KJP

I think it fits totally into this thread. Had you followed government instructions like a dutiful U.S. citizen, you would have used the officially sanctioned mode of transportation -- renting a car at Newark and driving home.

I wish that were the case (and mafia? What the hell?!?). The CTA's elevated rail system needs billions in repairs, a planned consolidated railway station as part of a second rail loop for downtown has languished, a light-rail downtown circulator never got built, plans for nonstop CTA trains from downtown to O'Hare have been talked about for years, Meigs Field remains an airport despite the mayor's desire to convert it for public use (park, redevelopment, etc.), the city pissed away its $1.83 billion windfall from leasing the Chicago Skyway to pay debts rather than do something economically catalytic, and other stalled projects or missteps I may not be aware of. Don't get me wrong, Chicago has lots of cool stuff that Cleveland doesn't have, but it sounds to me like there's a little too much "grass is greener on the other side" phenomenon going on here. Let's recognize that this isn't always the case.

The Denver Post March 29, 2007 Thursday FINAL EDITION SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. C-01 RIDING THE RAILS Westminster, like Denver, is hopeful that FasTracks development will energize declining areas BYLINE: Margaret Jackson Denver Post Staff Writer ......

Last Monday, I saw two ambassadors working up a sweat while trying to shovel snow away from the curbs at the corner of West 3rd and St. Clair. I made sure and told them "thank you, I'm glad you are down here." They seemed pretty appreciative and returned the "thank you."

What Noozer said. We've reached out to the state to inquire about funding for a minimum two-year demonstration service, and the inquiry is being discussed by state officials (ODOT & ODOD). There also was a nice letter of support for the alternatives analysis recently sent to the Lorain Port Authority by the Ohio Rail Development Commission. The details of a permanent service would be answered by the alternatives analysis. The demonstration service, if it occurs, would be determined by the stakeholders. But we're not there yet until we hear of any interest by the state to fund it.

Almost funny, especially since I also had some of "those thoughts" during the whole signature bridge debate a couple years ago. But, alas, I quickly dismissed "those thoughts" since my sister commutes into downtown daily on that bridge. So don't anyone else get any similar crazy thoughts! Plus, after my last two experiences on RTA, I don't think I'd want anyone else to ride it right now because it's not very user friendly. Would a few construction reroute signs that are actually visible on Public Square hurt for crying out loud?

During the summer of last year, there was a prospective user for the boarded-up doughnut shop (a mom-and-pop restaurant), but that deal fell through. I haven't heard anything since.

Fortunately, they posted the full article at Cleveland.com, not the shortened version that appeared in the West Side Sun! _______________ http://www.cleveland.com/sun/westsidesunnews/index.ssf?/base/news-0/117639694658340.xml&coll=3 Shoreway standoff Residents disagree with city plans to remove ramps Thursday, April 12, 2007 By Ken Prendergast West Side Sun News Two sides are at an impasse at the intersection of Clifton Boulevard, Lake Avenue and the West Shoreway. On one side is Ward 18 Councilman Jay Westbrook and a number of residents in the affected area who want to keep highway ramps intact, linking Lake and the Shoreway. On the other side is the Cleveland Planning Commission, which wants them removed to open up more land for Edgewater Park and development.

I think anywhere in Lakewood would be fine, but especially if he stays north of Detroit at the eastern end of the city. The southeast corner of Lakewood has gotten a little dicey, and that area is bordered by Detroit on the north and Cohassett/Madison Park on the west. Birdtown (south of Madison, east of Madison Park) is a neat little neighborhood, but does have its challenges. It is seeing some improvements thanks to an influx of Albanian immigrants who are striving to make a better life for themselves here. Downtown Lakewood, Gold Coast and West End has some rental/purchase in both single-family and multi-family housing. The area along Madison between Bunts Road and Rocky River Drive is one of my favorite streets in all of Cleveland. Lots of restaurants, little bars, mom-and-pop shops -- what most of Cleveland used to be like. But I love the density of downtown Lakewood and the Gold Coast. Any of those places has stuff in common with Highland Square (one of my old stomping grounds when I was in college in the late 1980s). Same is true with the Clifton-Edgewater neighborhood. If he looks at all these options, he will expand his range of choices and most likely find a house and a neighborhood he will fall in love with.

