KJP

See East Cleveland, Kinsman Avenue area in Cleveland, the Mahoning Valley through Youngstown, much of southern Warren towards Niles, downtown Alliance, parts of Toledo, Cincy's Over The Rhine and probably a few more I'm forgetting. It's not hard to imagine.

It's hard enough to predict the weather in this town more than a few days in advance, let alone it's economy 10 years down the road. No one can answer that. But if you want to know what we'd like to see happen, that's something that anyone can answer. I'm not sure why a surprisingly large number of Clevelanders feel we have to attract a large company to the area. I think a more plausible outcome is that some homegrown companies hit the big time and, just as important, that we can keep them. But if we want our small local companies to grow as much as their owners want them to, then we need to assist them in whatever way. Ditto for entrepenuers, who seem to have difficulty getting their start in NEO, and sometimes have to go beyond Cleveland to collaborate with other entrepenuers, find legal or financial resources, and attract clients. If we can correct that, we'll be able to help the Charles Brush's, Frederick Crawford's, Garrett Morgan's and Peter Lewis' of the future.

I didn't realize that article ran somewhere in our 25-paper chain, and actually, it shouldn't have run because some changes and even corrections needed to be made. The revised article was submitted today for next week's papers.

I got a chuckle from it too. That's just Dave. At least he didn't say "prehistoric"...

How about Harborlight? And, just as there is a New York, a New Jersey, a New Philadelphia, why can't there be a New Pesht? Yeah, it will take a brief explanation to people, just as the word "brownfield" does. But once they know the reason, the word fits perfectly and will never have another meaning. After all, what the hell is a Kleenex? A Xerox? Just some made-up words that have only the meaning given to it by a marketing department. But today words like Kleenex and Xerox often replace the basic words of tissue and photocopy they were intended differentiate. Another name that hasn't been institutionalized in Cleveland, via a placard on a building, bridge or park, is Alfred Kelley. He was the Village of Cleaveland's first attorney, "president" (er, mayor) and later became chairman of a strange new state entity called the Ohio Canals Commission. Since Kelley lived in Cleveland, he argued that the northern terminus of a lake-to-river canal should be at Cleveland. He is the reason why Cleveland grew into a major city. He later backed efforts to make the city a hub of railroad lines. And few people know his name. At least his name should be given to the Canal Park in the Flats, near Settlers Landing. I like using the word "light" in the name of the new area, or as one of the buildings in the new area. Like the area is a beacon on the shore. I wonder what the Seneca or Erie Indian word is for "light"? I found a couple of interesting Chippewa words, plus a French word that may be appropriate: Manistee - This Native American name was first applied to the county's principal river. It means "river at whose mouth there are islands." Newaygo - This was derived from then name of a Chippewa chief who signed the Saginaw Treaty of 1819 or from a Native American word meaning "much water." L'Anse - One of the most common term found on the old French maps of the Great Lakes is "Anse" (often spelled "Ance"), the meaning of which is "cove", or "inlet." As is indicated by Hubbard’s rendition, Americans’ recording of what they heard the voyageurs say often varied from the correct French spelling. Any others?

^That's the one. When I've ridden the line with different visitors from out of town, they almost always comment negatively on that site when we pass it. It's a big piece of land that is very visible. That's why I wonder why 50 jobs is the best they can do. I'm sure there will be other uses at some point, but unless the industrial site is going to need rail access, why keep this as an industrial site? Again, (like Steelyard Commons) here's an example of the missed opportunities that happen when Cleveland lacks a citywide land use plan to better take advantage of adjacent land uses and transportation systems. Just as the Steelyard Commons site deserves to be industrial given the extent of proximate rail, water and highway access, this site on Detroit Avenue deserves to be a mixed use site with the dominant feature being housing. Sigh.

I like the design, too. The last rendering, though, looks like a collaborative effort between the architect and a six-year-old. Apparently the architect comes from the East Side, somewhere along the Blue/Green lines, cuz those are the type of trains he put in his picture!

He said Energy Wise plans to spend $3.2 million to build a 50,000-square-foot office and warehouse building. The project, moving the company to the new site, would retain 15 jobs and create 35 new ones. All this for 50 jobs? So what? It really is a much better site for housing with a mixed use component facing Detroit Avenue.

London calls their massive new waterfront neighborhood The Docklands, reclaimed from a decaying port area. I like the Docklands name. Let's look back into Cleveland's history to see what names were used on the waterfront (like Water Street, now West 9th) to make it uniquely ours.

