KJP

I would have taken it as a compliment if Pat Forde had said "Cleveland" instead of Cincinnati. But Clevelanders seem to care more about the Bucks than Cincinnatians do -- unfortunately -- so the joke doen't fit as well. I wish the Bucks would go hang their sloopy someplace else.

Do you know how tall this tower will be? Will it be a "tower" in the VA Hospital sense (six measely stories), or a tower in the Cleveland Clinic sense (10-15 stories)? :-P

But not all state gasoline tax dollars are created equal. In fact, some that are already paid to the Ohio Department of Transportation do not come from users of Ohio's roadways. As you noted, under the Ohio Constitution, non-highway transportation projects and other costs are forbidden from receiving funding generated by state gasoline taxes. The same legal prohibition exists in Oregon, yet that state uses gas taxes (dubbed "the Lawnmower Gas Tax") to pay for rail passenger service. How? A small amount of gas taxes are paid by operators of non-roadway vehicles/machinery (ie: landscaping equipment, off-road vehicles, farm equipment, sporting events etc.). Gas station owners/managers cannot differentiate how their gas is ultimately burned, and thus cannot differentiate the filing of gas tax payments. But the state can make an estimate based on market analyses how much fuel is consumed by these non-highway users. In Oregon, the state estimates that about $7.2 million per year in fuel taxes are paid by non-roadway vehicles/equipment operators and allocates that revenue to rail passenger service. In Ohio, a similar, thorough analysis would determine how much revenue is paid by non-roadway vehicles/equipment operators. A rough estimate suggests that this annual amount may be about $25 million. This estimate of mine was derived from Ohio's population being 3.15 times greater than Oregon's in 2006 (per Census), and that Ohio's fuel tax (both gasoline is diesel) is 28 cents per gallon. Oregon's gasoline tax is 24.9 cents per gallon and its diesel fuel tax is 24.3 cents per gallon (per GasBuddy.com). The goal of this revenue stream should be to diversify the state's transportation system by offering more choices for travelers and shippers. That can be accomplished by increasing state support for cost-effective, energy-efficient rail freight and passenger services. In a recent ODOT survey, more Ohioans wanted expanded travel choices than more lanes added to highways. And it was by a wide margin. The beauty of this is that the legislature probably doesn't need to act in order to change how this gas tax money is spent. ODOT would likely have to get a ruling from the Ohio Attorney General to confirm the legality and, if Ohio comes to the same policy conclusion as Oregon did, ODOT would have to do a market analysis of how much gas taxes are paid by non-highway users. It would then be up to ODOT to decide how to spend it -- for more of the same, or for a refreshing new approach to give Ohioans a choice in how to travel. That's what Ohioans want!

Media Advisory RTA Board of Trustees meet Nov. 21 CLEVELAND -- The Board of Trustees of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21, at RTA's Main Office, 1240 W. Sixth St. After the regularly schedule meeting, the Board’s Finance Committee will meet to review the 2007 proposed service plan. The review is part of the Board’s on-going review of the proposed 2007 operating budget. During the regular meeting, the Board will consider resolutions to: • Honor Leonard Ronis on his retirement. Ronis, RTA’s first General Manager, has gained a national reputation in his 60 years in transit. • Approve a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Cleveland Foundation to accept $250,000 for a study of the University Circle station. A separate resolution would approve the purchase a new chair lift for the station. • Purchase two acres to expand the North Olmsted Park-N-Ride lot. • Buy eight 45-foot commuter coaches, to serve the Park-n-Ride lots, with an option to purchase up to 18 coaches a year for five years. • Purchase diesel fuel at a $1.3 million savings for a fixed price in 2007. • Lease two more radio towers. • Approve a proposed fare modification for passes purchased by owners at “The Lofts at Avalon Station.” • Purchase rock salt from the City of Cleveland for $95,000. • For the Euclid Corridor Project: Pay CSU $348,000 for a federally required ”before and after study”; approve a $221,000 change order to a construction contracts and approve a real estate transaction of $54,900. ###

You may be right.

Terrific pictures. Isn't it amazing at how European our cities looked in the early part of the 20th century?!?! After the Great Depression and WWII, we seemed to forget how to design and build cities. So we demolished what we no longer understood. BTW, the Central Armory was demolished in 1962, according to the book "Cleveland's Changing Skyline."

