KJP

I agree with Noozer. The forced perspective in those photos make them very urban-artsy. Nice work. Funny you should be putting these photos out now. I edit the Ohio Passenger Rail News, and we're going with a new style for the newsletter's masthead... Each issue will have have a different background showing tracks heading into a different Ohio city skyline. Doesn't matter if the city is big or small, as long as there's a recognizable landmark(s) in the distance or next to the tracks. The point of this is to show that Ohio has the tracks to link its cities together by passenger trains. And they can't be "crappy" tracks either, but high-quality mainline tracks. I would prefer that no trains be visible or, if they are, keep them in the distance. Just keep those photos sharp and bright! PM me if you'd like to know more or to try your hand at it.

Fantastic photos. When I bring in friends from the Big 3 (New York, LA, Chicago), this is one neighborhood I always try to show off. Every single tour guest is very surprised we have this. I suspect a majority of Greater Cleveland don't know about "The Near East" either.

I've not been impressed with how they talk with corporate officials -- way too confrontational for my taste. I would rather see them accommodate corporate interests, within limits of course. I'm also disappointed with their frequency of political pandering. Kucinich talks about global warming, dependence on foreign oil and then bitches about higher gas prices -- even though it's the best way to tackle those problems. He also wants RTA to offer fare-free travel. That's great Dennis. How do we pay for it?

Especially to one person in particular at RTA - his initials are MS.

I think what depresses me most about this latest demolition is that there's so much vacant land along Euclid already. Equally depressing is having the knowledge of how densely developed and vibrant Euclid Avenue was, with all its busy urban villages clustered around East 105th, East 79th, East 55th and into downtown. When I see pictures of these mixed use clusters, it makes me sad because... A. I never witnessed it personally (though I saw the street with its bombed-out buildings in the 1970s); B. A lot people were hurt financially and, with worsening crime in those areas as they declined, hurt physically; C. Will take a lot of effort to recreate it, assuming it can or will be done; D. Is a huge example of how dynamic and vibrant this city once was. And now that it's gone, that knowledge of what it was nags at me with a sadness as if someone I loved had died. All I can say is, I hope the presence of vacant land will allow Euclid Avenue to be rebuilt. Just don't build single-level Pierre ice cream factories back from the street, or Applied Industrial HQ's like it was architectually extracted from Solon or Strongsville. Build me a street that will make me forget what we lost, so I can be proud of Cleveland's main street again.

Hey, my family is from there! Jamestown was named after my great, great, great, great grandfather James Prendergast, son of William and Mehitabel Prendergast. Next time you're in Jamestown, check out the Prendergast Library, Prendergast Creek, Prendergast Cemetery and a few other things named Prendergast. I love the Chautauqua region -- except for the damn highway they built across the middle of the lake! But will I fly there? Hell no. I would like to have one of the New York City - Buffalo Empire Corridor trains extended to Cleveland, though, with a station stop in Dunkirk or Westfield NY.

Excellent article, Mike. I also think one of things holding back the Hilliard Theater from seeing redevelopment is the Silver Coast Apartments, which gobbled a chunk of the theater's parking. Of course, I'd love to see the shoddy apartments razed and a parking deck put up in its place, perhaps topped with Beck classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and the like. And, hey while we're at it, how about a restaurant on top? Betcha it would have terrific views of the lake, downtown Lakewood and the Rocky River reservation!

Now printing it out and will read this afternoon. I see it's a brand-new report. I might write an article about it unless the PD gets to the story first.

Or consider John D. Rockefeller. His mercantile business was here in Cleveland, and started buying small oil companies. Granted, the big oil fields at the time were in Western Pennsylvania, so Cleveland was close by. But what if Rockefeller happened to live in Youngstown or Rochester? Cleveland could have stayed a small to medium-sized city.

Don't waste your time with STJ. Go to Latourette's office. Or Voinovich's. Or Dewine's. If the GOPers lose their majority Nov. 7, then go to STJ or Kucinich. Geez, just listing those two people as our congressional reps reveals a big reason why this region is in trouble.

