KJP

Asbestos has to be removed prior to demolition as well as renovation.

I deleted it. The proposal is no longer relevant.

To my knowledge, Joe is not under contract nor is there a term of office for RTA's general manager. An RTA GM stays hired until he/she retires, resigns or is fired by the board.

Several of us were talking and wondering about that last night when we we're looking at the display boards. It's cheap because ODOT already owns it (or at least most of it). My contention is that the land-gobbling Central Interchange does not belong adjacent to a metropolitan area's downtown. Hadrian's Wall might be less effective in keeping walkable urban neighborhoods from spreading south/east of downtown Cleveland than the Central Interchange.

It's possible, but requires a different kind of train equipment (called diesel light rail). That's stuff has to be bought new, since it's a new kind of technology. And given Cleveland's reticence to do substantial transit-oriented projects except those meant to placate irritating interests, an interim service using second-hand train equipment is probably the way to go.

The I-71 ramp for West 65th/Denison was actually the first and only segment of the Parma Freeway that was ever built. That's why I-71's north and southbound lanes are spread apart there -- for a longitudinal interchange with the Parma Freeway.

Actually, according to the US Census, 24.57 percent of Cleveland households don't have access to a car. Considering that there are about 190,638 households in Cleveland with an average of 2.44 people per household, that translates to about 114,289 Clevelanders with no access to a car (that includes children however).

West Shore Corridor Stakeholders meeting Friday, Feb. 23, 2007 -- 1:00-2:30 p.m. Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency Board Meeting Room 1299 Superior Ave. Downtown Cleveland Preliminary Agenda Scheduled to convene this meeting is Cleveland Planning Commission Director Robert Brown, also NOACA's board president Alternatives Analysis: + Federal appropriation application update + State funding request(s) + Local initiatives > resolutions of support for analysis > unsolicited financial pledges > project sponsor Organizational Issues: + Community Station Area Development subcommittee - next steps? + Legal subcommittee - update on NS communications + Creation of "Project Funding Subcommittee" to develop strategies Other Issues and Next Steps + Demonstration project discussion + Set Project Funding Subcommittee strategic planning meeting + Set coordination meeting with other emerging transit projects in the region NOTE: Please contact Ken Prendergast to suggest any revisions to this tentative agenda, at: Kenneth Prendergast Director, Research & Communications All Aboard Ohio! 12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505 Lakewood, OH 44107-2189 (216) 288-4883 cell (216) 986-6064 office [email protected]

Cudell also has TOD at West 117th/Madison in its masterplan, and thus the city in its. Doesn't mean developers are listening. And RTA doesn't believe that a developer will want to use its parking lot for development instead. They will point to the yawn they got in return for offering up the development parcel at the EcoVillage station at West 65th and the sub-glacial development at the Brookpark station. Maybe RTA should swallow its pride and contract out its real estate marketing activities....

The line into Chagrin Falls was the former Wheeling & Lake Erie, later Norfolk & Western. It was abandoned in the mid-1980s or so and never had a commuter rail service on it. This line crossed the Erie Lackawanna (which did have commuter rail service until 1977) next to Bainbridge Road, just west of Solon Road, near the old (but since expanded) depot.

Where is this?

Thought you all should see some of the graphics that were shown at the Inner Belt public hearing held tonight in Tremont. These images, which I thought were the most telling of ODOT's plans, were extracted from a CD given to us mediafolk. Normally I shrink these to a size of about 100k, but I left these nearly three times as large so that you could see some detail. They're shown from west to east. "Enjoy"....

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Transit Oriented Development Forum The Center for Civic Education, Cleveland State University Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Glickman-Miller Hall, Atrium 1717 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115 Thursday, February 22, 2007 8:00 AM to Noon The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has developed TOD guidelines for joint development projects adjacent to its transit facilities. Join us for a discussion of these guidelines, along with TOD best practices, information and displays featuring TOD future development opportunities, and discussion of local examples of TOD projects. 8:00 - 8:15 AM Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:15-8:30 AM Welcoming Remarks Kathryn W. Hexter, Director, Center for Civic Education, Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University Joseph A. Calabrese, CEO/General Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority 8:30 - 9:30 AM Keynote Address-Best Practices in TOD Jeffrey Tumlin, an expert in the TOD field and Principal with the San Francisco-based transit consulting firm Nelson\Nygaard http://www.nelsonnygaard.com/resumes/tumlin.shtml 9:30-9:45 AM Q & A 9:45-10:00 AM Break 10:00 - 10:15 AM Maribeth Feke, Director, Programming & Planning, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Presentation of Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, TOD Guidelines 10:15 - 11:30 AM Panel Discussion John Buttarazzi, Liberty Hall Advisors, moderator Michael J. Schipper, P.E., Deputy General Manager, Engineering & Project Management, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Abraham Bruckman, AICP, Director of Real Estate Development Ohio City Near West Development Corporation Joyce Braverman, AICP, Director of Planning, City of Shaker Hts. Mandy Metcalf, AICP, EcoVillage, Project Manager, The Detroit Shoreway Development Organization 11:30-Noon Q&A All Forum events are archived on our website at www.urban.csuohio.edu/forum

As a smoker, I will continue to buy the same amount of smokes from the same places as I have been. Those who suggest (such as the PD) that a tax will noticeably alter smokers' buying habits doesn't understand smoking and smokers. We're addicted. There's nothing rational about what we're doing anyway!

http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=324577 Quad-Cities Online Durbin, other officials support Amtrak proposal By Anthony Watt , [email protected] Federal and state representatives, mayors and members of the public turned out Friday to show support for bringing Amtrak passenger rail service to the Quad-Cities. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said there is local interest in having passenger trains run through the region.