Something I didn't know is that of the several dozen states that allow casinos/gambling in some form, only three or four were done by the ballot. The rest were by the state legislatures. But since Ohio voters have twice (more?) voted gambling down, I doubt legislators would be willing to ignore that.

That's a tremendous resource. From my cursory look thus far, the Cudell and Fairfax plans are spectacular!

Terrific pics and comparisons. Thanks for sharing.

Here's the same Nickel Plate RR station, seen in 1928 just before it was to be demolished. NKP trains were routed into Cleveland Union Terminal. Now that was progress IMHO But of course! I have some images of the depot from the 1800s, but here's a couple I could quickly find. It lost its trainshed in its later years as you will see (Pennsylvania RR continued to serve it into the early 1960s -- a 100-year service life!)... Looking west from West 3rd in 1910: Same general view, different year -- 1930:

How about some then-and-now views of a few the pictures shown above? All the "now" views (actually from the 1980s) are from yours truly. Alliance Ohio then (circa 1900): Alliance Ohio October 1982. The scene hasn't changed that much in 24 years though. The brick station was built by PRR in the 1950s on the site of the old depot: Ravenna's PRR station circa 1900 (shortly after PRR built a straighter routing in the 12 miles between Ravenna and Hudson - the old route was taken over by an electric interurban railway). The PRR is above and the B&O is below, but PRR connected here with it so its freight and passenger trains could go into Youngstown from Cleveland: About as close of a view to the above as I could quickly find. I took this in May 1986. The PRR tracks were taken over by Conrail. The B&O tracks below were taken over by CSX right about the time I took this shot looking west: Here's a view looking east, down from the Conrail (PRR) bridge to the B&O tracks below in October 1984. The old PRR mainline segment between Ravenna and Hudson is in the background -- the bridge still stood in 1984 but the tracks were gone. Also, both of the PRR's connecting tracks visible to the left of the train have since been removed, severing all direct rail access between Cleveland and Youngstown: Ravenna's PRR depot circa 1900: Ravenna's PRR depot in September 1986. Some girl named Bev obviously loved Bill 20 years ago. Too bad Conrail didn't love the depot. Less than two years later, Conrail demolished it. This easterly view is from the same angle as the one directly above, but with a zoom lens: I've got lots more pics, including dozens and dozens of images of historical Ohio railroad stations. It will take me a while to upload and post them all.

I had just posted some encouraging specifics from the incoming Strickland-Fisher administration's "transition" website. But I see gildone had beat me to at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=11118.msg140890#msg140890 The transition website: http://govelect.ohio.gov/Vision/RevitalizingOurCitiesandTowns/tabid/63/Default.aspx

Good to know. But first impressions, like a product's attractive packaging, can influence a prospective customer to want open the package to try what's inside. That home page was OK, but not outstanding enough to make me want to browse the site.

I realize they aren't lacking in theater seats, but when I walking with a friend of mine in Chicago near the Chicago Theater, he was mentioning that the city fathers lamented that they've not capitalized on the theaters by creating a critical mass performing arts district like Broadway or even Playhouse Square. He said the city could be doing so much more to make a livelier area. That's all.... So how many seats does Playhouse Square have? (ducking and covering)

Great find!

Thanks bro

Just about every major constuction project for an existing commercial corridor has had its casualties. I wish major construction projects like this included some funding for businesses to seek to cover their losses. Something like low-or no-interest short-term "bridge" loans, or even grants for advertising, promotions or cosmetic improvements could be offered so that the whole corridor gets a fresh face -- not just the infrastructure.

No they are trying to link them up, so that these studies will work off each other. And I did not know about Twinkie Lane! But I see it is one block WEST of W.25th, off Clark.

What I want to know is how RTA might be able to drop a stairwell/elevator from the midpoint of that overhead walkway to the railroad tracks for future commuter rail service out to Mentor, Painesville, Madison etc. I know there's nothing planned right now. But can the walkway be designed for that contingency? As for the bus turnaround areas, you can see at least one of them in the image. The one that's closest to the intersection is an open-air layover point. But it also looks like the driveway that goes through the building is also a bus layover point, given the size of the portal. You can follow the pedestrian corridor to the right from that location and mentally follow it through the larger part of the building to the rail station.

