very busy planning commission agenda this week -- especially with detailed design work for lots of lakefront stuff from downtown east to Euclid including North Coast Connector, CHEERS, and Euclid Beach/Euclid Creek stuff all funded out of the city's ARPA Waterfront Activation Fund. https://planning.clevelandohio.gov/designreview/drcagenda/2023/PDF/CPC/CPC05-05-2023.pdf
In the 1970s, my father and I toured Roundwood, built by the Van Sweringens. I wished I was older when I saw it. I seem to remember it as cozy, not cold, yet luxurious. https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/historic-roundwood-manor-hits-the-market-for-45-million/Slideshow/41896005
But it seems like a lot of cities, particularly older ones like ours, have dual nodes of activity. Pittsburgh has Oakland, St. Louis has Clayton, Cincinnati has Uptown, Columbus has OSU, and Detroit has several dense nodes although most are outside city limits. I think we could add some more University stuff downtown to give it more all day activity.
Yes, just because I quoted someone doesn't mean I agree with him. I believe the Green/Blue lines need to be rebuilt. I believe they need more density around their stations. Of course, this isn't appropriate at all stations, especially in Shaker Heights, but there are some stations in Shaker where more density and mixed use is needed to support a transit line whose purpose is more than just getting people to work at one end of the line. The Van Aken District, the Van Aken-Lee-Chagrin area, expanding the John Carroll University campus village south along Warrensville to the Green Line station, possibly developing the West Green parking lots and nearby greenspace, and of course making sure Shaker Square doesn't decay to the point of no return, as well as developing at each station stop west of there. And I would definitely reroute the Blue Line to University Circle. I think that's a must. I would also restart planning for a Blue Line extension to Harvard/I-271 and the Green Line to Beachwood Place. I think lot of Russians and Ukrainians living nearby would probably use it, as would people working at retailers in that area.
Main Avenue (Shoreway) bridge.
Yes, very true. But another part is that more people from the eastern suburbs commute to University Circle and the office parks along the I-271 corridor than they do to downtown. The Shaker Rapid serves neither.
Anatomy of an ‘American Transit Disaster’ In his new book, historian Nicholas Dagen Bloom chronicles the collapse of public transportation in US cities — and explains who really deserves the blame. By David Zipper April 27, 2023 at 8:00 AM EDT American transit agencies are standing on the brink of a devastating fiscal cliff. Covid-era emergency dollars are dwindling, and revenues remain well below pre-pandemic levels. Without new funding, transit leaders could be forced to close budget gaps by cutting service or raising fares – and likely both. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-04-27/chronicling-of-the-collapse-of-public-transit-in-the-us
There will be closures if the capital budget is passed, if they finalize the documentation on the funding (assuming Congress doesn't cut it and RTA can fill in the remaining funding gaps), if they hire a contractor for the price they like, then they will announce closures -- in one to five years from now.
Yeah, Brightline had Chicago-Detroit/Cleveland on its map not too long ago. Wonder why they dropped it?
Posted in the GCRTA thread:
$208m Shaker Rapid rebuild down the line By Ken Prendergast / May 1, 2023 Starting next year and continuing until 2028, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) plans to completely rebuild its two rail rapid transit lines in Shaker Heights, east of Cleveland’s Shaker Square. Called the Blue and Green lines, this would be their first major infrastructure rebuilding since 1980. But not everyone is on board with this $208.2 million initiative that is included in GCRTA’s proposed capital budget, scheduled to get a public hearing May 2. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2023/05/01/208m-shaker-rapid-rebuild-down-the-line/