Here's visual proof of Phoenix's light rail construction.... Demolishing a road bridge for a light-rail bridge Right of way through the ASU campus New light-rail bridge over the Rio Salado Parkway And my favorite photo, light-rail transit tracks have come to downtown Phoenix, seen here looking north at Central Avenue and Washington Street Those photos were thoughtfully stolen from http://www.valleymetro.org/Rail/

Not a typo. Here's a cool article from earlier this year... 2 February 2006 Phoenix: Light rail benefits attracting businesses to locate along route More and more Phoenix businesses are anticipating the benefits the region's light rail transit (LRT) project can bring them, according to a recent article in the Arizona Republic (24 Jan. 2006). That's materializing not only in support for the project, but locational decisions. "Funny thing about 'knowledge workers': They don't like to drive" observes Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl, citing that as "one of the reasons Thomas Gorny decided on a site along the future light-rail line when he relocated his Web-hosting business to Phoenix from Santa Monica, Calif., late last year." "I found that a lot of developers and IT people don't like to drive" Gorny, chief executive officer of iPowerWeb Inc., told the reporter. The fifth-largest Web-hosting site in the United States, the article notes, with 400,000 sites, iPowerWeb has 120 employees in Phoenix and 44 in California. According to Pitzl, Gorny "hasn't plumbed his employees' psyches to understand why, but he estimates 20 percent of his 120 workers carpool, take the bus or bike to work, anything to avoid the car commute." The reporter adds that "When rail opens in late 2008, Gorny figures he'll be perfectly positioned at 919 E. Jefferson St. to use the rail as a perk for his transit-loving staff." The article also recounts that "Light rail has appeal to economic-development officials, who are banking on the electric-powered train to transform central Phoenix." According to the report, Bo Martinez, program manager for transit-oriented development for Phoenix's Downtown Development Office, expects some $600 million in private and public investment to materialize along the 20-mile rail line in the next few years. "That includes such big projects as the downtown campus of Arizona State University, such housing developments as the Portland Place condominiums and relatively modest office projects such as iPowerWeb." Gorny emphasized that rail wasn't only the reason he chose Phoenix as a relocation site – for example, "he was impressed by the local talent pool". But, reports Pitzl, "it sweetened the deal." The article also notes that, from their site on East Jefferson, iPowerWeb employees "have easy access into the downtown core as well as to Sky Harbor International Airport." The new LRT line will serve both those locations, as well as "popular destinations" in the suburban city of Tempe, Pitzl writes. This is important to businesses like iPowerWeb to help accommodate growth. According to the article, "Gorny anticipates doubling his staff this year and said mass transit will help with parking issues." "We have too many people for the parking spaces" he told the reporter. Another locational decision involving the new LRT system, cited in the article, involves the Portland Place condominium project near Central Avenue and Roosevelt Street. A $120 million project, Portland Place will provide 230 condominium units on once-vacant land when completed. According to the report, access to light rail was "a key reason" that Feliciano Vera and his development partners decided to pursue their project at that location on the line. "Specifically, access to a rail station was the vital point." As the article relates, "The Roosevelt Street station will be located almost literally outside the project's front door." Vera told the reporter that having a rail stop so close allows future residents to live by what he called the "five-minute rule." "You're five minutes away from most major downtown employment centers" Vera emphasized. He also pointed out that arts and culture sites, sports arenas, and "other destination spots" will be just "a few stops away on the train". For example, US Airways Center, Chase Field, the Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University (ASU), and various museums are also along located the route. "There's a huge convenience to living along light rail" he told the reporter. Pitzl also relates that "Other cities that have built light rail have touted the transformative power of a train. They point to sidewalk cafes and coffee shops, retail centers and service businesses that have cropped up to cater to the passengers that rail regularly carries." Martinez, the Downtown Development Office official, underscored that ASU officials wanted ready access to the rail line as they planned their downtown Phoenix campus. "That's why the university is setting down roots at Central and Van Buren, which not only is along the rail line but also a stone's throw from the city's transit hub, where buses converge" writes Pitzl. According to Martinez, "It's a 10- to 15-minute ride between campuses, and you don't have to worry about parking. And it's good for students." Martinez also pointed out that city officials are endeavoring to encourage multi-use projects along the rail line. As Pitzl relates, For example, city officials pushed for a retail component to a residential project being discussed for West Camelback Road, near 17th Avenue. They argued that ground-floor retail would serve not only the residents of the 175-unit project but also the foot traffic that will come to the area. As a result, Pitzl reports, "A station will be located at 19th Avenue and Camelback, as well as a major park-and-ride lot." ###

It was a safety issue for steam railroad workers, whose tracks were immediately adjacent to the transit tracks.