This could go in either the Cincinnati or Columbus streetcar threads. But the arguments posed here by longtime transit supporter (and conservative!) Paul Weyrich work for both... ______________________ Free Congress Foundation Commentary The Next Conservatism #49: Why the Next Conservatism Should Bring Back Streetcars By Paul M. Weyrich January 31, 2007 Streetcars? What could conservatism have to do with streetcars? Some of you may be wondering if I have slipped my trolley. Maybe I have, but wanting to bring electric streetcars back to our cities is no sign of it. In an earlier essay on the next conservatism, number ten in this series, I argued that conservatives should want to bring our cities back. Too many of them have become cold, hard, empty places, devoid of life and unable to perform the important functions cities have in any culture. Well, it turns out that if you want to bring cities back, you also want to bring back streetcars. A great new book, Street Smart: Streetcars and Cities in the 21st Century, explains why. Streetcars, it seems, are one of the most powerful tools for reviving cities. Several American cities have already brought the streetcars back, with tremendous positive effects on re-development. Kenosha, Wisconsin, brought streetcars back for just $6.2 million, and the new streetcar line has already brought $150 million in development, for a return on investment of 2,319%. Portland, Oregon, put in a downtown streetcar loop 4.8 miles long for $55 million; it generated over three billion dollars in new development. A 1.2 mile extension of the original loop brought in another $1.35 billion in development. Why do streetcars bring new development? There are several reasons. First, middle-class people with significant disposable income like riding streetcars. That is not true of buses. Second, streetcars are "pedestrian facilitators." People who ride through a city on a streetcar tend to get off and on, walking for a while, then riding some more. While they are walking, they go in stores, stop in restaurants for something to eat, maybe see a movie or get tickets for a show. In other words, they spend money downtown. Middle-class pedestrians are the life blood of a city, and streetcars make it easy for them to get around. Third, from a developer’s perspective, a streetcar line is a guarantee of high-quality public transportation that will be there for decades. That is not true of buses; a bus line can be here today, gone tomorrow. The investment in track and overhead wire streetcars require means their routes don't get up and move. Not surprisingly, bus service does little or nothing for development. Beyond their positive effects on re-development, there is another reason the next conservatism should want to bring back streetcars, and passenger trains for that matter. Thanks to trains, streetcars, and interurbans (which were big, fast streetcars that ran from cities far out into the countryside), travel in America used to be a lot more enjoyable than it is now. Today, we don't really travel. Instead, we are just packaged and shipped. That is true of air travel, which has become an ordeal, and also of much driving. One interstate highway is much like another and driving in or around cities often means getting caught in traffic congestion, which everybody hates. The next conservatism's theme of Retroculture wants to bring back good things from the past that we have lost. Pleasure in travel, in the journey itself, should be one of those good things. Life is too short to make travel into misery, when it can be fun. Yes, riding streetcars is fun. Our grandparents used to enjoy riding the streetcars. They have a feel to them that is completely different from a bus. You can take my word for it. I have ridden streetcars all over the world. Better, the next time you are in a city that has streetcars, or Light Rail, take a ride. You will see the city in a whole different way. And I think you will enjoy the experience. A few years ago, I was in Denver with a friend, a United States Senator, who was a strong opponent of rail transit. Denver has a Light Rail system. I asked him if he would take a ride on it with me, and he agreed. About half way through our ride, he turned to me and said, "This is nice." Our cities, if they are to be living cities, need streetcars. The next conservatism should work to bring the streetcars back, as one of many nice presents the past can offer the future. Resurrecting good things from the past is what conservatism should be about. Paul M. Weyrich is Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation

My preference is to have a station for that area located at West Boulevard to enable transfers to/from the Red Line. That gives inbound West Shore riders to quickly head to two downtown stations -- North Coast and Tower City -- plus the airport, University Circle, Shaker, Ohio City. The latter may be important to St. Ignatius boys and their parents, many of whom live in the West Shore.

I picked Louisville because I thought you lived there. My experiment works better in Ohio's metros.

At first, I wondered if you were saying "Oh my god" because you thought you were flying a little too low over Manhattan... Sorry, that day more than five years ago still haunts me. As long as you stayed above the Empire State Building! Great photos.

