KJP

To bring this to a development-oriented discussion, if an extension of the Waterfront Line east along the lakeshore is pursued, it should not be considered as the end product. That was the failing of the (Phase I) Waterfront Line. The community built the rail line and said "the project is completed." That's wrong. They should have said "The foundation has been poured. The next step is a comprehensive effort to spur high-density, walkable urban neighborhoods along this transportation line, which will sew these neighborhoods together." Only by accident is this now starting to happen along the Waterfront Line (Wolstein's Flats East Bank, Shaia's Front Street Lofts, and possibly Ferchill's and Stark's projects et al). If the city and RTA want to pursue an eastward extension of the Waterfront Line, I would also involve the port authority to acquire land and prepare it for construction. A lot of this land is already in city hands and should be buildable as is -- but it's not on the market nor is it packaged with a future transit investment to brand the package. The rest of the land at key locations has complications (see the area around East 55th, East 72nd/or MLK and possibly at East 105th). All of these locations and others would make terrific station sites but have underutilized structures in their area which complicate development. But imagine the TIF potential of this for funding the rail extension. If I were running "the show" I would do the following: > Create a joint partnership of the city, RTA, port authority and affected CDCs, calling it something like "Waterfront East Corridor" > Create a more specific land use plan for the corridor, based on the city's Creating Connections lakefront plan (perhaps done simultaneously with the next item); > RTA, with community inputs, develops cost/benefit, ridership and environmental impact analyses of rail line extension, possibly done in phases to as far east as Euclid (endpoint less important since it would fall under later phases); > Based on the land use plan and RTA study, the city enacts zoning changes (such as transit supportive code overlays), creates enterprise zones (with various tax, land-preparation and port-authority financing incentives) and establishes TIF districts -- all of these within a half-mile to 1-mile concentric circle of each station location ID'd in the RTA study; > Let the game begin! That's my rough draft

True. MRN seems more interested in building than demolishing. I can't picture this building though. I assume its odd-numbered address means it's on the south side of Prospect? Can someone take a picture? What was it we were just talking about in another string about building on the surface lots north of Gateway since the Gateway decks are doing so poorly and the parking market seems so oversaturated?

I thought District Park tanked because of high steel prices at the time? I also remember their sign at the site saying that prices were too start at about $170K? Perhaps the combination of their low asking prices for housing units and the high price of steel was the killer. Perhaps someone can refresh my memory.

I drove a silver car once, and it hid the dirt and dried road salt spray pretty well. I now drive a black car, and have driven red, dark gray and brown cars, none of which hide the dirt/salt as well as silver.

That must have been a remarkable scene. Back in the old days, railroad employees used to carry around this contraption that worked similar to a flamethrower to thaw out frozen switches. Increasingly, railroads today install a type of heating ducts to switches to keep them from freezing. But they're still pretty rare, and I wouldn't expect Amtrak to be able to afford them!

Are you sure these properties were sold for $1? I thought they were sold for a little less than market rate.

Thanks for the heads-up! I'd like to see CDC officials ask Proctor about the quote I found and posted in the message right before yours, X. If they won't, I will.

I really like the conditional uses on the ground floors, and up against the sidewalk no less. I bitch enough about when buildings in urban settings aren't done right (hello Cleveland Clinic) that I need to give kudos when they are.

Yeah, those dusk-to-dawn curfews really get in the way of the ol' social life, don't they?

Did we just crest the oil peak? Former oil industry geologist-turned-author Kenneth Deffeyes thinks so.... http://www.princeton.edu/hubbert/current-events.html Join us as we watch the crisis unfolding February 11, 2006 In the January 2004 Current Events on this web site, I predicted that world oil production would peak on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2005. In hindsight, that prediction was in error by three weeks. An update using the 2005 data shows that we passed the peak on December 16, 2005. "A decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires" that I present an update on the data sources and the interpretation.

ahem....

Cool pics.

Downtown sure looked dead! By the way, I love the sky in this picture:

Unless it keeps being repeated

B12, is there a graphic or some text available on line that shows the land use plan? BTW, I think the Lakefront Plan vaguely suggests extending the Waterfront Line along the CSX/Amtrak right of way, not St. Clair. But perhaps they didn't want to get into those specifics.

MGD, your photos several messages ago show the parking lot on Superior as Phase 1. But the graphic suggests that Phase 1 will be on St. Clair. Which is correct?

Thanks. By the way, I found an interesting quote while doing research for another project. The following was in a booklet by the League of Women Voters of Cuyahoga County on transportation issues... “It is a myth that [TEA-21] is not flexible. Even if a local MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization) rejects a project, the dollars usually stay in the district, depending on the category. Pavement and bridge monies stay within the district even if an ODOT-proposed project is rejected. ‘Use it or lose it’ is a myth. ODOT will not expand where the region doesn’t want it.” -- ODOT Director Gordon Proctor

We all fear what we don't understand. But while some of us try to understand to eliminate that fear, others try to eliminate the presence of the unknown so that they won't have to understand.

Because the powers-that-be in Columbus don't believe in public education and would rather starve it to foster more charter schools, paroachial schools and, by God Almighty, home-schooling. To them, urban areas are cesspools of immorality, and they will starve the cities to prove that they are right. The rest of us are simply in need of more good clean country living where the radical right-wingers that have taken over the evangelical church can more effectively run our lives for us. Darn nice of them, don't ya think? Whoops, not allowed to think.... :evil:

Homey, Yeah I'm pretty sure Pope is well aware of the layout of the malls and its ancillary Group Plan government buildings. He probably is also aware that most of the convention center is underneath the malls, and less to the east side of it. That's Public Auditorium, which is but a small and lesser-used part of the overall convention center.

That place has the potential to be a city-within-a-city. At 1.2 million square feet, it's roughly the same size as a suburban shopping mall! Given that, it will have a spillover effect into the surrounding area, much like a mall does with outlots and satellite shopping strips. So what's the land use and transportation plan for the surrounding neighborhood? Is there one?

wow..... :weird:

Gee, and I thought you were going to say "The Akron Rubbers."

As a straight guy, I'm also offended by this. I hope these hate-filled legislative efforts by the right-wingers and the "Bring Back the 1950s Family Puritanism" groups cause division in the Republican party. It sounds to me like the "problems" they are seeking to prevent are actually caused by the hateful, bigotted people these bumpkin legislators are representing. So, what they are really saying is "We need this legislation to protect kids from small-minded people like us."

I'm not sure what having a small family has to do with the rail vs. PRT argument. Please explain. PRT has never proven to be more than a curiosity due to its attempt to combine the best of driving and rail transit while accomplishing none of either. It's slow, cost ineffective, obtrusive, ugly, has limited access points due to its elevated stations, not as accessible by people with disabilities, restricts social interaction with other people and just plain goofy.