That's true. I was just looking through some photos I took from the early 1980s -- sometimes it seems like it was just last year. The problem with global peak oil is we'll never know when we pass it until it several years have gone by. Same thing occurred when the U.S. passed its peak of oil production in the early 1970s. You just don't know if the decline you're experiencing is a temporary dip or a permanent slide until some time has passed to tell for certain.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 14, 2006 11:21 AM CONTACT: Sierra Club Josh Dorner, 202-675-2384 Big Three Asks Bush for More Rope to Hang Themselves WASHINGTON - November 14 - As President Bush is scheduled to meet with the CEOS of General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrylser, the Sierra Club issued the following statement from Daniel Becker, Director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming program. "Instead of focusing on innovation and 21st century vehicles, American auto industry executives are today asking the Bush administration for more rope with which to hang themselves. Today's meeting of the Big Three automaker executives with President Bush is an effort to blame others for Detroit's woes and to propose false solutions. The unseen elephant in the room is the failure of the auto industry to produce more fuel efficient vehicles since the last major increase in fuel economy standards in the 1980's. Unless the industry modernizes, they will continue to lose sales to foreign automakers resulting in lost jobs and income and more closed plants. "Much of the Big Three's failure to compete in the marketplace is the result of its refusal to build more fuel-efficient vehicles at a time when Toyota and Honda have led the industry. Instead of building vehicles that can compete in the marketplace, the auto industry is asking for more incentives for flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and hydrogen. Yet, even the President's own Department of Energy acknowledges that 99 percent of the time, FFVs don't run on ethanol. "The auto industry likes to say that what you drive says a lot about you. In this case, it rings true. The CEOs of General Motors and Ford Motor Company are arriving at the White House in their company's best hybrid vehicles. But sadly, neither of these vehicles comes close to the fuel economy of Toyota and Honda's best hybrids, which also happen to have the highest sales. In General Motors' case, their first hybrid vehicle came on the market nearly 8 years after the first hybrid was sold in the United States; and DaimlerChrysler still doesn't make one. "The Big Three have become technology laggards because for more than 25 years, they have been protected from higher fuel economy standards. They failed to invest in better technology while their competitors brought the next generation of vehicles to the market. America's oil addiction, more global warming pollution and the industry's current crisis are the direct result of the Big 3's failure to innovate. "Making new cars and trucks go farther on a gallon of gas is the biggest single step we can take to saving money at the gas pump, curbing global warming, and cutting America's oil dependence. It is also the key to returning the American auto industry to profitability. The technology exists today to make all new vehicles - from sedans to pickups to SUVs - average 40 miles per gallon within ten years. This is auto mechanics, not rocket science. Taking this step would save four million barrels of oil per day - that's more oil than we currently import from the entire Persian Gulf and could ever get out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, combined. If the automakers do their job and improve fuel economy, the U.S. can help them. The U.S. can provide health care assistance along with incentives to retrofit existing plants to build the next generation of clean vehicles and at the same time help consumers purchase these vehicles. "It is time for President Bush to stop enabling the auto industry's bad decisions and start raising standards that will spur innovation, provide energy security, protect the environment, and save American jobs. The clock is ticking on the Big 3, if they fail to innovate, the will likely fail to exist." ###

Too bad they show a vacant East 4th Street on their home page. C'mon folks. What makes a city a city? PEOPLE! There have been some terrific pictures posted on this site of East 4th jammed with people and excitement. Maybe the folks at MRN should pay a visit to this site, find those pictures and get permission to use them (unless some of you posters can find those pics and post links or the images themselves to help the process along).

Interesting rumors. If you hear more details, please pass along. You've got my e-mail address (if not, PM me). It's not so easy for me to go to DDR anymore for info after my reporting on the Shaia/Lighthouse Landing vs. DDR/Flats East Bank squabble. It painted DDR in a bad light, and her honor Nancy Lesic wasn't too happy with me.

These images were part of an RTA staff presentation made today at the RTA board meeting. The presentation dealt with land use planning around the renovated or relocated rapid stations in the University Circle area. Much of the presentation centered around the pending renovatation of the Cedar station, with some discussion of the renovation/relocation of the Euclid/East 120th station. Anyway, here's the images........ A composite of land use plans in the UC area (sorry I don't have a clearer image): Conceptual site plan for the Cedar station: Rendering of the Cedar station and station-area development. Note how the bus loop/station is reached by walking through the proposed building (appears to be residential). I would hope the pedestrian corridor would be lined with retail and basic services. If it is, I also hope the building would be taller:

I missed that. That's funny.