KJP

I wouldn't be surprised to see $3 gas prices in a few days, if Katrina has damaged the oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf area. One-third of this nation's oil supplies are produced in the Gulf, and more oil, from foreign lands, is offloaded at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Platform and pumped to the mainland via underwater pipelines. There are also numerous oil and natural gas refineries along the coast. We have zero spare capacity, and any loss of this infrastructure for an extended period could cause some significant hardships. But it will be at least couple of days before we learn just how much damage was done. If you haven't bought gas at less than $2.70, do it now just to be safe. KJP

Unless you bring a change of clothes with you. Several people I know do that, and they bike to work, where showers for cyclists are available. But most car-free folks I know just take trains or buses to work here in Cleveburg. KJP

Thanks for the link. I've updated the list at the top of this string. I hope to continue updating the list. If the pace of transit-friendly redevelopment picks up along the Red Line, the 10 percent ridership increases it's experienced in the last year or two could accelerate. We have a tremendous, but untapped asset in this city -- one that will only increase in value as gas prices keep rising, the baby-boom generation ages and the "cool factor" of urban living spreads further among young people. But, unless the barriers to redeveloping around Rapid stations are removed, it will remain an opportunity missed. Let's keep the momentum moving forward. KJP

I doubt RTA has ever given the West 25th station the power-washing it so desperately needs (or other stations). I often see an RTA vehicle with a big water tank on it, power-washing bus shelters along city streets. Why not with the stations? They're a bigger investment. Why can't RTA expand it's Adopt-A-Shelter program to create one called Adopt-A-Station? Could RTA sell naming rights to stations and give those companies' employees a community-activism role in maintaining the stations? Adding better landscaping? More amenities? ...The Great Lakes Brewing Company Station at Ohio City?The National City Bank Station At Puritas? The Forest City Enterprises Station at Tower City? The Cleveland Clinic Station at University Circle? OK, maybe the Adopt-A-Station might be as far as it goes..... KJP

NEWS OHIO RAIL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 50 W. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 644-0306 telephone or fax (614) 728-4520 http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Stu Nicholson Date: August 24, 2005 (614) 644-0513 Ohio Senator Co-Sponsors Major Rail Bill ORDC Praises Senator Mike DeWine For His Support of Bill to Improve & Invest in Passenger Rail (Columbus) – The nation’s first comprehensive federal legislation to develop and grow high quality passenger rail service has gained an important co-sponsor. Senator Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) has officially signed on in support of Senate Bill 1516, the Passenger Rail Investment & Improvement Act of 2005: a bill introduced just weeks ago by Senator Trent Lott (R-Mississippi). “This legislation can be a huge help in getting our Ohio Hub Plan rolling”, says ORDC Executive Director James Seney, “and Senator DeWine’s co-sponsorship will ensure that Ohio’s interest in developing both passenger rail and increased capacity for freight rail traffic is considered.” Senator DeWine’s staff says ORDC’s input was key in their decision to join Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Kay Bailer Hutchison (R-Texas) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) in support of this bill, which has already been passed by the Senate Transportation Committee. In joining as a co-sponsor, Senator DeWine says, ““I am proud to co-sponsor the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005. The legislation would improve rail safety and security, increase rail capacity and strengthen Ohio’s transportation infrastructure promoting economic growth. If enacted, it would reduce congestion on our roads, making them safer for families. This safe and reliable transportation plan directly addresses transportation needs in Ohio and across the country.” ORDC is about to release it’s final report on the results of 10 month series of public meetings on it’s own high speed rail plan: The Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Rail / Ohio Hub Plan. SB-1516 will create the very federal funding mechanism that has been the missing link in advancing the Ohio Hub Plan, as well as plans now being developed in at least 24 other states. The bill also calls for both significant reform and first-ever long-term funding to stabilize our national passenger rail system currently operated by Amtrak. “The response we have gotten from the public, community and business leaders to the Ohio Hub Plan has not only been overwhelmingly positive, “ says Seney, “ but their comments carry a clear sense of urgency that this plan needs to be funded and put into operation now. But one nagging gap in this and other regional rail plans has been the absence of a federal funding system dedicated to rail. Senate Bill 1516 literally lays the tracks to close that gap.” Similar legislation in the U.S. House has been introduced by Ohio Congressman Steve LaTourette in HR 1630 and HR 1631. ORDC has also provided input to the Congressman’s staff on these bills as well. Says Seney: “We’re encouraged to see this issue being dealt with in both houses of Congress and in a comprehensive way. We will continue to communicate with both Senator DeWine and Congressman LaTourette as these bills move forward.” Seney says one feature of both bills he particularly likes is that they call for a system of matching spending between federal and state dollars at the same 80-20% funding split as is done for highway and aviation modes. Balancing the funding, he says, helps balance the overall transportation system and helps our economy flow and grow. Links to the Ohio & Lake Erie Regional Rail / Ohio Hub Plan can be found at the ORDC website: www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/ (The Ohio Rail Development Commission is an independent agency operating within the Ohio Department of Transportation. ORDC is responsible for economic development through the improvement and expansion of passenger and freight rail service, railroad grade crossing safety and rail travel & tourism issues. For more information about what ORDC does for Ohio, visit our website at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/ohiorail/ )

