KJP

Archbold -- Hey Pope, that's near Stryker isn't it?? (Four miles away, I see).

I've found that developers often use Census data to decide if they are seriously interested in a particular market or even a certain street corner. Usually, that data is accurate enough to nail down a site (although I question whether Census data is as accurate in the city, especially for bad neighborhoods, as it is in better areas of Cleveland and certainly the suburbs). But if their development is substantial enough, I've seen developers seek out more detailed data to shape the final product they will ultimately offer. I also agree that too many Cleveland developers are followers and not leaders. Fortunately that situation is getting a little better. Stark, Zaremba, Heartland, Marous, Rysar and others are taking risks that developers in the past wouldn't have. But for other developers, it's hard for them to find data for new, hot (or at least warming) areas in Cleveland's core when they're not even looking. Many are still looking in the opposite direction -- to farmlands at the urban fringe.

Re: Annual attendance -- see the second-to-last paragraph in the press release above. The area around the zoo is pretty stable. Not a wealthy neighborhood, but not as rough as the areas a little farther north. Yes, we do treasure it. The new African Elephant Safari should be terrific. Wrote an article about it recently with some renderings and a photo of the model.

There really isn't much you can do, unless you want to start your own grassroots campaign for Euclid Avenue... ie: "Friends of Euclid Avenue."

If MayDay is the HBIC and ColDayMan is the HNIC, is Magyar the HICK?

The Cleveland Barbies e-mail that's been floating around had the same exact pics as the Columbus. Just different locations and descriptions applied to each. You can figure out based on the descriptions what locations the pics went with...

However he added, "One of our shortcomings, compared to other cities, is our downtown area." He said other communities such as Brecksville, Chardon, Chagrin Falls and Westlake have strong downtown areas compared to Independence. Uh, OK. While Brecksville does have a town center, I wouldn't call it a downtown. Not exactly pedestrian friendly or dense enough to qualify. Westlake doesn't have a town center or a downtown. It does have a faux town, created in the spirit of Disney, set off to the side of the existing street pattern. It's hardly integrated with its surroundings and existing streets as the true small town downtowns of Chagrin Falls and Chardon are. But then, the average American (or certainly Greater Clevelander) probably wouldn't know the difference between a Crocker Park and Chagrin Falls or Chardon -- except maybe that Crocker Park is newer! Some might detect a difference, but couldn't tell you why.

I don't think I could add much to clvlndr's message. When we second-guess (or simply measure) decisions that are made in the past, send yourself back to that era in a "mental time machine" and try to place yourself in the shoes of a Clevelander back then. Remember that there was a strong desire to have a Public Square befitting a city that was the nation's fifth or sixth largest city and was adding 100,000 to 200,000 every decade for the prior 40 years. Public Square (especially the SW quadrant) was a disgrace and the Cleveland Union Terminal was an opportunity to replace many blocks of eyesore buildings and provide a single location that united the five scattered railroad stations downtown serving the New York Central, Big Four, Pennsylvania RR, Nickel Plate, Erie, B&O, Wheeling & Lake Erie. And it was intended to provide a station for the existing interurban electric lines (Lake Shore Electric to Lorain and Toledo; the Cleveland Southwestern to Elyria, Norwalk, Berea, Medina and Bucyrus; the Northern Ohio to Akron, Canton, Kent, Ravenna, Warren, and New Philadelphia; the Cleveland & Eastern to Mayfield, Chagrin Falls, Chardon and Middlefield; and the Cleveland, Painesville & Eastern to Willoughby, Painesville, Geneva and Ashtabula), plus the planned system of an urban rapid transit (including the recently built Shaker rapid -- then considered the first phase of a high-speed electric railway to Youngstown). You couldn't do all that on the lakefront. cle2032, interesting story. We have our beefs with Joe Calabrese's views on rail here, but even Joe told me once that he considered Tower City as one of the finest rail transit stations in the U.S. I certainly agree. Too bad not much else has been developed along the rapid transit lines to create new nodes of high-density activity and thus build rail traffic synergies between them. That, I believe more than anything, is why Tower City isn't all that it could be. It's a virtual oasis on the Cleveland rail transit system. Shaker Square is a close second. Ironically, these are both brainchilds of the Van Swerigen brothers. We've largely forgotten how to build urban assets in Cleveland since those two guys died. Take a page, RTA and others!

