KJP

Here's why it makes sense to start off with the train service having a western terminus in Vermilion... First, it's a growing area, so there's some ridership to be had there. Second, it's in Erie County, the planning commission for which recently became an MPO (a critical asset especially if NOACA doesn't want to play). Third, it's in the district of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (a pro-rail legislator). Fourth, the added costs of starting the service in Vermilion are minimal, and may potentially be limited to the cost of adding the station facility there. Fifth, use of an existing rail yard is desireable as the overnight layover for the trains. My original thought was to use the NS yard at the Avon-Sheffield Lake border, but inspection has revealed it is still too heavily used by NS for the Avon Ford Plant to encroach upon their operations. However, the closure of the Lorain Ford Plant has availed a multi-track yard for storing and servicing of commuter trains that's closer to Vermilion than it is to Lorain (4.5 miles from Vermilion; 6 miles from Lorain). And, lastly, there is a lot of local support for the rail service from Vermilion city officials, from Mayor Jean Anderson to the new economic development commission. Ironically, their service director is James Pressler, who was recently director of Cleveland's Flats Oxbow Association and still lives near the West Boulevard Rapid Station, which gives him some access to other officials at both ends of the line. If the ridership numbers aren't there, fine. But I think they will be. Consider that while a large number of Erie County residents may not commute to downtown Cleveland, how many commute to Lakewood, Rocky River, Westlake and want to go Hopkins Airport (yet not leave a car parked there for days)? I suspect some analysis will bear out that the riders are there. Consider also the impact of feeder bus service from Sandusky Transit System (for work-bound trips and reverse trips to Cedar Point/Islands). I think if it can be shown that an average of 20-50 people will board each train at Vermilion, it will be worth doing. Edit: BTW, the capital costs of continuing west of Vermilion to Sandusky will be significant -- probably in excess of $30 million. This part ought to be left to a future phase. About $20 million to $25 million of the expense may be needed for adding a third main track on 20 miles of the busy NS mainline. Yet that's an investment that will also be needed for the Ohio Hub System, benefitting fast passenger trains to Chicago and Detroit. And, as we all know, since there are no federal capital funds for intercity rail expansion but there are for commuter rail, a future expansion of commuter service can remove barriers to starting the intercity service. But I'd like to get to the front door of this railway segment by starting commuter service from Vermilion right off the bat, if a ridership analysis shows it's worth doing.

Tibetan children watch as the first train from Lhasa Railway Station travels on the Tibetan grasslands near Lhasa, Tibet, Saturday, July 1, 2006. China on Saturday opened the first train service to Tibet on the world's highest railway, a controversial engineering marvel meant to bind the restive Himalayan region to China. (AP Photo/Color China Photo) http://cleveland.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D8IJAO600 China Opens World's Highest Railway to Tibet; Critics Fear Train Service May Hurt Unique Culture 07-01-2006 1:07 PM By ALEXA OLESEN, Associated Press Writer ABOARD THE BEIJING-LHASA EXPRESS, China -- China's first train from Beijing to Tibet set out Saturday carrying business travelers and thrill-seekers on the world's highest railway, which critics fear could devastate the Himalayan region's unique Buddhist culture. The $4.2 billion railway, an engineering marvel that crosses mountain passes up to 16,500 feet high, is part of government efforts to develop China's poor west and bind restive ethnic areas to the booming east. Critics warn that it will bring a flood of Chinese migrants, diluting Tibet's culture and threatening its fragile environment. The mood was festive aboard the train from Beijing on the 48-hour, 2,500-mile journey to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. "I feel very proud," said Guo Chaoying, a 40-year-old civil servant from Beijing who said he was going to Lhasa on business. "We Chinese built this rail line ourselves, and it's a world first, the highest. It shows our ability in high technology." The specially designed train cars are equipped with double-paned windows to protect against high-altitude ultraviolet radiation, There are outlets for oxygen masks beside every seat, for passengers who need help coping with the thin air. Guo was riding in the lowest-price car, which had only thinly padded seats and no bunks, but he said he didn't worry about resting. "I'm too excited anyway," he said. "There's going to be too much to see." A few cars down, Tan Ji, a 40-year-old electrical engineer from suburban Beijing, was unpacking his cameras in his luxury compartment, which had four beds and a television. Tan said he planned to spend 1 1/2 days sightseeing in Tibet, then fly home. "I'm really just going for the experience, because it's a first," Tan said. The opening of the railway coincided with a major political anniversary _ the 85th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Communist Party. "This is a magnificent feat by the Chinese people, and also a miracle in world railway history," President Hu Jintao said at a morning ceremony in the western city of Golmud to inaugurate service on the railway. The first train on the line pulled out of Golmud carrying about 600 government officials and railway workers. Minutes later, a train left Lhasa for Golmud. A third train left the western city of Chengdu later in the day for Lhasa. The train from Beijing pulled out of the Chinese capital Saturday night. On Friday, three protesters from the United States, Canada and Britain were detained after unfurling a banner at Beijing's main train station reading, "China's Tibet Railway, Designed to Destroy." Others planned protests Saturday outside Chinese embassies abroad. Chinese officials acknowledge that few Tibetans are employed by the railway but say that number should increase. The government also says it is taking precautions to protect the environment. The official Xinhua News Agency lashed out at critics, calling them hypocrites who want Tibet to remain undeveloped and a "stereotyped cultural specimen for them to enjoy." "Why shouldn't Tibet progress like the rest of the world?" the commentary said. The 710-mile final stretch of the line linking Golmud with Lhasa crosses some of the world's most forbidding terrain on the treeless Tibetan plateau. Xinhua reported Saturday afternoon that the train from Lhasa had crossed the 16,737-foot Tanggula Pass, which the government calls the highest point on any railway in the world. Passengers signed health declarations saying they understood the risks of traveling at such high altitude. They were required to declare that they didn't suffer from heart disease or other ailments that might make them susceptible to altitude sickness. Communist troops marched into Tibet in 1950. Beijing says the region has been Chinese territory for centuries. But Tibet was effectively independent for much of that time. ###