I think the idea of a rebuilt convention center might work -IF- it's done in conjunction with providing other things to make it more useful for Cuyahoga County residents and the region's economy, namely.... > Creating a climate-protected pedestrian link between downtown and the lakefront; > Incorporating a regional multi-modal transportation center; > Offering facilities for a point of collaboration, idea-incubation and career-building between all Northeast Ohio institutions of higher learning and employers; > Creating more year-round links between downtown buildings; > Providing community festivals (below ground in winter, on the mall in summer); > And, yes, providing a location for conventions, trade shows and large meetings. The great thing about all these activities is there are local, state and federal funding programs in place TODAY for each and every one of them. If we incorporated multiple uses into this facility, Cuyahoga County voters wouldn't have to vote on whether to increase local taxes for rebuilding the facility. But it would require our state and federal legislative delegations to work hard for the funding for this. KJP

Great news. Now, let's string together more wins and make this contagious! BTW, does this mean the jobs will remain at the Federal Building, or would they need to move to a less-expensive location, such as the office building Wolstein proposed at the north end of the Flats East Bank? KJP

I believe county and some state funds were used. Check out: http://www.hemispheredev.com/case/coltman.html KJP

Not specifically. Can you post the link to the website and I'll adjust the information in the first message. I would like to continually update/correct that list as needed. KJP

There will be a new station at or near Euclid-East 120th. Where and when it will be built, I do not know. NOACA didn't hold up the grant for station-area planning for that site. It was denied, as was a TLCI grant for a station-area plan at Lee and Van Aken. I don't know the reasons why, but I suspect it was because RTA had submitted four grant requests and there was only $1.1 million to go around for the five-county NOACA region. By the way, the fourth grant request by RTA, which NOACA approved, was for RTA establishing TOD guidelines for all station-area developments. At West 65th, to my knowledge, RTA has solicited proposals for developing the vacant parcel between the station's driveway and the Lorain Avenue overpass of the tracks. A post office, organic food store, or some other use that would be beneficial to enhancing ridership at the station is desired by RTA. But I haven't heard of any proposals by developers for the site. Immediately west of the driveway, there are used car lots and other land uses that don't do much for enhancing ridership at the station. An apartment building or townhouses was discussed for that site. But I'm not aware of any concrete efforts to acquire those properties for the purpose of relocating their users to make way for redevelopment. It's just not easy to redevelop land in the city, even if the property is vacant. And, RTA doesn't have the staff or other resources to pursue TOD with greater vigor -- despite it being a stated priority by the board of trustees. They need to put their money where their policy is. KJP

West Side Housing Plan To Be Reviewed 08-23-2005 8:25 AM (Cleveland, OH) -- Planners of a public housing complex on Cleveland's west side are on a tight deadline. They want community response this week before submitting final plans to the federal government at the end of September. There are four sites under consideration in the Ohio City neighborhood. The original site near Riverside Towers was scrapped because of unstable ground. The public meetings are tomorrow and Thursday nights at Lutheran Hospital. Copyright 2005 Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company

Awesome column. I saw that posted at www.peakoil.com the other day. KJP

On the subject of TOD, I was thinking about what's starting to happen along the Red Line. Let's take this station by station, from west to east (please offer any corrections or updates): Airport -- no TOD planning or development activities known; Brookpark -- a $16 million redevelopment plan approved by RTA board in March 2005 with Brookpark RTA Ventures Ltd. of Beachwood, including a new station, 1,000-car parking garage, hotels, restaurants and retail on the 15.5 acres of land; Puritas-West 150th -- NOACA awarded on May 13, 2005 a $70,000 TLCI planning grant to project co-sponsors RTA and the Bellaire-Puritas Development Corp. for the development of a station-area redevelopment and pedestrian-access plan; West Park -- no TOD planning or development activities known; Triskett -- no TOD planning or development activities known; West 117th-Madison -- Lakewood and developer considering development options for recently vacated DeLorean Cadilac Dealership and adjacent properties. If no development option is pursued in the short-term, Spitzer may open its own car dealership on the site. RTA awarded contract to rebuild station facility on Aug. 23, 2005; West Boulevard -- Renovation of the 1888-built, five-story Chicle Gum Factory into apartments completed in 2005. Development plan approved by city on April 28, 2005 for the construction of up 40 new Chicle Townhouses; West 65th-Lorain -- EcoVillage continues to advance. In 2003, 20 townhomes were built and all were sold by 2004. A second phase of townhome development is starting. On Sept. 21, 2004, RTA opened its new station facility. Planning underway for major reconstruction of Matthew Zone Recreation Center. RTA seeking redevelopment of Lorain Avenue station frontage; West 25th-Ohio City -- CMHA director George Phillips and Ward 14 Councilman Nelson Cintron favor relocating CMHA's proposed high-rise residential building, containing 120-160 units "on top" of the RTA station. The tower, part of CMHA's Hope VI development, was originally planned for a site next to an unstable hillside at West 25th and Franklin; Tower City Center -- New Federal Courthouse Tower built 2004 with pedestrian walkway to Tower City Center and RTA station; East 34th-Campus -- no TOD planning or development activities known; East 55th -- Station slated for reconstruction, with a design that would support some station-area redevelopment; East 79th -- no TOD planning or development activities known; East 105th-Quincy -- RTA broke ground on Jan. 11, 2005 for a new $1.3 million station facility, replacing the old station. The station is next to the site for a proposed $120 million juvenile detention center, but the center's location could change. University Circle -- no TOD planning or development activities known; Euclid-East 120th -- RTA has funding in hand for station replacement or possible relocation. RTA request for TLCI planning funds from NOACA denied. Following the environmental remediation of a former oil storage depot on East 120th and Coltman Avenue, Hemisphere Development Corp. is planning for the construction of 28 townhouses or condominiums, called the Little Italy Renaissance Development, on 1.2 acres of land. Superior -- no TOD planning or development activities known; Windermere -- Head Start pre-school opened at the rebuilt station in 2002, after RTA secured the funding for building demolitions, site work and construction. Additional development, called Windermere Village, was recently announced, with plans incorporating a mix of uses including more than 50 new homes and apartments, 40,000 square feet of office space and medical services, a bank, restaurant, expanded library and a restored church. KJP

