KJP

An oldie, and a goody ________________ http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/aug2004/sb20040831_0432.htm AUGUST 31, 2004 KENTON'S CORNER By Chris Kenton To Save a Town, Why Did They Destroy It? Santa Maria used to be a city of small stores and Main Street lives. Now, all that is gone -- and so is its soul I took a short vacation with my family to visit the town where my wife grew up. It was the town where we met some 15 years ago, the place where my parents retired, and where I landed after wandering overseas between college majors. Back then, Santa Maria was an agricultural backwater on California's central coast, a pit stop on the way from San Francisco to L.A. It was a town with a vibrant history, but little use for it -- an impossible place to love if you didn't have roots there. For me, it became the town where I met my wife, where my father died, and where I got my first tastes of both business and journalism. Today, Santa Maria is a burgeoning Wal-Mart (WMT ) suburb. Everything and nothing has changed. Where once there were neat rows of strawberries and broccoli that went on for miles, now there are endless fields of single-family homes. In a town that once couldn't attract a national grocery chain, you now find the same brand-name strip malls that dot almost every town in America. Starbucks (SBUX )-Blockbuster-Subway-Kinkos -- prefab economic zones you can buy off the shelf to drop into your half-acre plot along Main Street, some assembly required. ............ Christopher Kenton is president of the marketing agency Cymbic. He can be reached at [email protected]

Based on our state's goofy land use/transportation policies, a particular location typically needs vacant land for it to see investment/development. We in this state don't do as much renovating, retrofitting or rejuvenating as we should to keep existing neighborhoods viable. The consequence of this is that new development on vacant land at the metro area's fringe draws the existing population farther out and spreads it ever thinner (remember, this metro area hasn't grown much in population since 1960). It draws farther out a "ring of despair" that can only be slowed by those directly affected by it -- only the regulation of development at the metro area's fringe can stop it. Neighborhoods closer in are left in ruins by the "ring of despair," first suffering decay, then abandonment and, finally, partial demolition. Only then it seems are these areas ripe for investment and development dollars. That's when some in the middle-class leapfrog over the "ring of despair" to repopulate what was neglected and abandoned. Reminds me of the line from a U.S. colonel in the Vietnam War: "we had to destroy the village in order to save it."

Akronurban, Please post more about Akron-area developments. For whatever reason, there's not been much of an Akron presence on this board. I hope your continued presence here will encourage more Akronites to participate!

On the other side of the country, a governor wants more passenger train services.... ___________________ OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR NO. 22 FY 06/07 DATE September 1, 2006 AN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN THE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF AMTRAK'S DOWNEASTER SERVICE, AND TO ADVANCE PLANS FOR PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE NORTH OF PORTLAND WHEREAS, the 115th Maine State Legislature enacted the Passenger Rail Service Act directing the Maine Department of Transportation to establish regularly scheduled rail service within and beyond the State of Maine; and, WHEREAS, the 122nd Maine State Legislature established the policy that passenger rail service must be supported by the State, and directed the Commissioner of Transportation to present implementing legislation to the 123rd Legislature by and through Public Laws of2005, Chapter 519, Part YY, consistent with Executive Order 11, FY06/07; and, WHEREAS, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority was formed in 1995to assist the implementation of the Passenger Rail Service Act; and, WHEREAS, the Sensible Transportation Policy Act of 1991requires the State of Maine to incorporate transportation alternatives to highway construction and meet the diverse transportation needs of rural and urban populations, the elderly and the disabled; and, WHEREAS, the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments require state action to mitigate any increased air emissions from highway projects; and, WHEREAS, by 2013, it is anticipated that congestion on 1-95between Exit 44 and Exit 48 and 1-295between South Portland and Falmouth will reach unacceptable levels; and, WHEREAS, rail lines exist in the State of Maine that may be used for purposes of passenger rail transportation that could connect the municipalities of Lewiston, Auburn, Brunswick, Portland and other municipalities to each other and points south;and, . WHEREAS, the passenger rail system benefits freight services, supports economic development in service center communities and improves access to Boston and other major markets; and, WHEREAS, passenger rail services address Maine's changing demographics, shifting population and coastal development patterns; and, WHEREAS, the cost of gasoline is currently at unprecedented high prices; and, WHEREAS, since 2001 the Downeaster has transported more than 1.2 million passengers, and has the highest customer satisfaction, on-time performance and ridership growth in the Amtrak system: NOW THEREFORE, I, John E. Baldacci, Governor of the State of Maine, in consideration of all of the above, do hereby order: 1. Economic development. The State Planning Office shall form a working group to facilitate community and economic development near existing and planned train stations. Participation in the working group shall include representatives from the Maine State Housing Authority, the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Maine Department of Transportation, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, real estate development organizations, regional planning organizations, and host municipalities. The State Planning Office shall facilitate at least two forums for dialog on best practices, and shall submit to the Governor a status report on activities, progress, and further recommendations, by March 1, 2007. 2. Economic Impact. The State Planning Office shall coordinate with the Maine Department of Transportation, the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, and the Department of Economic and Community Development to assess the economic significance of existing and planned passenger rail service to local, state, and regional economies, and assess the role that passenger rail service plays in supporting economic growth. 3. Planning new corridors and service. The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, in coordination with the Maine Department of Transportation, shall review matters relating to the development of passenger rail service north of Portland to Brunswick and Auburn, and shall report findings to the Governor by December 1, 2006. The review shall include outreach to interested parties including but not limited to freight rail advocates, passenger rail advocates, operators of existing and planned passenger feeder services, and involved municipalities. The report shall include, but not be limited to, review of: Rail alignment options for use in the short term and the long term to extend passenger rail service north of Portland; Types of services- intercity, excursion, commuter, or other - for the short term and the long term north of Portland; Types of equipment- Conventional equipment, Rail Diesel Cars (RDC), Light Rail or other. Reasonably foreseeable capital funding options; Compatibility of rail alignment options with existing and planned alignments for local transit or local light rail services, including expansions of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad service in Portland; Effective Date The effective date ofthis Executive Order is September 1, 2006 /s/ John Elias Baldacci, Governor

