KJP

That's been floating around on the Ohio Environmental Council's network today. The train isn't scheduled to take 15 hours to get to New York City from Cleveland (though sometimes it does!). And it's important to note that it serves several intermediate markets (ie: CLE-BUF, CLE-ROC, CLE-SYR) at running times that are as fast or faster than by car, and certainly less expensive than by air. Most airfares to Rochester and Syracuse from Cleveland top $700. And KeyBank execs often make that run to visit banking operations in that area (Key used to be HQ'ed in Albany).

There should be a PD article tomorrow on this.

A L L A B O A R D O H I O FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ken Prendergast, Director March 30, 2007 Research/Communications All Aboard Ohio welcomes daylight Amtrak train to Cleveland CLEVELAND – All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit organization, today announced it welcomed what is hopefully an initial attempt at improving passenger train services in Ohio. Starting April 3, Amtrak’s daily eastbound Lake Shore Limited (Train #49) will offer daylight service between Cleveland and cities in New York. The same train will also offer overnight service between Chicago and downtown Cleveland. Train #49 is scheduled to arrive Cleveland from Chicago at 6:22 a.m. and depart for New York at 7 a.m. First-class compartments, economy coach seating, lounge and dining services are available. This will be the first time in 36 years that convenient train schedules have been offered in these busy travel markets. Here are some key points regarding this new schedule:  All Aboard Ohio and the Ohio Congressional Delegation wrote letters to Amtrak's president and board chairman asking for more usuable train services to Ohioans.  Amtrak is continuing to negotiate with freight railroad CSX Corp. to reschedule the daily westbound Lake Shore Limited (Train #48) over CSX’s tracks to serve Cleveland at a more convenient time than the current 3:30 a.m. arrival.  The new eastbound schedule allows business travelers from Chicago to travel by train to attend a 9 or 10 a.m. meeting in Cleveland without waking before 4 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. flight in Chicago. Even if Train #49 is delayed up to 2 hours by frequent freight train traffic, business travelers can still make their meeting on-time thanks to the train’s 6:22 a.m. scheduled arrival in downtown Cleveland.  While Cleveland gains from the rescheduling, Toledo loses. The Lake Shore Limited will serve Toledo at less convenient times. Amtrak’s only other daily train service to Ohio, the Capitol Limited, also serves Toledo. This situation, as well as record Amtrak ridership in 2006 and volatile gasoline prices, underscore a need for more trains and thus more federal funding in partnership with states like Ohio.  Two bills (S.294 and H.R. 1300) were introduced to Congress to address America’s woefully under-capitalized rail system by unclogging railroad traffic bottlenecks, allowing Amtrak to acquire new train equipment and availing federal funding for new, short-distance services like those envisioned in the state’s emerging Ohio Hub Plan, including fast trains linking Cleveland - Columbus - Dayton - Cincinnati (3-C Corridor). All Aboard Ohio strongly encourages Gov. Ted Strickland and ODOT Director James Beasley to urge the Ohio Congressional Delegation to support both bills. VIDEO/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Starting April 3rd, 7 a.m. departure of Train #49 from Cleveland Amtrak Station, off South Marginal Road, between W. 3rd and E. 9th streets. END

Got a map of the Second Avenue subway's proposed route?

No warm and fuzzy feelings here.

You will start to have that starting this summer, when the 1870-built machine shop (people dub it the Cantina as its last use was a Cantina del Rio restaurant) is fully renovated with multiple uses. The developer is seeking a coffee shop, delicatessen, family-style restaurant and a mini market for the Cantina. Here's a photo from forumer MayDay of the Cantina, seen at right, with the new condo building at left (photo was taken in November): Also, for more information on the major development masterplan for the Stonebridge area, visit: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=9195.0 Or, for Stonebridge itself, visit: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3883.0

When we media folk use the term "wrecking ball" we do so to be overly cute or simply just to keep things short. That blurb was a "rip and read" piece for radio newscasters whose stations subscribe to Metro Networks. I suspect it will be an implosion, however. I recall seeing a program on History Channel, A&E, etc. on building demolitions where a skyscraper in Boston was imploded next to a building that would be kept. That building wasn't touched, except for the dust.

Yeah, following the law does slow down progress. Ask the Chinese.

^ ^ ^ Yay! Directions via transit!

Ameritrust Tower Demolition Expected 03-29-2007 5:45 AM (Cleveland, OH) -- A downtown Cleveland landmark appears to be headed for a meeting with the wrecking ball. The Cuyahoga County Commissioners will vote today to demolish the Ameritrust Tower, clearing the way for a new county administration complex. The county's architectural team is in favor of demolition, saying renovations would not make the building more efficient. Historic preservationists have pushed to keep the 36-year-old building, citing its Modernist style. Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company

Allow me to suggest several alternative locations on where to post that article... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5574.0 http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=11382.0 And probably the most appropriate place for your message, Pope... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5109.0

I didn't attend for the same reason.