Don't forget that the tax abatement for downtown is on a different renewal timetable compared to the rest of the city.... From the Introduction at http://urban.csuohio.edu/abatement_report_final.pdf: The legislation that created the property tax abatement program for neighborhoods (Ordinance 1776-A-90) is due to expire on June 15, 2007. This ordinance does not cover downtown. A separate ordinance (2831-86) covers the Downtown Community Reinvestment Area (boundaries currently defined as the Innerbelt along E. 27th Street, along the Innerbelt Bridge, and W. 25th Street to Whiskey Island). This ordinance is due to expire on June 15, 2010. Also, note that: Cleveland currently offers 15-year residential property tax abatements to people who purchase newly constructed homes or build new multi-family construction (market rate and low income). The abatement applies to 100 percent of the taxes on the building. Land taxes, determined by the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s Office based upon a percentage of the purchase price of the property, are not abated. Rehabilitation or improvements made to one- and two-family homes that increase the assessed value of those properties receive a 10-year, 100 percent tax abatement on the increased value after the rehabilitation is completed. The owner is responsible for all previous building and land taxes. Rehabilitated multi-family buildings (not located downtown) receive a 12-year, 100 percent tax abatement on the increased value. Downtown multi-family rehabilitation projects (market rate) receive 75 percent abatement for the first five years, 50 percent for the next 5 years, and 25 percent for the final 2 years.

I was going to say, it that's an sample of euro-sprawl, I'll take it over Ameri-sprawl any day.

Looks like Illinois business people are building that political will. They've already taken the incremental steps of developing a 79 mph service. The next logical steps are to further increase service frequency and raise speeds above 79 mph. Glad to see they not resting on their recent successes.

FYI...... ILLINOIS BUSINESS SAYS: SPEED UP TRAIN SERVICE AND MAKE IT MORE RELIABLE Passenger Train Capital Plan Solves Key Infrastructure Problems In 2006, Illinois business overwhelmingly supported the expansion of intercity train service statewide. Ridership growth since the schedule expansion began last October 30 is justifying that support: Passenger counts are up a combined 70% on the three corridors between Chicago and downstate. But now, say 23 chambers of commerce statewide, it’s time for the state to take the next step: Invest in the infrastructure improvements that will make train service more reliable and faster. These 23 chambers support good train service because it’s good for business. Addison Chamber of Comm. & Industry Bloomington-Normal Econ. Dev. Council Boone County Chamber of Commerce Brookfield Chamber of Commerce Carbondale Chamber of Commerce DuQuoin Chamber of Commerce Evanston Chamber of Commerce Galena Area Chamber of Commerce Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce Greater Alton Chamber of Commerce Greater Effingham Chmbr. of Commerce Illinois Chamber of Commerce Illinois Quad Cities Chmbr. of Commerce Joliet Reg. Chmbr. of Comm. & Industry Joliet/Will County Ctr. for Econ. Develop. Kewanee Chamber of Commerce Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce Maywood Chamber of Commerce Mendota Area Chamber of Commerce Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce South Summit Chamber of Commerce The 23 chambers all endorse the five-year Passenger Train Capital Plan because it will improve reliability and on-time performance, as well as reduce travel time, by: • Adding capacity and enhancing safety along all existing routes • Bringing new locomotives and passenger cars to all routes, thus eliminating equipment failures • Completing signal installation on the 118-mile, 110-mph corridor between Dwight and Springfield, thus making higher-speed service possible for the first time in decades in our state • Bringing the 90 miles between Springfield and St. Louis up to 110 mph capability • Restoring service to Decatur, Galena, Peoria, the Quad Cities, and Rockford Illinois needs to commit now to a multi-year program of making passenger and freight rail service in our state as good as they can be. The times, and our state’s residents, demand it. By so doing, Illinois will provide its citizens with a triple victory: better transportation, less reliance on imported oil, and improved air quality.

