KJP

You are remembering correctly. A commuter rail service is anything that is on a travel corridor 135 miles or less in length and serves a regular daily ridership of workers, students and shoppers (a commuter isn't just someone heading to work).

Unfortunately, he didn't write that report that has his name on it. Obviously, he signed off on it, and that's a positive. I only hope he believes as strongly about the contents of the report as the people who actually wrote it and poured their hearts, souls and brains into it.

I got your waterfront vision right here... Notice how a number of the waterfront buildings step down toward the park. One can tell a lot of thought went into the building code, or Toronto's planning commission took a lot of care in design review or nearly all of the developers are of the same mind when it comes to carefully designing some very visible buildings.

Or just throwing up.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tiffany Wlazlowski Feb. 9, 2007 (703) 838-1717 Highway Users Form Coalition to Oppose Privatization of Toll Roads Group Says Government Must Be Held Accountable for Financing WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Trucking Associations, in conjunction with the American Automobile Association, the American Highway Users Alliance, the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association today announced the formation of a coalition of highway user groups to combat the growing trend toward the privatization or leasing of existing toll facilities to private investors. Known as "Americans for a Strong National Highway Network," the coalition is designed to advance the rights of American motorists to travel on safe, reliable public roads; maintain a robust national highway network for the efficient transport of goods and the military; and to hold government accountable for ensuring financing is transparent, motivated by public good and dedicated to transportation purposes. The announcement was made at a press conference held at the National Press Club. "The sale or lease of existing toll facilities generates revenue at great expense to taxpayers and the trucking industry and carries potential negative impacts on highway safety, security and the motoring public," said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. "We must consider the long-term impact privatization will have on our nation's transportation system and explore all available financing options to ensure that the government is motivated by public good and transportation purposes." Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, stated: "For the Bush Administration, the rush to promote public-private partnerships is based in ideology, not a critical evaluation of how public-private partnerships might help meet the goal of an improved, integrated national transportation system and further the public interest." ATA strongly opposes the lease or sale of existing toll roads, bridges or tunnels to private parties and has called upon the government to abandon these financing techniques. The trucking industry supports the objective of a toll-free national highway system where funds to finance highway improvements primarily come from highway user fees, such as the fuel tax. The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States. ###

So what do we know about this guy, other than he was the lead person on Strickland's ODOT transition team? OK, Southwest Ohioans, chime in!

Is that 300,000 square feet total, or additional? Either way, I hope this expansion puts cranes in the sky -- on Public Square.

I agree with Noozer. A variation based on what Noozer talks about is to do what Via Rail Canada does in Toronto. Their first-morning and last-evening trains to/from Windsor and Montreal don't originate and terminate at Toronto Union Station. Instead, they operate through to the other side of the metro area. The morning train to Windsor and the afternoon train from Windsor originates/terminates at Oshawa (some 30 miles east of TUS) and makes an enroute stop at suburban Guildwood. Meanwhile, the morning train to Montreal and the afternoon train from Montreal originates/terminates at Aldershot (near Hamilton, some 30 miles west of Toronto) and makes an enroute stop at suburban Oakville. In Greater Cleveland, you could have a morning train to Columbus and Cincinnati originate in Mentor and make an enroute stop in Euclid before pulling into the North Coast Transportation Center in downtown Cleveland. An afternoon train from Cincinnati and Columbus could pause in downtown Cleveland before heading out to Euclid and Mentor. A morning train from Cleveland to Chicago or Detroit could originate in Canton or Akron and return to those same cities in the evening. And morning trains to Buffalo/Toronto and Pittsburgh could originate in Elyria, stop at Hopkins Airport before heading to downtown Cleveland. Reverse that pattern westbound in the evenings. The evening/night trains returning to Cleveland from Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, etc. would probably pause in downtown Cleveland well after rush hour is over, so those trains probably wouldn't be too useful for commuters. But they could be decent trains for intercity rail travelers, those heading home from downtown sporting events and activities, and people making rail connections from Hopkins Airport. Commuters might be able to use afternoon departures from downtown Cleveland whose ultimate destinations are Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, etc. but make a couple of station stops at places like Elyria, Mentor, Hudson and the like. That will depend on negotiations with the freight railroads, how the trains are scheduled and what capital improvements are needed/can be afforded.

I think so.

So should we demolish the thousands of homes near the tracks? Or should we make a modest investment in enhancing their marketability and value? I think the latter. As opposed to freight trains, commuter trains don't block road crossings and emergency vehicle access. But the addition of commuter trains will increase the noise of locomotive horns the same as any increase in freight train traffic would. And the noise is constant as a train approaches -- there are 27 road crossings in just five miles in Lakewood, plus another five crossings in the western fringe of Cleveland. Rather than see a decrease in property values from the added noise, Quiet Zones will allow an increase in the re-sale value of properties within 1,000 feet of the tracks by 2-8 percent. Roughly 3,000 properties would be positively affected in Lakewood alone, and increase the value of the community's taxbase. That's a crucial benefit for a city that cannot easily add new construction without demolishing something first. Consider this: Creating a Quiet Zone through Lakewood would have a comparable impact on the community's taxbase as adding a large office building -- but without demolishing anything in this densely developed city. The Quiet Zones are being sought less to appease existing residents. They are being sought to boost the marketability of Lakewood to future residents, and especially for the homes near the tracks.