Those satellite pictures of Moscow are nasty. I'm looking forward to seeing Cologne and Frankfurt.

Feel free to share a few photos with Sun Newspapers since our West office is sans-photographer! Contact me via private messenger to find out more details.

Bump. Thought this would be relevant to the ongoing debate at the State House.

What an abortion that whole ODOT plan is. It totally ignores the global economic, environmental and energy vital signs for the future. When are these guys going to realize that the world is rapidly changing?

It could, but I don't know where the water table is this close to the lake. Right now, I'd be happy with just $50 million from the state to start up a modest, introductory-type service. That $50 million would be triple the state's existing funding level for transit! Shows how backwards this state really is.

I wrote an article about this for tomorrow's Sun News, and asked that it be published in the West Side Sun, Brooklyn Sun Journal and Lakewood Sun Post. And the earlier factoid that this is the first LGBT clinic in the region understates things a bit. It's the first in OHIO and one of only 12 such designated clinics in the nation.

For the same reason why the Inner Belt project won't happen at the cost quoted -- lack of funding. And the last time the discussion of grade-separating NS through Lakewood was discussed (in the early 1990s) there seemed to be a general consensus that it would do more harm than good (ie: creating a wall that would separate the city). Enhanced grade-crossing safety (full-closure gates, education programs etc), establishing a Quiet Zone and keeping freight traffic to a minimum will achieve many of the same benefits at far less cost.

Don't limit your venting to this forum. Tell your elected officials what you think! Write letters to the editor of the newspapers! This shit will continue if the powerbrokers believe they have no reason to cause change.

Like having a shorthanded sales staff? Their director of sales, Don Picciano, left in January for another opportunity.

None of this locking in Tier I funding means anything if the feds don't find a way to prevent the highway trust fund from going bankrupt next year, and falling $22 billion into the hole in five years. If the federal hole is plugged to keep the pavement a-pouring, it still won't mean anything because adding the new highway capacity will only expand sprawl further. And that won't mean anything because putting more vehicles onto our state's highways will cause more counties to fall into non-compliance with EPA air quality standards. Manufacturers looking to build new plants are avoiding non-compliant counties, and vehicles are the primary cause of the non-compliance. We've got to reduce the number of vehicles miles traveled, not increase them. Maybe we can create jobs by making pizzas instead of manufactured goods. True, scaring good-paying jobs will cause the middle class to shrink further. And that won't let us afford the rising costs of car ownership, which already exceed the annual costs of housing for the average Ohioan, but is worse for low-income citizens who can't reach most of the available jobs. More of us won't be able to afford driving in the near future. So maybe locking in Tier I funding won't matter anyway. That is, if we don't want smarter land use, transportation choices, cleaner air, more good-paying jobs and access to those jobs. Or maybe we have to put a stop to the status quo before it puts a stop to Ohio.

The same $10.5 million might also likely permit an extension of Amtrak's daily Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Cleveland via Youngstown, including construction of the Ravenna Connection, construction of modest stations at New Castle, Ravenna and southeast suburban Cleveland, restoration of the Youngstown station, and provision of a servicing track at Cleveland. Or, it might also permit an extension of the Pennsylvanian to Cleveland via Alliance with added stations at Beaver Falls, Ravenna, and southeast suburban Cleveland AND at least one Empire Service train extended from Buffalo to Cleveland with added stations in Dunkirk, Ashtabula and Mentor, plus a passing siding or extra crossovers added on the latter routing, plus the servicing track at Cleveland to accommodate both new services.

GCRTA's February 2007 TOD Forum is now available for viewing on the Center's web page... http://urban.csuohio.edu/forum/events.shtml All, please share the link as far and wide as you can! And promote the upcoming forums while you're at it! They look very interesting. For other takes on the event: http://realneo.us/blog/jeff-buster/sprawl-antidote-transit-oriented-design-at-levin-college-csu http://www.toistudio.com/blog/2007/02/greater-cleveland-regional-transit.html

That article belongs in the West Shoreway thread, as it unrelated to the Inner Belt. However, here is an item that belongs in the Inner Belt thread...... ________________ The Cleveland Innerbelt Aesthetics and Urban Design Subcommittee will convene for their first meeting on March 29 at 8:30 a.m. at NOACA. This subcommittee is an advisory committee to the Ohio Department of Transportation and will be co-chaired by Bob Brown of the City of Cleveland and Craig Hebebrand of ODOT District 12. Skip Smallridge with Crosby, Schlessinger and Smallridge of Boston and Paul Volpe with City Architecture of Cleveland will provide an overview of the study process that will identify and develop aesthetic and urban design opportunities throughout Cleveland's Innerbelt Corridor. Please contact us with any questions. Thank you, Lora Hummer Public Information Officer Ohio Department of Transportation 5500 Transportation Boulevard Garfield Heights, Ohio 44125-5308 216.584.2007