Since you live a block from me, and I've lived in this neighborhood for 10 years, I figured I'd chime in with an answer. There are three operating scenarios for the Lakewood Community Circulator in our part of town. First, the first few/last few bus trips of the day go back and forth between Winton Place and the West 117th/Madison Rapid station via Lake, Cove, Clifton and West 117th. Second, the rest of the day, there are two Circulators that run from Winton Place, but stay on Lake before turning south on West 117th. The first of these that's scheduled to show up on Lake turns west from West 117th onto Detroit Road. The second Circulator bus that's scheduled to show up on Lake continues south on West 117th to the Rapid station. Here's a timetable you can print out, study, and keep with you.... http://www.riderta.com/pdf/804.pdf Once the Rapid station's reconstruction is completed, the circulators will once again drop passengers at the main station entrance, which makes for a very short walk to the trains. I hate to say it, but the only time I use the circulator to go to the Rapid station is when I'm going to the airport. Otherwise, it's out of my way. When I'm heading downtown, I take the #55 bus down Clifton. Buses run every 5-7 minutes from the corner of Clifton and Cove, with every other bus skipping stops (all buses stop at Cove). Every fourth #55 trip during the rush hours operates via the Gold Coast. Since the #55 uses the Shoreway to get into downtown, it's a very quick ride -- much faster than the #326 down Detroit Avenue, and is competitive with the Red Line -- moreso from where we live. The #55 buses pass through Public Square, making transfers to the other rail lines pretty easy. Here is a #55 schedule: http://www.riderta.com/pdf/55X.pdf Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.

By the way, some have asked what it would take to extend service from Lorain to Vermilion, or beyond Vermilion to Sandusky. Here's a couple of maps to give the lay of the land....

^ I remember that. Where'd that blast from the past come from?