Nice article by David Plata in today's West Side Sun News about the Puritas station redevelopment, with a cool graphic from RTA what the west-side entrance to the station will look like. I'll see if I can get a copy to post here.

If I remember right, a barge carries more than double what a freight train carries. But that may be several barges hooked together.

Regarding the aesthetics of the port island, I don't think that will be a big problem, either. While Toronto's port isn't on an island, it's on a large area of new fill extending out into the lake, just east of downtown. I can't say I've ever read any complaints from Torontonians living along the lakefront about cranes and warehouses uglifying (<--new word) their view of the sunrise. Perhaps Burke might be a better site for the port because it might be able to get done more quickly. But I'm with councilman Cimperman. Just as the street grid can be pushed northward to the lakefront between Browns stadium and the river, so might it from Davenport Bluffs north to the Burke's lakefront. What a terrific site for a new neighborhood, once "Pesht" gets rolling.

Remember the strip shopping center in Frank Jackson's ward where there were shootouts between gang members? ..... "The Crosshairs at Longwood Plaza"

^ Cleveland's PM is on Granger Road. It was once a mob hangout, as recently as the early 1990s.

But wait, there's more! (from Lyon and photographer Bernard Chatreau) Can you believe there's actually two tracks here?.... It also runs as a streetcar.... And as a subway.... That's all from Lakewood, er....Lyon, France!

Here's an image I was looking for -- greenspace and high-density transportation...in the same space! The Lyon Tram, Route T2, at Ambroise Paré in Lyon, France, photographed in 2001. (Photo by Bernard Chatreau) Again in Lyon, here the T1 tram line runs in this unique median on the Avenue Albert Einstein. (Photo by Bernard Chatreau)

^ Bingo! Edge cities = evil :whip:

Nothing yet. I haven't had the chance to follow up yet. I will do a follow up article in about a month or so, but articles about "side issues" will appear earlier than that. Funny story.... Stark didn't know the series had been running. Apparently he learned of it after meeting with someone I had coffee with this morning. Stark called me to ask if I could send him copies of the series. Um, sure! Thanks for the compliment and thanks for the news tip!

I'll be sure to tell David Plata. I'm sure he'll appreciate it!

I suspect that was the doing of RTA Deputy General Manager Michael Schipper, who prefers to demolish things when he doesn't get his way.

I'd rather say it with pictures, which show how tight an LRT alignment can be with adjacent traffic lanes, pedestrian walkways and parking..... In Boston, pedestrians cross Beacon St. at Coolidge Corner station in front of LRT train. (Photo: LRTA) Also in Boston, LRT in median alignment at Harvard St station. (Photo: Light Rail Central) More Boston, with a C-Line LRT train in a boulevard median alignment. Note nose-in parking at left. (Photo: D. Pirmann) In Karlsrhue Germany (sorry for the small pic!) Again in Karlsrhue (and again a small pic) And while I couldn't find a picture of it this go around, there's several systems in Europe (and also New Orleans) where the greenspace in the roadway's median also is the rail line. A rubberized mat was placed amid the rails and grass was planted on the mat. You can barely see the rails.

It's nice that the Cleveland Clinic decided to stay in the city when, in the 1950s, it seems that everything else was suburban-bound. But I've never understood why the clinic feels the need to bring the suburbs to the city with its building designs? Problem is, no one has the guts to stand up to them and tell them to stop building suburban bunkers. Maybe Peter Lewis could.....

^It's not, unless some major, transit-oriented changes are made when ODOT rebuilds Clifton in the next couple of years. Changes might include a center median, possibly with rapid-transit style stations in the median or maybe on the outer edges of the roadway. Or it may not have them at all given RTA's worsening financial crisis. RTA's 2005-2010 capital budget doesn't mention any such potential expenditures.

You guys are harsh!

Don't take building locations too seriously in Stark's concept map. Stark said the building locations are conceptual, just to show the spaces that could be filled in. The essential point he was trying to get across was the extension of the street grid. And, where the city of Cleveland owns parking lots, those can be turned over to a developer more quickly than if a private parking interest already has them. The development of those city owned lots can also happen pretty quickly too. One thing Cleveland is doing right these days is streamlining the approvals process. The Cleveland Clinic's new $500 million heart center made it through the city's approvals process in just three months. Thanks for the compliment, unbriacone!