U.S. gasoline tax: 18.4 cents/gallon Ohio gasoline tax: 28 cents/gallon Total tax per gallon paid in Ohio is 46.4 cents

Siecer, try this as an experiment sometime.... Drive out to what was the urban fringe of metro Louisville in about 1980. Look at your watch. Then get on the interstate or other limited-access highway and drive from there to downtown Louisville. Look at your watch and record the time. Let's say it's 20 minutes. Next, get on an old arterial street and drive out from downtown. When 20 minutes (or whatever the time is) has elapsed, stop driving. Chances are, you've probably arrived at what was the urban fringe in 1950 or so. You might even travel farther than the 1950s urban fringe if that arterial you've chosen goes through what is now a depressed, depopulated area. OK, let's try part two of the experiment. Drive to an "edge city" that's a large, post-1980 employment area. I don't know what that is in metro Louisville, but in Greater Cleveland, it's Mentor, Beachwood or Independence or Westlake. "Try" to find the geographic center of that edge city. Then, get on an interstate that feeds the edge city and drive in a direction opposite from Downtown Louisville until you reach the present-day urban fringe of metro Louisville. How many miles are you from the 1950-urban fringe of Louisville? Now, can you see yourself in 1950 driving to work every weekday in downtown Louisville from that location via an arterial? Probably not. This is why I don't see a chicken-and-egg situation when it comes to debating whether highways (plus its cousins of subsidized wholesale oil prices, the lack highway-use pricing, highway-supportive zoning practices, etc) are the dominant force motivating urban sprawl outward beyond the 1950s city?

Upon further review.... Did you notice that the Connecting Cleveland transit component also had a TOD for the West 117th area on the "West Shore Transit Corridor"? Well, one of the goals of the Cudell Improvement Corp. (a commuter rail supporter) is to have a station at West 117th Street and promote a TOD-style development there. They proposed redeveloping along West 117th south of the tracks, including the car dealership, Cudell's current offices in the former Medic store at Detroit and the several business in between. They also want to work in conjunction with Lakewood on making new use of some underutilized properties on its side of the street, namely the closed Bahr Lumber. That tells me that the city's definition is "West Shore Transit Corridor" is likely rail transit. But I will see if I can find out for certain.

Thanks. I have some other pictures in books of Youngstown, but since my scanner is on the fritz, they'll have to wait.

OK, here's the graphic I mentioned earlier. It's called the "Black Hole Theory of Highway Investment" and it's from a college textbook of mine "The Geography of Urban Transportation" from 21 years ago. It was theory then. It's fact now. Now, urban planners and politicians can map out a pedestrian-friendly or transit-friendly plan for a city until they are blue in the face, and a select few portions of it might even get built. But when 95 percent (or more) of Ohio's transportation funding goes to highways, it's a virtual certainty that those land use plans won't be realized (or, at best, won't reach their full potential). More likely, the urban form that will ultimately get built is the one that's dependent on the car because that's where the money is -- and there isn't much that anyone can do about it short of amending Ohio's constitution. Mr Sparkle will probably cite a few examples of dense, walkable, non-highway dependent communities that are doing OK or maybe even succeeding. That is the exception in Ohio. And it will continue to be that way until the state's constitution is amended to allow the public to vote on how their gas taxes are spent. Instead, we vote exclusively for more highways every time we pump gas into our cars, whether we want to or not. What comes out the other end is for the highway engineer to design. To suggest otherwise is wholly ignorant of the legal restrictions placed on Ohio's gas tax and the codependency of transportation modes to their specific, supportive urban forms. I feel most sorry for the 10-20 percent of urban households which never even get to cast a vote at the gas pump simply because they don't own cars. Instead, they must rely on scraps from the mere $16 million Ohio spends on public transportation. If more understood these issues, I fear there would be a citizen revolution. The problem is too many Ohioans don't question that the healthy community they are living in has a lifespan of less than 100 years under Ohio's current transportation policy. Eventually, it's going to be made redundant by the newer community on the bypass of the bypass farther out from the city. That's the Black Hole Theory of Highway Investment. Too bad Americans have gotten soft -- or blind. We're like fish who don't even see or question the water we're swimming in. Until people take back control of the gas tax, our urban planners and local elected officials will have far less power than highway engineers (including highway builders, etc) in controlling the fate of their communities. And that's the facts of life in Ohio.

Just heard a bit of interesting news. The owner of the Euclid and Ninth Tower (the old Scofield Building) across East 9th from the old Cleveland Trust rotunda is seriously considering removing the metal skin added in the 1950s to the 105-year-old Scofield building. I'm told the owner is interested in this because of the county's headquarters redevelopment across the street. I would love to see the old Scofield Building for the first time in my life. I don't have enough info yet for a story and will probably wait anyway until the owner decides to proceed, but I think it's certainly worth mentioning here! I don't have a photo of the Scofield Building (or its present-day version in the skin of the Euclid-Ninth Tower) handy here at the office, but will see about posting one later (unless someone beats me to it!).