Dude. Take your urban poetry, collect it in a pamphlet, publish the musings and count the royalties from your cabana on St. Croix. 'Nuff said.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-06-30/news/17300479_1_oil-field-oil-industry-crude Fiscal crisis for Mexico as oil starts to dry up Cardenas, Mexico -- Gonzalo Rodriguez has an unenviable task as the boss of a major oil field -- ripping out a large part of the pumping and compressing machinery that collects the output from scores of wells. "Unfortunately, we don't need this capacity anymore," he said. "This isn't like the old days, and they aren't coming back." Like much of Mexico's giant oil production apparatus, this area, known as the Bellota oil field, is in an apparently unstoppable decline. At current extraction rates, the nation has only 10 years of proven oil reserves remaining. And as Mexico prepares to vote in Sunday's presidential election, the leading candidates disagree bitterly about what, if anything, can be done to halt the impending collapse of the industry that forms the backbone of the national economy.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=21159 Peak Oil Passnotes: $80 Here We Come By Edward Tapamor 30 Jun 2006 at 11:01 AM EDT PARIS (ResourceInvestor.com) -- To follow on from what we were talking about last week, it would be a brave man to bet against $80 later this year. In fact $80 will be an easy target if we get anything out of the ordinary happening, and most times ordinary is bad enough. In 2005 we would not have had $70.85 oil if it had not been for Hurricane Katrina. Katrina spooked the markets higher than they otherwise would have been. But remember that when Hurricane Rita came onshore to the east of Houston and Galveston later in the year oil did not hit $70.85 again. A second massive hurricane narrowly missed the heart of the Texan oil business, blowing rigs around like confetti in an April churchyard, yet $70.85 could not be reached.

Thanks. Send royalty check, please!

^ Experience counts.

Stormin' Norm is an interesting fellow... Not sure if it's worth a drive out to McMansionland. Which begs the question -- why have a book discussion about peak oil that requires a long drive into suburbia? I don't understand that one!

I spoke with several developers today for an unrelated article I'm working on who said they have been friends with Scott Wolstein for years. Yet they think he's off base with the Flats East Bank project and its eminent domain, parking needs and subsidies. One even said he thinks the project will fail. Interestingly, in the port authority's press release today about it reaching a deal with another Flats property owner, I noticed something I hadn't seen before in one of their press releases. It referred to the possibility of the project failing if agreements aren't reached soon because costs would rise with delays. That's either a threat or a statement of "we're preparing you for the possibility."

NEOtrans is about transportation, transformation, transit -- all the "trans" that fit appropriately with NEO (er, North East Ohio, or neo meaning new). NEOtrans is basically just me right now, and I've composed a number of reports that wear the NEOtrans moniker. Though they haven't been officially released for public consumption yet.

Neotrans isn't just about rail, which is why we chose it.

... Or building because "it's better than nothing."

clvlndr, Here's my vision, which has some of the same features as yours... Use a dual-mode light-rail vehicle (diesel engine with a cutoff switch to directly supply its electricity via overhead catenary wires). It could operate under diesel power from Lorain County into Cleveland, and when it gets under RTA's wires, it can switch over to electricity and take the Red Line to Tower City Center. I would have an adjacent passenger platform at the West Boulevard Station. But just east of the station (about West 90th Street), where the Red Line rises up and over a long-gone freight siding, use that to build a double-track connection to the Red Line. That way, commuter trains don't have to cross both RTA tracks at-grade and force Red Line trains in both directions to wait for the traffic to clear. I have some maps/graphics of this concept, and when I get done playing reporter this evening, I'll post them here.

Save The Date! Wednesday, July 19, 2006 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. No RSVP is required - Please share info with others In the interest of advancing a proposal for Regional/Commuter Rail Service All Aboard Ohio and Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough invite you to attend a meeting of coordination of stakeholders along the Norfolk Southern railroad from Cleveland west into the West Shore communities of Cuyahoga, Lorain and Erie counties. This is first step toward realizing a long-sought economic development asset for the region. We're tentatively calling this the Regional Rail Stakeholders Meeting. WHERE? Westlake City Hall Council Chambers 27700 Hilliard Boulevard Westlake, OH (440) 871-3300 DIRECTIONS: Exit I-90 at either Crocker or Columbia and turn south. From Crocker, turn left on Hilliard. From Columbia, turn right on Hilliard. City Hall is between the high school and Dover Center Road. FOR MORE INFORMATION Dominic Liberatore, All Aboard Ohio, (614) 204-4628 or (614) 228-6005 Ken Prendergast, NEOtrans, (216) 288-4883 or (216) 986-6064

