KJP

:laugh: Cute! That shows how stupid this gas station attendant was. Geez, even if you catch the guy, by the time you come back, you find four other people have already driven off without paying for their gas! It offers potential for a great scam, if you know the attendant will give chase to a decoy

Thank you sir. I owe you a great big sloppy one -- a burger, not a smooch. :-D

After talking with some of the community officials and representatives of other agencies represented at the meeting yesterday, they wondered if the PD reporters attended the same meeting they had. Nothing of what was discussed during the meeting was mentioned in the article -- none of the economic development, environment and social justice arguments. The PD reporters used comments they gathered in post-meeting interviews. Joe Calabrese was very positive about this project during the meeting, but the only comment of his that made it in the paper was about traffic congestion. Traffic congestion wasn't mentioned once during the meeting. That's not why we're pursuing this service -- it's all about quality of life issues and building development around stations to create a sustainable lifestyle that can be enjoyed by all, regardless of means, for a future of increasingly constrained natural resources. Just about every one of the 40 or so officials at this meeting "got it." Too bad Marty Gelfand, Kucinich's staffer, showed up after my presentation. I wished he could have heard the quality-of-life arguments for the rail service. Instead, he came and spoke about the same battle against freight train traffic. That was a victory for the corridor, but now it's time to move on to capitalize on new opportunities, like working with communities and businesses in creating jobs in his own district.

Cool. Here is what I had in mind. Is this close to what's being considered? Before.... After.... Those images are about 160K each. I have these in higher resolution versions, each about 2mb, in case you're interested.

Wouldn't this also open up the possibility of allowing CSX freight traffic to be rerouted away from the at-grade Vickers Crossing with the busy NS line? I need to post a map...

Fannie Lewis

This from Railway Age: July 19, 2006 Senate subcommittee approves Amtrak increase Prospects for Amtrak's Fiscal Year 2007 federal operating and capital support appear bright as the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee has approved $1.4 billion -- $500 million more than the Bush Administration's proposed $900 million amount, $300 million higher than the House's final figure of $1.1 billion, and $200 million more than Amtrak's $1.3 billion FY 2006 appropriation. The Senate subcommittee decision to fund Amtrak at $1.4 billion still must pass a full Senate Appropriations Committee vote and also must go before the full Senate. If the final Senate amount exceeds the House's $1.1 billion -- and indications are that it will -- a House-Senate Conference Committee will determine Amtrak's final figure. The Bush Administration appears to have abandoned its attempts to zero-fund Amtrak and is no longer trumpeting "reform." This year's budget process so far has been quiet compared to last year's, when now-departed Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta went barnstorming around the country giving speeches on Amtrak that many critics and industry observers said were rife with misinformation and distortions. "The Bush Administration has sought repeatedly to gut Amtrak's budget, but cannot find any meaningful support on Capitol Hill," remarked United Transportation Union International President Paul Thompson. "The House's decision to fund Amtrak at $1.1 billion next year -- a figure Amtrak says would keep the railroad operating -- appears to establish a floor." Spokesman Cliff Black said Amtrak "appreciates the support the Senate subcommittee has demonstrated by approving $1.4 billion."

The station site CVSR is seeking is the historic but long vacant B&O station at Canal and Carter roads. I'm not aware of any other proposed station sites between downtown and Independence, other than the Steelyard Commons station.

You can take your bicycle on the train now. Some people bike the Towpath Trail one way, and return on the train.

I'm glad Joe Calabrese's comment about state funding made it into the PD. It's a statistic that has to be heard!

Here is the PowerPoint presentation I gave today (1.9mb).... http://members.cox.net/kjprendergast/West%20Shore%20Corridor.pdf As often happens, the after-meeting discussions are more productive than the meeting itself. That was no different today. Norfolk Southern is looking at the strategic value of this rail corridor and considers regional passenger rail service as a means to enhance it. Furthermore, NS proposed a scenario whereby the rail corridor be viewed as a development zone in which each community: > identifies a station location; > designates a developer to build phase one of a TOD at each site; > use a TIF to capture a portion of the value of future taxes paid on it > use that to finance the development of the regional passenger rail service via a regional partnership of some form; > build later phases of TOD at station-area development sites and TIF a portion of taxes from that to put into a passenger rail improvement fund for the corridor to further enhance service. NS believes that such a scenario could fund about 60-70 percent of starting a new rail service. While some rail projects have used similar procedures for relatively small-scale projects (like new stations), something on this scale hasn't been attempted before. But NS is floating this idea as a way to increase the value of their rail corridors and to add new sources of incomes. As NS officials have said numerous times in recent years, they don't care if the trains on their tracks are carrying people or products, as long as makes financial sense to the company.