Thanks, Noozer, for stating it more succinctly. Any thoughts on Wednesday's meeting?

Here's an update from RTA.... Construction on the north side of Euclid Avenue, from the Innerbelt to East 55th Street, is near completion. Contractors will begin setting up the traffic work zone on the south side of Euclid Avenue on Sept. 8, weather permitting. One lane of traffic will be maintained in both directions, as will access to driveways and entrances. Contractors will work with property owners and businesses to coordinate any activities or special conditions. For more information, or to request a presentation as part of the Speaker's Bureau, contact the Project Office, 216-771-4144.

There might. But I think Crocker Park had to be built somewhere in the West Shore to give an example of at least the genre of development needed to be built trackside. Westlake officials said Crocker Park has attracted transferees from places like New York and Chicago, and said having that kind of development tied in with a commuter rail service would be an even better draw. When they said that, I joked "maybe we can call this the anti-brain drain train." It would have been ideal if Crocker Park was built trackside, but on second thought, if Crocker Park had been built trackside before this latest commuter rail proposal were conjured, we would have been unable to use future taxes from it for a TIF to build the rail service. Now, Westlake has come to expect the taxes from Crocker Park for existing needs. Like Bob Stark said, Crocker Park is a lab experiment. Now it seems the lessons from that experiment have more applications than just for downtown Cleveland.

I do think that Quiet Zones should be added no matter what. But you may be forgetting that Lakewood has 27 crossings in four miles and Cleveland's Cudell Neighborhood has six crossings within 2,000 feet. It is not comparable to even Rocky River, Bay Village or Lorain County communities where you hear a soft, distant train horn for a crossing a mile down the track. Then there's a long period of quiet before you hear the loud, required four horns (two longs, a short and a long) for the next crossing right by your home. Then there's another long period of quiet before you hear the locomotive engineer blow the horn for the next crossing. In Lakewood and Cleveland's Cudell neighborhood, the engineer must use a procedure called "WMX" or Whistle Multiple Crossing -- using multiple long horns (often several per crossing and sometimes the engineer lays on the horn constantly) until the last crossing in the series has been passed. It didn't use to be as bad until the past decade, as nearly all locomotives had five-chime horns installed, and the decibel levels went up. Quiet Zones deal only with locomotive horns, and on that score, the type of train doesn't make one quieter than the other. It is true that if you run 77 commuter trains a day versus 14 freight trains a day, the amount of blocked crossing time stays roughly the same while the amount of vibration goes down. But the frequency of train horns goes up equally with the number of trains. And only Quiet Zones can address that. Even I will not want more trains (regardless of how long or heavy they are) running past my home without them.