My contribution to the revolution.... ________________ A L L A B O A R D O H I O ! Contact: Andrew Bremer Interim Executive Director All Aboard Ohio! 309 South 4th Street Suite #304 Columbus, OH 43215 614- 228-6005 Jan. 18, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Congress urged to pass rail bill for Ohio's future More and better passenger trains in Ohio would result from the passage of an important piece of legislation that was introduced this week in the U.S. Senate. All Aboard Ohio, a nonprofit advocacy organization, is asking the Ohio Congressional delegation to support this bill and to ensure a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives is introduced and passed this year. The legislation -- S.294, the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act -- was introduced Jan. 16 by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Trent Lott (R-MS). A nearly identical bill was passed 93-6 by the Senate in the last Congress, but was not taken up by the House. S.294 would increase federal funding to improve and expand passenger train services nationwide by creating a six-year capital improvement program. Such a program would also benefit the Ohio Rail Development Commission's Ohio Hub System plan for fast passenger trains on a half-dozen routes linking Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Toronto. "Development of passenger train services in Ohio will stimulate the state's stagnant economy, provide needed jobs, allow business travelers to work or rest while they ride, as well as improve low-cost mobility for the state's shrinking middle class and growing senior population," said Bill Hutchison, president of All Aboard Ohio. Similar to existing federal programs for aviation and highway construction, S.294 would provide a federal matching program to state and local investments in railroad infrastructure. The federal funding share would be up to 80 percent for new or rebuilt train equipment, tracks, stations, road crossings and other capital improvements. Investments in additional tracks and signaling systems would also increase the capacity of increasingly busy freight railroads and keep heavy trucks off Ohio's highways. The program would also let Ohio use its current and past investments in new railroad underpasses and added safety devices at road-rail crossings. Those investments could allow Ohio to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds if Congress passes S.294. "This is exactly the kind of legislation Congress needs to pass in order for Ohio to build a quality rail network," Hutchison said. "We need this network, the Ohio Hub System, to pump new economic life into our cities and towns and respect the future in which natural resources will be increasingly constrained." ### All Aboard Ohio! is a state-wide non-profit organization based in Columbus, Ohio, advocating for improved public transit and the development of the Ohio Hub Plan. More information can be found at HYPERLINK "http://www.allaboardohio.org" www.allaboardohio.org .

They won't have the Amshack for long. St. Louis is building the Gateway Intermodal Terminal for Amtrak, Greyhound and Metrolink light rail. It's elongated because it has to thread under a highway connect the various transport modes... Then again, here is what Houston is planning to build!!

My presentation was strictly informational. But I did give the board a sample resolution for their future consideration.

Just saw this. Anyone have more details? From the Board of Zoning Appeals agenda for Jan. 22.... 9:30 Ward 13 Calendar No. 07-1: 2042-44 East 4th Street Joe Cimperman 8 Notices Krause Project Partners, LLC, owner, appeal to change use from a jewelry store to a restaurant/night club the first floor and part of the basement level of an existing six-story building, situated on a 25’ x 100’ parcel located in a General Retail Business District on the west side of West 4th Street at 2042-44 West 4th Street; under the provisions of Sections 343.11(b)(2)(L), amusement and recreational uses, such as a night club, are subject to the regulations of Section 347.12, provided that the place or building in which such use is operated is sufficiently sound-insulated to confine the use to the premises; and no such use, a night club, may be established within 500’ of another such use, as stated in Section 347.12(a)(2) of the Codified Ordinances. (Filed 1-3-07)

Yes they can. They seem to be preoccupied with Stapleton and Atlantic Yards right now. Hard to explain, but it would be like a marketplace or showcase of medical products and services from around the world. It would cater to those in the health care professions to "kick the tires" on the latest offerings to hit the market, talk to the supplier/manufacturer, and be able to order goods/services on the spot. For more information on the "mart" concept, visit these websites for merchandise marts in various cities: http://www.merchandisemart.com/mmart/ http://www.denvermart.com/ http://www.carolinasmart.com/ http://www.americasmart.com/ http://www.41madison.com/

Nosal said he thought the odds of B&H ending up at 200 Public Square were slightly better than 50/50 at the time I interviewed him (last week).