Hey all you activist-minded Urban Ohioans... Get your city councils, county commissioners, service organizations and other groups to pass this resolution in support of the Ohio Hub System. If you want to contact someone at the Ohio Rail Development Commission first, call them at (614) 644-0306. If you'd like someone to speak to your council, group, etc., give the ORDC a try or call All Aboard Ohio's Columbus office at (614) 288-6005. Here's the draft resolution.... RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF OHIO PASSENGER RAIL DEVELOPMENT WHEREAS, the Ohio Rail Development Commission and the Ohio Department of Transportation have completed a feasibility analysis of a regional passenger rail system and increased freight rail capacity in Ohio; and WHEREAS, the study concludes that the Ohio Hub would strengthen Ohio’s competitiveness by: improving the State’s position as a strategic distribution and logistics center, slowing the growth of congestion, increasing the reliability of energy-efficient rail operations and instituting modern passenger rail service as an integral part of a national passenger rail network; and WHEREAS, the Ohio Hub breaks from the long-standing Amtrak model and suggests a policy that invests in the nation’s railroads to achieve public benefits and to generate significant local economic development activity; and WHEREAS, investing in high-speed passenger rail service and improved freight rail capacity would create thousands of new construction jobs, permanent operating and indirect jobs, increase demand for U.S. manufactured materials and supplies, concrete and steel, and would provide more energy-efficient transportation options for moving people and freight; and WHEREAS, the proposed Ohio Hub improvements would increase capacity for growing volumes of freight, remove railroad bottlenecks and improve operational fluidity while having a positive affect on highway capacity, shipping rates and business expansion; and WHEREAS, each local passenger rail station location will have the potential to capture million’s of dollars of investments in commercial, office and residential development in transportation opportunity districts and as rail-oriented development projects; and WHEREAS, the Ohio Hub study concludes that high-speed passenger rail is not only feasible, but will attract over 3-million riders a year, and WHEREAS, funding is needed to advance the environmental and project development process to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and to resolve decisions regarding project location, railroad capital improvements, community priorities, to preserve critical rights-of-way and capture on-going state transportation investments; and WHEREAS, a federal funding partnership will be required to make this rail investment program possible, but this partnership is hampered by the fact that predictable federal funding is only available to construct all other modes of transportation except rail; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that ________________ does hereby request that the Honorable Governor Bob Taft direct and fund the Ohio Rail Development Commission to complete a Tier 1 Programmatic and Environmental Impact Statement on all feasible passenger rail corridors in Ohio; and FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED that we call upon Ohio’s Congressional delegation to establish a federal program with the long-term funding necessary for full federal participation; and FURTHER, BE IT RESOLVED that suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Governor of Ohio, each member of the Ohio congressional delegation, and the Ohio Rail Development Commission. ###

He's talking in terms of rail's share of landside access to a particular airport. Here's the 2003 rankings for U.S. airports, based on rail's market share of landside access (I don't have more recent data)... First, the direct rail access airports: Washington National - 16% Atlanta - 7.9% Chicago Midway - 7.7% Chicago O’Hare - 4.2% St. Louis - 3.3% Cleveland - 2.8% Baltimore - 2.6% Philadelphia - 2.0% Next, airports having rail links via shuttle bus: NY-Kennedy - 7.9% Boston - 5.7% Oakland - 4.1% Miami - 1.2% Los Angeles - 0.5% Granted, this list was compiled before several airport stations/services were opened (Burbank Calif., San Francisco, Portland, Newark, etc).