I live in a mid-rise building within 400 feet of the tracks in Lakewood, and even I complain about noise from locomotive horns. I cannot hear my television sometimes. Lakewood officials say that the project won't happen without the Quiet Zones. Thus the regional rail project is jeopardized more without them. I'm pretty sure that Rocky River and Lakewood officials feel the same way. The costs of adding Quiet Zones aren't out of reach and, of all the features of the West Shore Corridor regional rail project, that is one aspect for which funding is available through PUCO/ODOT. I would welcome them, especially if their omission would otherwise jeopardize the project.

He takes transit downtown virtually every day, and usually varies his routing from day to day. And, yes, he takes the Red Line from Triskett... sometimes driving there, sometimes taking the new #49/49F route from Westlake. I may not always agree with the guy, but he's a lot better than the executive staff at CTA in Chicago who have often admitted publicly that they won't take transit because it's dirty or unreliable. Hello? Who's in charge of that?? But back to the issue at hand...

Here's a story as to why Joe C is starting to warm up to this idea... On Wednesday morning, the day of the commuter rail meeting, Joe goes to the Westlake park and ride to catch an express bus to downtown. While there, one of the three connecting Lorain County Transit buses arrives from Lorain with 12 people on board. Joe considers (as do I) that to be a large number considering that bus takes 45 minutes to get from Lorain to Westlake. Joe ended up standing on the RTA express to downtown. That same morning, I boarded a #55 bus on Clifton, and one that arrives downtown after 9 a.m. By the time we got on the Shoreway, there were 10-15 standees on the bus. So maybe we don't need commuter rail to relieve congestion on I-90 (although two sections of I-90 were recently named by NOACA as being safety Hot Spots for a large number of crashes). But maybe we do need it to relieve congestion on existing bus transit services! As a result, Joe C suggested an interim commuter bus service be started between Lorain and Cleveland to test the market. I have mixed feelings on this, as some local officials may say this is "good enough." But I want to make sure that everyone understands that "good enough" is seldom good enough.

I thought you all might find this of interest. It's from the early stages of Bay Village's redevelopment masterplan, from 1999 (just two years after citizens raised their ire toward a proposed major increase in freight train traffic).... From the Bay Village masterplan, June 1999: In addition, RTA has been studying the feasibility of commuter rail along existing rail lines. One corridor which is being considered is the western lakeshore route which is made up of the Norfolk and Southern rail line which forms the southern border of the City of Bay Village. When asked in the quality of life survey which (transit) service would encourage residents to use RTA more frequently, the highest response was to the provision of rail service to Downtown Cleveland. If such a line is established, a stop at Dover Center Road, the City’s Town Center, should be included. Cited from page 5.105 at the following link: http://cpc.cuyahogacounty.us/docs/masterplans/bayvillage.pdf INTRODUCTION As part of the Master Plan process, a quality of life survey was mailed to 500 households within the City of Bay Village. An even number of surveys were mailed to addresses in each of the City’s four wards. The addresses were picked at random. The survey contained 22 questions in which residents were asked to rank services, shopping, their home and neighborhood, public facilities and public transportation. They were also asked to comment on the City’s strengths and weaknesses and their views on housing options in the City. The last question was a place for residents to express general comments or concerns about the City. The purpose of the survey was to gain input from citizens early in the process as the goals and objectives for the plan were formulated. Out of the 500 surveys mailed, 247 (49%) were returned. Because not all the questions, or items asked to be ranked, were applicable to all respondents, the number of answers to each question varies. Below is an executive summary of the responses to the questions in the survey followed by a summary of each question (except for the last question). Where appropriate the number of survey responses to a particular item is listed. Percentages are based upon the number of people responding to that particular item. A short narrative, table and graphic illustrating the responses is provided. ... Question 7. For those items purchased outside of Bay Village, in which communities do you shop? [excerpt] An overwhelming large amount of respondents indicated that they go to the doctor in Westlake. The Gemini Towers at Crocker and Detroit contain a large concentration of medical offices. Lakewood, where Lakewood Hospital is located, was cited the second most number of times. Question 10. In which city do you work? 192 households answered question 10. The largest number listed the City of Cleveland as their locality of employment, followed by the City of Bay Village. Cleveland was listed on 76, or 44%, of the surveys while 36, or 19% identified Bay Village as their place of work. The western suburbs of Westlake, Lakewood and Rocky River were the next most likely places of employment. Question 11. How often do you use RTA buses or rapid transit? Very few of the respondents indicated that they use public transportation on a regular basis. Over 50% never use it and 38% use it only infrequently. Only nine respondents, or 4%, use public transit on a daily basis. In a previous question almost 90% thought access to public transit was excellent or good. Question 12. If you use RTA buses or rapid transit, what type of trips do you use RTA service for? 117 surveys responded to this question. By far the largest use of RTA was for recreation and sports events. The 74 which responded were 65% of those that answered the question and 30% of all the surveys. Thirty surveys indicated they used RTA to get to work. Nobody indicated that they used it for medical appointments. Of those that indicated they used the trips for other purposes, most indicated they used it for trips to Downtown Cleveland. Two respondents had children which used it for school. Question 13. Please indicate which of the following would encourage you to use RTA’s services more frequently. Mark all that apply. Rail service to Downtown Cleveland was chosen on 40% of the surveys making it the most selected improvement. This selection is consistent with the answers to the above question which indicated that most people that used RTA did so for sporting events. Improving the availability of information on routes within Bay Village was also selected by over a quarter of the respondents. A West Shore Circulator bus was selected by more people than a Bay Village Circulator bus. A bus which served a larger area would probably be more useful for those that wanted to use public transit for shopping. The least support was shown for buses to other locations and the provision of bike racks on buses. Cited from various pages in the Appendix at: http://cpc.cuyahogacounty.us/docs/masterplans/bayvillage.pdf