This is the song that every UrbanOhioan should have in their library... My City Was Gone Lyrics Artist: The Pretenders I WENT BACK TO OHIO BUT MY CITY WAS GONE THERE WAS NO TRAIN STATION THERE WAS NO DOWNTOWN SOUTH HOWARD HAD DISAPPEARED ALL MY FAVORITE PLACES MY CITY HAD BEEN PULLED DOWN REDUCED TO PARKING SPACES A, O, WAY TO GO OHIO WELL I WENT BACK TO OHIO BUT MY FAMILY WAS GONE I STOOD ON THE BACK PORCH THERE WAS NOBODY HOME I WAS STUNNED AND AMAZED MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES SLOWLY SWIRLED PAST LIKE THE WIND THROUGH THE TREES A, O, OH WAY TO GO OHIO I WENT BACK TO OHIO BUT MY PRETTY COUNTRYSIDE HAD BEEN PAVED DOWN THE MIDDLE BY A GOVERNMENT THAT HAD NO PRIDE THE FARMS OF OHIO HAD BEEN REPLACED BY SHOPPING MALLS AND MUZAK FILLED THE AIR FROM SENECA TO CUYAHOGA FALLS SAID, A, O, OH WAY TO GO OHIO

mrnyc, is there anywhere you don't take your camera? :wink2:

Also in the late 1980s and early 1990s, California was hurting, too. When I lived in the exurbs of Geauga County back then, we had several new neighbors from California who said the economy was pretty rough. But our economy wasn't so wonderful either. I finally graduated from college in 1992 and had a hard time finding a job locally.

I would have gotten the train number (if it was a two-car train, get both car numbers), the time of departure, and if you can see it, the train operator's number. It is up to the train operators (drivers) to walk back through the train at the end of the line to pick up trash, collect any belongings left behind for lost-and-found, and tell any sleeping bums to get off the train. Report all incidents to RTA customer service. If they don't know about it, staff can't fix it.

On Track for Commuter Rail in Central Florida July 18th, 2006 11:47 AM EDT The Orlando Sentinel via NewsEdge How would you like to walk a few minutes to a train station and zip to work in an air-conditioned rail car -- and then return the same way? Once back in the neighborhood, you could walk to grocery stores, restaurants and businesses to run errands. Sound too good to be true? It could happen in Central Florida, where plans for a 61-mile commuter-rail system are moving toward reality. If transportation officials can cement a deal to have cities along the route help pay for the system and CSX Railroad agrees to sell the tracks to the state, then the region's first attempt at speedy mass transit could affect the way we grow. The project, which could cost as much as $500 million, could come together this summer. If planners take the right steps -- and so far they are off to a slow start -- the rail system could help spur self-contained, walkable neighborhoods around stations from DeBary to Orlando to Poinciana. Replete with grocery stores, drugstores, parks and restaurants, they'd be the kind of small communities that grew up around town squares in the era before interstate highways. In turn, the new approach to development could help reduce sprawl by anchoring more growth in a central transportation corridor running through the region. So-called smart growth that is focused around mass transit -- transit-oriented development, in planner lingo -- has happened in other communities around the nation. Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles; Salt Lake City; and Charlotte, N.C., already have, or are planning to build, neighborhoods mixed with offices and shops around transit stations that link to their downtowns. "It's the quality of city life without the responsibility of suburban life," said Bruce Stephenson, a Rollins College professor of environmental studies who specializes in growth issues. Developers love the idea of building more condos and town houses per acre near offices and retail shops. And from a planning standpoint, it makes sense to consolidate growth and get commuters off jammed roads and onto rail cars. But as rail plans move forward in Central Florida -- the first line would open in 2009 -- plans for transit-oriented development are off to a slow start. In a few places, communities have zoned their land to allow that type of growth, and in some select areas, developers have expressed interest in transit-friendly projects. Maitland's City Council recently voted to ask for a stop along the line. But for the most part, Central Florida has adopted a wait-and-see attitude in part because the region has a history of several failed rail proposals. Some also think little action may be required because they'd prefer that market forces dictate what kind of development would go along the rail. It's a different story in other places around the country, which have taken direct action to ensure development follows a logical pattern. That includes Charlotte, which won federal money for its rail system when the Orange County Commission turned down the funds in 1999. The first part of Charlotte's transit line, light rail, is scheduled to open in fall 2007. The commuter-rail line is supposed to begin running in 2010. Just like Central Florida, the Charlotte line is planned to operate on existing freight tracks and carry passengers from suburban towns and cities to downtown. In both Central Florida and Charlotte, the lines run parallel to major interstates -- Interstate 4 in Central Florida, Interstate 77 in Charlotte. And many of the stops are planned for historic downtowns that have deteriorated as growth has sprawled out from the interstates. But beyond that, the two regions differ in how they have been planning their commuter-rail systems. "Here [Central Florida], they are designing it to build the best transit system; in Charlotte, they are designing it to build the best community," said Troy Russ, a transportation planner with the Orlando firm Glatting Jackson. Russ has spent six years working on Charlotte's public-transportation system. In the Charlotte area, the local governments have focused not only on planning the stations but also taking the lead in planning the area around the stations. To do this, local governments have bought land around the station and then sold it to handpicked developers who agreed to create the walkable communities Charlotte envisioned. The governments also created new zoning categories to more easily allow denser development, and they offered financial incentives to developers who build transit-friendly projects. As a result, nearly 10,000 homes are planned or under construction at eight of the 12 commuter-rail stops and, just like in the pre-automobile days, the downtown cores of towns and cities are becoming a hotbed of activity. That approach gives the rail line a better chance to succeed by building ridership from those who live within walking distance of stations. And it directs growth to areas that already have infrastructure such as roads, schools, water, sewer and public safety. "It's fair to say the commuter rail has given local policymakers one additional rationale or justification for focusing the intensity and density [of development] along the central core of the rail line as opposed to allowing more of a suburban-sprawl pattern to continue to develop," said Jonathan Wells, Charlotte's land-use project manager for the commuter-rail line. Transit-oriented development can turn suburban towns into more than bedroom communities. In the Charlotte suburbs, towns are planning farmers markets, interactive museums, corporate headquarters and libraries around their rail stops. In Central Florida, leaders in cities up and down the proposed rail line say they are interested in transit-oriented development and are waiting for the project's final approval, which could come this summer. But Linda White, president and CEO of the West Volusia Chamber of Commerce, said governments must take the lead. "In reality, we haven't embraced the next generation of development," she said. "We are still very dependent on vehicles. Anything that we can do as a community to lessen our use of the automobile is probably good for us in the long run." Copyright: The Orlando Sentinel -- 7/18/06