JamieC, just in case you're reading this, I'll answer your question about rail routes through Hudson. The frequent freight train traffic through Hudson comes southeast from Cleveland, through Bedford and Macedonia and on to Ravenna, Alliance and Pittsburgh. The proposed commuter rail service would travel from Cleveland southeast through Bedford, Macedonia and Hudson, but turn south at Hudson on a idled track bought from Conrail in the 1990s by the Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority. That track continues through Silver Lake to Cuyahoga Falls, and would be restored from there south into downtown Akron. Akron Metro also owns tracks from Akron to Canton, much of which is used by the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. I hope that helps.

Yes, comments about that commuter rail service should go in the "Cleveland transit what's next" thread where there was a discussion about Silver Lake's opposition starting with.... http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=2768.msg27396#msg27396 Let's keep this thread to the West Shore regional rail project.

I could comment about that route, but I'd rather remind folks that.... __________________ Have fun and support a good cause at the same time! I invite all of you to join us starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18 for All Aboard Ohio's Fall Rail Cocktail & Buffet, to be held in downtown Lorain at the Black River Transportation Center. Cosponsoring this event are the Lorain Port Authority and the Stocker Foundation. Proceeds from this event will benefit the nonprofit All Aboard Ohio's West Shore Corridor activities. Entertainment and program: There will be hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, a TV for diehard Buckeye/Wolverines fans, followed by a buffet dinner at 7:30 p.m. and an excellent speaker from San Diego California, where they have two types of commuter train operations under discussion for our West Shore Corridor. Plus, there are some very interesting local items and activities up for auction at the end of our event, including a fire alarm system from Cleveland Union Terminal, books on the area's rail/transit history, poster-size maps of Cuyahoga County's public transportation system in the 1930s, plus a locomotive cab ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, an overnight stay for two at the Oberlin Inn, and much, much more! To register, sponsor, or for more information about All Aboard Ohio's Fall Rail Cocktail & Buffet... Click on these links... http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/LorainFundraiserInvite.pdf http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/LorainFundraiserRegistration.pdf Feel free to forward this to anyone else you feel might be interested.

Realtor offers to buy annex Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune, 10/24/06 A local realtor has offered Tiffin City Schools $93,000 for its annex. Marcie Funkhouser — broker and owner of Marcie and Associates Realty Inc. at 206 S. Washington St. — said Monday afternoon she would turn the building into a professional office space. Papillon Limited — a business that helps Funkhouser and her husband make purchases — offered $3,000 more than what Oriana House’s administration offered the board for the building at 217 S. Washington St. a month ago. “It’s going to be another anchor building in town that people will be proud of having,” Funkhouser said. Bernie Rochford, executive vice president of Oriana House, said he can’t imagine the school board would accept his agency’s offer — with the controversy attached — for less money than the new offer.

Tiffin board of ed OKs bid for former school site Toledo Blade, 10/24/06 The Tiffin Board of Education has accepted a $93,000 bid for a former school building called the Annex on South Washington Street. The bid, submitted by Marci Funkhouser, a real estate agent who plans to renovate the facility into offices, was accepted by the board at its meeting Tuesday night. The board had considered a lower offer from Oriana House, which provides treatment for offenders. The building, a one-time post office, has been vacant for several years.

Awesome buildings. And awesome emoticon --->

I wonder if the store moved because the owner sees the center of gravity in the Warehouse District moving west, what with the Flats East Bank? But I thought the FEB is supposed to have its own grocery store? Perhaps it's a simple case of being offered a better deal...I dunno.

The frenchies like to brag about that development for the TGV, as if they invented it. Where they have room to brag is that they didn't let that invention go to waste -- like we did. And like we did with tilting/pendulum technologies that allow trains to go faster around curves. Europeans like to talk about tilt-train technology like they invented it. Our railroads were just notoriously slow to embrace their own innovation.

I had an excessively trusting college roommate who was panhandled once, in an episode that's rather famous among my friends. The bum asked for a dollar. The roommate told the bum "all I have is a twenty." The bum said he would make change. The roommate gave him the $20 bill. Roommate never sees bum again. I have many more stories about this guy (we call him "Maynard" or the "Village Idiot") and the incredibly stupid, overly trusting things he has done. Like the time he was living in Chicago and gave his ATM card to his roommate there, even though he suspected the roommate was ripping him off. He was. Maynard lost probably thousands of dollars to the guy.

My response is posted here: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=5254.msg134589#msg134589