I didn't get to see it because the Bengals game was on. I know this show repeats some time during the week(end), so I'll catch it then. Thanks for the heads-up. i think watching that is an urbanohio must do. ps- i turned to the bengals game after the segment. wow very impressive night views of the city and of course the team dominated. When is it going to be on again? I forgot to watch it!

As hoped, these meetings are beginning to frame how this project might proceed, how it should/shouldn't be funded and what options should be considered. In short, some local officials are learning the facts of life when it comes to transportation investments. Others are well-schooled in those facts. The fact is, the traditional model for a project to proceed is: > for an alternatives analysis to be conducted to see what type of transportation investment is desired, > to undertake an environmental impact analysis to measure the desired investment's impact on the natural and built environment, > to undertake preliminary engineering to get a better handle on start-up costs, > and then see if the Federal Transit Administration will award funds that used to comprised 80 percent of a project's cost but will now represent only 50 percent of the total cost. That process, required by National Environmental Protection Act if federal funds are desired, took 10 years even for the simple Nashville commuter rail service which is starting this month. And they used hand-me down trains and locomotives, simple stations and modest trackwork to keep the cost to a very modest $40 million. The $13 million I estimated did not include adding Quiet Zones, which would probably double the price of the project. And the $13 million base figure was probably too low anyway. What is now coming into better focus for the West Shore Corridor project is that we should avoid this federal process because it takes a long time, costs a lot of money and, more often than not, the chances are not good of winning the federal funding sweepstakes -- and for a measely 50 percent or less of the total price tag. Still, the basic features of this federal process will likely be pursued, just not to the extent and involvement that we would if we wanted to win some federal funds. The next step is to undertake an alternatives analysis with an environmental impact component. The alternatives to be evaluated could include "do nothing" (to get a baseline of information), road improvements, high-capacity bus service, a regional rail service using locomotive-hauled trains (Cleveland terminus at West Boulevard or North Coast Harbor), or self-propelled diesel/electric light-rail vehicles (Cleveland terminus at Tower City Center or possibly University Circle). So, what we're doing right now is to evaluate the trouble spots to see if there are any fatal flaws to this endeavor and to improve the comfort level among grassroots officials so they can intellectually and emotionally buy into this project. The NS agreement is one thing that local officials will evaluate, as are station-area development opportunities. The latter is equally important because, if there aren't opportunities to do station-area developments, then we won't have the ability to avoid federal funding. That doesn't mean the project would have to die, because that would leave as our primary options a high-capacity bus service or a basic train service (a few trains a day) using recycled equipment that could be funded by a special request to the state or for local communities to share in the modest costs. But a more elaborate diesel-electric light-rail service would be more capable of making station-area development a viable investment for the private sector, but would also increase start-up costs. None of this is out of the ordinary elsewhere or new to us. Every major transit investment in the U.S. goes through this process to varying degrees. If we can get a modest amount ($500,000 to $1 million) of federal funding for an alternatives analysis/environmental impact analysis, through an existing federal funding authorization for the West Shore Corridor in the federal SAFETEA-LU surface transportation program, then this idea will become a bondafide project. It's too late to get federal funds for the AA/EIA in the FY2007 budget (starts Oct. 1), so we'll have to shoot for FY2008. The AA/EIA will probably take about a year to conduct. Subseqent engineering on the preferred alternative will take at least another year. And, if everything goes as planned (which it never does in any city), it will still be sometime after 2010 before we see any construction happening. And those are the facts of life when it comes to new transportation service investments, regardless of where one lives in the U.S.