CVSR would have to go under NS to access CUT via the commuter track level. And that's not just because of the grade difference that needs to be overcome. NS will not permit a scenic railroad to cross a moderately busy freight line at grade. CVSR is having similar problems getting permission from CSX and NS to cross their tracks that come down the Big Creek valley into the Cuyahoga valley. They may have to grade-separate that crossing, or come up with some extra signaling equipment to protect that crossing (as well as added liability insurance). BTW, stub-end terminals are very low capacity. Not much potential for future growth with the last scenario. A four-track through station on the lakefront site would have much more capacity than a four-track stub-end CUT station.

It's old news by now, but I was quite taken by the building's sturdiness... _______________ http://www.cleveland.com/sun/brooklynsunjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1169142924183210.xml&coll=3 New condos are rising downtown Thursday, January 18, 2007 By Ken Prendergast Brooklyn Sun Journal The old saying goes "they don't build them like they used to." But few buildings here were built like the Park Building. For 102 years, the Park served as an office building until Matt Howells bought it in March 2006 for $1.7 million. The nine-story building is on Public Square downtown, between the old May Co. and Higbee's department stores...

Mr. Galt shows that people really do live in a vacuum, as if the world outside their own little version of it doesn't exist. If he acknowledged its existence, his misperceptions would be shattered and would cause him to admit the most awful thing he's ever had to acknowledge .... that he's wrong.

I would be very interested in hearing about that. And if there's any further info about the ESPN Zone, feel free to post that or please send me a PM. I'd love to write an article about both!

The Townhouses at Courtland Court, Phase II GRAND OPENING TONIGHT! January 18, 2007 5:00-8:00pm 5415 St. Stephens Court (Off West 54th Street Just South of Bridge Avenue) Refreshments provided by: Gypsy Beans and Baking Co. Artwork on Display by Local Artists Jen Doss & Chris Kaspar REGISTER TO WIN 2 Tickets to a Performance at Cleveland Public Theatre and a $20 Gift Certificate to Gypsy Beans and Baking Co. The Townhouses at Courtland Court, Phase II is a new development of 16 spacious townhomes in the Bridge Square area of Detroit Shoreway. Priced from $179,900, unit features include: spacious modern floor plans, 10-foot ceilings on the main level, vaulted bedroom ceilings, two bedrooms, 1.5-2.5 baths, deck and patio options, a new private street, attached two-car garage and no monthly fees. Reduced-rate financing and 15 year tax abatement available ###

I just re-read the PD article and it sounds like there will be one type of fare collection system for the buses and the Blue/Green lines, and another type for the Red Line and Silver (Euclid Corridor) Line. I will contact RTA directly to clarify this, but if that's the case then I'm not happy with having two systems for the rail lines. Standardization isn't just about lowering costs but creating familiarity and simplicity for customers. I hope I'm overreacting.

heheheheh ColDayMan. I like Buffalo. Nice pics richNcincy

According to the Ohio Insurance Institute, there were 7.9 million licensed drivers in Ohio in 2004 (most recent data I could find). ODOT's budget that year was $2.33 billion, while local spending for roads (repairs, new construction, snow removal, lighting etc.) is nearly $12 billion statewide and Ohioans spend an average of $7,000 per year on owning, operating and maintaining their cars (Source: AAA) for a statewide total of $55.3 billion. The total cost of the highway system could be in the range of $70 billion per year. To me, that looks like the average cost of Ohio's highway system to an Ohio driver is $8,860.76 per year. That doesn't take into account the cost of local safety forces required to enforce traffic laws or respond to traffic accidents. Local governments also spend a huge amount of money for running the court system, only some of which is paid for by traffic fines. Another huge expense is building and maintaining storm water drainage from sprawling, auto-dependent areas where there are large swaths of impervious surfaces. And, let's not forget the environmental and national security costs we incur from burning fossil fuels. Two-thirds of our nation's oil consumption is for transportation, and highways have a 90 percent market share. Plus, as many of you know, we import more than 60 percent of our oil.

They wouldn't have to tear down the federal courthouse. One of these days, I need to put my concept on paper for restoring train service to Tower City Center. It would, however, require ripping out the parking level added between the station platforms and Tower City above.

That's what I'm saying. What's happening at Tower City leaves the lakefront as the only area left for building a train station in downtown Cleveland.

Or that Illinois doubled its train services by increasing its funding from $12 million per year to $24 million -- basically the cost of a suburban highway interchange.