The article is not quite correct. When I interviewed Stark Tuesday for Sun's article, he said he approached Beck 6-7 years ago when Crocker Park was still a proposal. Beck turned him down. However, this latest discussion about a possible move came as a result of Beck's overture. One thing about businesspeople that I'm not wild about is that they narrowly view their interests, often to a fault (like a developer lobbying to dam a stream to create a lake for their posh new development, even though it risks flooding basements of existing, nearby homes; or in another way like the railroads in the 1950s and 60s which believed their customers wanted trains, not transportation). The world outside of a businessperson's interests (properties, products, services, etc.) often does not exist, which also causes the person to have a rather huge ego. When Stark says he sees the value downtown, I don't doubt him. Look at the marketplace -- aging baby boomers, empty nesters, only 25 percent of households having school-age children, undervalued properties downtown, the list goes on. When businesspeople say they're going to do something (like promote urbanism), they don't do it for the altruism in it. But if they can make money while being altruistic, then that's a home run. At the risk of putting words into Stark's mouth, I suspect Stark sees this move by Beck as a way of keeping Beck viable, not just enhancing the value of his investment in Crocker Park. Granted, I'd rather see him make a nice donation to the Beck Center, or to promote a Lakewood Arts District development. But, if you're a developer (a cut-throat, ego-driven business if there ever was one) and a potential tenant came to you to inquire about available space, he'd be crazy not to be interested. I do wish he would consider alternatives, however.

www.allaboardohio.com Ohio Hub Plan Future Moves to DeWine and Voinovich Written by: Dominic J. Liberatore: Executive Director, All Aboard Ohio Recent efforts to advance the development of the Ohio Hub Plan have failed in the US House of Representatives, despite the strong support of All Aboard Ohio, and numerous other advocates. Seeking to secure statewide congressional support for an appropriations request for the Ohio Hub Plan, Assistant Director Andrew Bremer and I took a trip in late April to Washington D.C. to meet with key Congressional staff. We asked for their support of Congressman LaTourette’s Appropriations request, which should have been included in the Fiscal 2007 House Transportation Appropriations bill. It was not. The Programmatic Environmental Impact Study (PEIS) funding request submitted by LaTourette would have advanced the Hub plan to its next stage of development. The PEIS is a critical and required step in order to secure the federal funding needed to develop a system of passenger trains for Ohio. However, there is a possible light at the end of the tunnel. The Senate has yet to finalize their appropriations request for 2007 and both of our Senator’s offices have a copy of the request. If you would like to see the Ohio Hub Plan become a reality, please call Senator Mike DeWine’s office and ask him to include the appropriations request for the Ohio Hub Plan in his additions to the FY07 Appropriations bill. His contact information is http://dewine.senate.gov/ You should also contact Senator Voinovich’s office and ask him to do the same thing. His contact information is http://voinovich.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm To view a copy of the appropriations request we need to have funded in order to advance the development of passenger trains for Ohio and the region, please visit http://www.allaboardohio.org/cms/images/uploads/PEIS_study_funding_request.pdf Please visit www.allaboardohio.com for updates, links and membership information!

Welcome aboard. Interesting and intelligent thoughts. It's great to hear a new perspective. Please keep posting!

Disregard. My editor mispronounced the name. It's Krill Company, and that move has already been announced. Sorry for the error.

http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$40031 Energy literacy - what you don't know can hurt you Published 06-26-06 Ecology and You Erik Curren [email protected] It seems that everybody's got an opinion these days about how to fight high gas prices. Punish price gougers. Tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Drill in protected areas in Alaska or off the Atlantic coast. And then there's the chain e-mail urging a consumer boycott of one brand of gas station at a time until each company cries "uncle" and agrees to lower its price to, say, $1.59 a gallon. ... On the Web - Energy Star Program: www.energystar.gov - American Council for Energy Efficiency: www.aceee.org - Energy Literacy Project: www.energy-literacy.org - National Environmental Education and Training Foundation: www.neetf.org - U.S. Energy Information Administration: www.eia.doe.gov - Energy Center of Wisconsin: www.ecw.org - Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Boston University: http://www.bu.edu/cees/

^ Lovely. There is a bus scheduled to depart daily from downtown Cleveland at 5 p.m. That probably was the bus you saw stopped....

Word received today that the Coral Company is relocating their offices to the Flats West Bank. Don't have further details yet.

I think one very important distinction has to be made here: I don't advocate building the Opportunity Corridor. I advocate for the inclusion of rail in the Opportunity Corridor if it is built. I do so only because of my fear that the rail transit lines, especially the Red Line, will otherwise be rendered more invisible, and thus further marginalized (or considered unnecessary) if the OC happens. One thing does excite me about the OC: the chance at having a single transfer point among multiple transit lines as I've posted on the OC thread. Here is the map I posted, which could turn the Forgotten Triangle into a "third downtown" (after the real Downtown and UC): Regional view - Close-in view -