Unfortunately, a large concentration of Sandusky's hotels, resorts and restaurants aren't near the historic train station, now used by Amtrak and the Sandusky Transit System (see map below). Yet, the rail line passes within a few hundred feet of some hotels etc. and a quarter-mile from others on the east side of the city (the rest are by the Ohio Turnpike's exit to US250). A station location on that side of town is also closer to the causeway. Of course, with commuter rail (as opposed to intercity rail), you could have two stations in Sandusky and have STS link them to Cedar Point's front gate....

There are a number of articles like this one from 2005 (below), some which said Cedar Point had another down year in 2006.... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/23/eveningnews/main792336.shtml Park Offsets High Gas Prices SANDUSKY, Ohio, Aug. 23, 2005 (CBS) Well they knew something was up here at the Cedar Point Amusement Park on the shores of Lake Erie. Most of the visitors drive here from four or five hours away. With gas prices way up and attendance 4 percent down, the people who run the park did something they've never done before: cut the price of admission, CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod reports. ......

Or, for the able-bodied, they could take their bicycles on the train and ride to Cedar Point. Or, a bicycle rental place could be located at the train station.

Actually, the dark blue/orange line shown is through Public Square on Superior, not St. Clair. I assumed that to be an LRT operating in a subway through downtown, and as a streetcar or reserved alignment within Detroit and Superior avenues outside of downtown. The grey boxes west of Public Square are buildings, complete with shadows, just to show that the parking lots wouldn't remain. I hadn't gotten around to adding buildings in other areas having lots of parking lots.

Thanks for posting it. I saw the front page of the LMJ at the office this morning. That map on the front sure looks familiar!

The meeting went well. We had a terrific speaker who discussed the impacts of transit-oriented development on Arlington, Virginia, but I haven't typed up the meeting minutes yet. Most of the meeting was taken up by the speaker. I was hoping to take his 100+ mb presentation and make it into a more reasonably sized PDF. But even the PDF was about 20 mb. So I can't e-mail it or host it for people to download. What I might do is break the PDF up into four parts so I can e-mail it someone so they can host it, but I just thought about that!

The Lorain Morning Journal is working on a pretty significant feature article on the West Shore Corridor project (apparently focusing on the commuter rail aspect of it). I understand the article will run in Sunday's paper. We'll see.

Lack of funds....

Sorry for the big picture (double meaning?) below, but I'd been dabbling with this here and there for a few months. I've gotten it to a fairly presentable point (except for that green horizontal line I can't seem to get rid of), so I thought I'd post it and show you all what a geek I really am.... Scroll right to see the whole thing:

A very interesting historical summary of the Middle East was included in the Association for the Study of Peak Oil's March newsletter. Granted, a region having such a vast history as the Middle East is difficult to summarize in total, so the newsletter focuses on the history as it relates to oil and the western powers. The newsletter can be found at: https://aspo-ireland.org/newsletter/en/pdf/newsletter75_200703.pdf

I have a question... If abating taxes for new/renovated housing makes sense (and I believe it does), why doesn't Cleveland abate corporate & employee withholding income taxes for new/relocated businesses to the city? That includes corporations, partnerships, Subchapter S corporations, etc. Here's my suggestion for how to do it: Year 1 - 100% abatement; Year 2 - 100% abatement; Year 3 - 50% abatement (100% if business located in census tract having average personal incomes below the citywide average, or if business is located in LEED-certified structure); Year 4 - 50% abatement (100% if business located in census tract having average personal incomes below the citywide average, or if business is located in LEED-certified structure); Year 5 - 50% abatement if business located in census tract having average personal incomes below the citywide average, or if business is located in LEED-certified structure; Year 6 - 50% abatement if business located in census tract having average personal incomes below the citywide average, or if business is located in LEED-certified structure; Year 7 - no abatement offer. That's my suggestion. Is it doable?? Or desireable??

What a wonderful, fascinating neighborhood. It's on my must-see list the next time I'm in Philly. BTW, Manayunk has R-6 service only every half-hour during rush hours. That's not good. IMHO, I think a streetcar with signal pre-emption would work better for that compact, low-rise, euro-style neighborhood. Maybe they could extend the #10 streetcar from Ardmore?? Or restore the tracks on the big concrete bridge shown in several of the pictures and extend the R-6 from Bala Cynwyd so the trains could loop back to Norristown. I didn't realize there were no tracks on that bridge over the Schuykill until I checked http://maps.live.com.