Linked from the RTA e-newsletter... http://www.metro-magazine.com/t_newspick.cfm?id=9063947 August 10, 2006 Study: BRT is best transit option to cut emissions Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a better option to fight global warming than rail transit powered by electricity generated from fossil fuels, according to a new study released Thursday. ..........

I love these reports. A friend of mine once made a great comment on this subject: "Indiana is a low-tax state .... and looks every bit of it."

There's still a lot of obstacles to overcome -- too many to list right now. I may have time later. The main point at this stage of the process is to show that there are potential solutions to overcome them. But, funding is always the ultimate obstacle.

Great point. But ODOT's mission/culture is to only ensure the safe, smooth flow of traffic as possible on the roads. When ODOT Director Gordon Proctor says "we can't build our way out of congestion," that statement rings hollow because it goes counter to everything ODOT strives to do according to their planning manuals and guidelines. It's not out of some mean-spirited agenda; it's simply been their modus operandi for decades.

That was true in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County as well. Support existing efforts in Ohio's 3-C's plus Toledo for downtown streetcar projects. All four of those cities have some type of planning effort underway, and I think Dayton has something brewing as well.

We had a good meeting today of the West Shore Corridor stakeholders, with about 40 persons in attendance at Cleveland City Hall. Among the highlights: We had an excellent speaker, David Vozzolo, senior associate of HDR, a large engineering/planning firm. Vozzolo was recently an associate administrator at the Federal Transit Administration and spoke about federal funding challenges. He basically said avoid federal funding if you can and consider private sources of funding through station-area development as a piece of the funding puzzle. Westlake Planning Director Bob Parry came up with a great idea for the West Shore stakeholders group: a subcommittee of planners and others from the enroute communities to identify station-area development opportunities. Parry agreed to lead the subcommittee and identify persons to serve on it. Bay Village Law Director Gary Ebert agreed to join with law directors from Rocky River and Lakewood, plus former Cleveland Planning Director Hunter Morrison to communicate with Norfolk Southern. The goal is to determine the impacts of commuter rail on two late-1990s agreements with Norfolk Southern, which addressed freight train traffic, and identify solutions for adding commuter trains while protecting communities from the negative aspects of train traffic. I will write up a meeting summary, as I did for the July meeting in Westlake. And the stakeholders group will meet again, probably in early October in Lorain County, so we can report back on progress on those efforts and any other issues that may arise. The outcome of this effort appears to be the pursuit of federal funding for a transportation alternatives analysis of the West Shore Corridor.

I thought it was a pretty good joke. I thought it was a pretty good joke.

I don't know, but I thought the folks here should know when the announcement is going to be made. What was sent to me was a "save the date" e-mail, with few other details. A follow-up e-mail was promised to follow the e-mailed notice in the coming days/weeks.

Here comes the announcement (copied from a graphics-laden PDF invitation)... __________________ You'll soon receive your personal invitation to a major announcement about STONEBRIDGE Condominiums [] Apartments Commercial [] Retail And the redevelopment of the West Bank of the Flats Held on Superior Viaduct 4:00PM, Thursday, Sept. 21 Followed by a reception and party

Nice response. Good thing that private enterprise didn't build the road, because motorists would pay a lot more than $8.25 to drive it.

No more than any other industrial taxpayer. And that tended to occur at the local political jurisdictions, where all road traffic begins and ends.