Here is a map of the alternatives being considered for transit investment in Pittsburgh's Eastern Corridor: http://www.spcregion.org/ECTS/pdf/RecAlt.pdf More information about the Eastern Corridor study, which is near to determining a preferred alternative, can be found at: http://www.spcregion.org/trans_trans.shtml And part of the rationale of the PAT extension under the Allegheny to the stadiums is to be the first phase of LRT service to the airport:

Try these resources to get an idea of what may be available by the time June rolls around.... http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/ http://www.rent.com/rentals/ohio/cleveland-and-vicinity/cleveland/university-circle/ http://www.clv-lofts.com/ http://www.landmarkmgt.com/ (a few specialized listings & nice music!) http://www.downtownapartments.com/ (a few specialized listings but no music...) http://www.warehousedistrict.org/district/ http://www.historicgateway.org/HousingDirectory.html

There's too many of them to map. Like I said in the article, there's at least several hundred of them. Based on the statistic that was given to me, of the roughly 1,000 land-bank lots in the city, about one-third have urban gardens on them.

Yes on all three. Because if you have housing AND offices, then the retail/restaurant component stays active and viable day and night. East 9th Street is pretty busy with people during the day, but rolls up its sidewalks at night and on weekends. The Warehouse District is decidely more active in the evenings/night/weekends, yet it still has some daytime activity thanks to a blend of office use (admittedly on a much smaller scale than East 9th). So, combine a dense mix of office and housing, with a good sidewalk presence of retail, restaurants and cafe in the same district and it will rock 24/7. I think that's what Wolstein has in mind.

I posted an answer at the following link to keep this thread on topic... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=3594.msg161530#msg161530

Continued from the Gray's Green thread..... Off the top of my head, here are the downtown buildings that are vacant or mostly vacant that are likely to see conversion to housing: Warehouse District: George Worthington III - midblock Johnson Court Titanic Tower (ex Cambridge Building) - SW corner West 3rd & St. Clair Unknown building - 1200 block east side of West 6th Civic Center: Rockwell Building, East 6th Street (former WKYC studios/offices) Euclid Avenue: Too numerous to get a handle on (but many do have rehab plans announced for them) Also, one of the oldest buildings still standing in the central busines district is at the corner of Ontario at High, just south of Prospect. I'm told it was built in the early to mid-1800s. Unfortunately, not only is it vacant but it's in bad shape and getting worse.

Below is a part of a citywide 1925 transit map I have. This part shows only the Cleveland Railway Company (the city's streetcar system) that existed in 1925 in the area between downtown and the Heights. The dashed lines are the CRC routes/tracks that had existed but were abandoned by 1925. Non-CRC routes/tracks are not shown. GA_Lancer is correct. Here's some more info... From 1916-20, the Shaker Rapid, then called the Cleveland Interurban Railroad Co., deviated from Shaker Boulevard northward in Coventry's median, then to Fairmount to head downtown. From 1920-30, the Shaker Rapid ran on a joint right of way with the New York Central Railroad (NYC's access to the Northern Ohio Food Terminal) as far east as where the Campus Rapid station is today. The ramp the tracks used to get up to street level on Pittsburgh Avenue is still visible. The Shaker Rapid entered downtown on Pittsburgh/Broadway and Ontario. Its current route west of the Campus Station opened in 1930 when Cleveland Union Terminal opened. Anyway, here's the map......

I used "was" because I don't know yet what the new plan is. The best I can tell ya is that Wolstein liked the original LL plan, but has also talked about putting residential, offices or a hotel in at least the second tower. So the original Shaia plan may not necessarily be the new joint-development plan.

True, and any place with density is going to have those features/issues.

The cemetery doubles as a park.

So would I. I love the area in D.C. northwest of the Mall, like along Connecticut Street. That height of building provides plenty of density and street life -- as long as the uses are mixed.

The first tower to be built was supposed to be 18 stories. The second phase was to be 22 stories.

Yeah, but dead people don't stand on the street corner at all hours of the night and make lots of noise. Why would a cemetery bother anyone anyway? They're usually very well landscaped and quiet. Plus the Erie Street Cemetery is an historic place and worth visiting. Many of the city's first settlers are buried there. The Salvation Army building is a residence for low-income and homeless people. It's not some place that's active only during regular business hours. I can see some of us uptight, snobbish people to be turned off by the Salvation Army being there.

What mapping software do you use Map Boy? I have to produce a map for Sun of the project area. I like what you're using. I can definitely see the part between East 14th and 18th starting with a clean slate, sans the Salvation Army building. But how would having a Salvation Army facility affect housing sales in that block? There's also a building on the southwest corner of East 14th that has been used a tire/car repair place. It's a very nice exterior but the interior was hollowed out to allow parking inside. That was one of the building's Stark took an option on.

Thanks!