Betcha it was inbound (eastbound). RTA collects rush-hour trains at its Brookpark Yard and sends them back closed-door and empty (called a dead-head move) to the Central Rail Facility at East 55th. Sometimes they move six cars back in a single train. Every so often I see the dead-head move, and its a pretty impressive sight. I remember seeing the old "Bluebird" trains on the CTS rapid. They ran three matched dual-car sets (so it looked like six cars) routinely during rush hours. I wished that was the normal length of trains. Add TOD at all stations and push gas prices up to $5 a gallon, and they might just become the rush-hour norm again!

The northeast corner of Lakewood, northwest corner of Cleveland's Edgewater neighborhood, is a perfect place for a Trader Joe's. It's an area where people walk to the grocery store or take the community circle. When Giant Eagle moves down to I-90, that's too far for me. I'm shopping at Kresse's or maybe Tops on Bunts. The latter is probably just as far as Giant Eagle will be soon, but Tops is easier to get to.

^ Good job! We often quote movies here at the office, but not everybody catches on. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! Germans? Forget it -- he's rolling.

^ That ought to be posted in the ORDC/Ohio Hub thread. And to add to gold42's message, LA's Red Line (heavy rail to Hollywood) carries more than 100,000 people per day. The Blue Line (to Long Beach) has more than 70,000 daily riders, making it the most heavily used light-rail line in the nation. I guess people aren't born to be car lovers after all.

Cleveland Hopkind Airport is a operated out of a separate enterprise fund, with its own revenue sources and financial obligations. Under city law, and I believe state law, there cannot be any mingling of funds with the general fund or other funds, such as Cleveland Public Power. There may even be federal restrictions, courtesy of the FAA. Thus, a bond issued by the Department of Port Control may have a different rating than a general obligation bond backed by general fund revenues. And, yes, I can see the NE Ohio area (as defined by AmrapinVA), as having 5 million people (and representing half the state's population). I have an interesting population density map of Ohio that should make the reason clear.

Road trip!

Are urbanites becoming as petty as their suburban counterparts? http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1153125100205330.xml&coll=2 What's in a name?: Cleveland City Councilwoman Nina Turner wants to change the name of a street in her Lee-Harvard neighborhood. Sunny Glenn Avenue, she said, should be Sunny Glenn Drive. The street runs through a newer subdivision of suburban-style homes. Turner, who lives on the street, said neighbors viewed Avenue as sounding like an urban street that really doesn't reflect the atmosphere of where they live. "They asked to have it changed to drive to give it more a suburban feel," she said. Councilman Kevin Conwell also wants to change a street name in his ward, to honor the accomplished Glenville High School coach Ted Ginn Sr. The councilman wants to change Gray Avenue to Ted Ginn Sr. Avenue. But doesn't Ted Ginn Sr. Drive sound much more upscale?

I'm surprised they're that expensive ($2900). I'm hurting financially now, so a purchase of that magnitude is out of the question. My car is paid off, and while I'm paying much more in gas and insurance to drive it, those are small chunks I can handle. And I don't think a lender (to buy the scooter) would touch me with the credit card debt eating up all my equity anyway. Sad that I'm too poor to save money....

Just saw something interesting on FlightAware... This flight landed at Hopkins after 6:32 p.m., from Le Bourget Airport in Paris (which serves only private aircraft, like corporate jets)... Dassault Mystère 900 (tri-jet) (F900/Q) Origin Le Bourget (LFPB) Destination Cleveland Hopkins Int'l (KCLE) Other flights between these airports Route YQB J560 PLB Date Sunday, Jul 16, 2006 Duration 1 hour 14 minutes (in the U.S.) Status Arrived 41 minutes ago! (track log) Proposed/Assigned Actual/Estimated Departure 08:57PM GMT 09:18PM GMT Arrival 04:57PM EDT 06:32PM EDT Speed Mach .80 Altitude 45000 feet