With gas prices getting expensive, this could save Cleveland a ton of money by saving city workers from having to go back and forth to the office to file reports. That's another advantage this could give the city. KJP

Another is down near Roscoe Village/Coshocton -- or at least it used to be the last time I rode it, in 1979. KJP

Somebody is getting these Fortune 500 companies. When you try to keep them and don't, I would be more disappointed if Clevelanders weren't upset at the loss(es). There is every reason to be upset at the loss. What's Ohio's economy supposed to consist of, delivering pizzas to each other? KJP

Problem is, is this region going to be a business incubator for the rest of the nation or world? Are we going to foster the hatching and growing of businesses so that, when they mature, they fly the coop? Being able to create an entrepenurial business climate is fantastic. It should be a "must have" for every city of decent size. But unless we can retain those businesses when they grow up to be big and strong, this region won't become as big and as strong as it can otherwise be. We MUST have a better strategy in place for keeping those businesses here (and even stealing a few from other cities). KJP

Yeah, but the construction of the Ohio & Erie and the Miami & Erie canals almost bankrupted our fledgling state in the 1820s to 1840s. With financing costs included, the total cost of both canals was $41 million, according to the Ohio Historical Society. But, you're right, it's a lot more difficult to get something built these days, transportation-wise. It's to the point where you almost don't want to use federal funds, because of all the red tape that slows it down. But it's hard to resist the 80 percent federal share (except when it comes to transit, which is 50%, or rail 0%). KJP

Awesome! I see on that store display they have an off-road version -- for motocross? :-P KJP

Awesome! KJP

Yes, it was, but I hope you're not going to turn this into a partisan issue. There wasn't much Carter could do in that crisis, nor Nixon/Ford in the 1973 oil crisis, following the Yom Kippur War. This is not a partisan issue. It's not even an American issue. It's a world issue. Consider the following article from a Los Angeles newspaper, which I think shows how we've backed ourselves into a corner over many decades... http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1777027.html Energy and political experts say oil crisis could erupt Leaders gather in Torrance for a program simulating a global oil shortage and face the daunting task of developing contingency plans. By Muhammed El-Hasan Daily Breeze Civil unrest in Nigeria helps send oil prices from $60 a barrel to $80, putting the brakes on worldwide economic growth. A month later, possible al-Qaida-linked attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Alaska push the price of oil to an economically devastating $120 a barrel. U.S. gasoline prices have nearly doubled seemingly overnight. Americans and the world are waiting to see what the only superpower does. What can America do?

Yep, that was called an oil profits windfall tax, the revenues from which could be used only on projects that increased energy efficiency. But ethanol isn't one of them. It takes more energy to make it than the energy it creates. That's the toughest thing about oil -- finding a suitable replacement for it. Oil is an amazing commodity. One barrel of it, costing about $66, can fuel the same work in an hour as hundreds of humans. No other alternative that offers a similar amount of energy density, portability and convertibility has yet been found to replace it. Perhaps the only thing that's on the horizon is building a couple dozen coal liquefaction plants, each costing several billion dollars, just to produce 1 million barrels of liquid crude oil (but with some serious environmental consequences in burning coal-based oil). That's literally a drop in the bucket for this nation, which gulps about nearly 20 million barrels of oil a day. Think about that -- the U.S., with 300 million people, or 5 percent of the world's population, uses 25 percent of the world's oil. If China, with its 1.2 billion people, wanted to use as much oil as the U.S., it would have to quadruple its oil usage. That shows how dependent on oil the U.S. continues to be. KJP

This is an older article, but I think it does a pretty decent job of cutting through all the BS reasons quoted in the media. KJP _____________ http://www.axisoflogic.com/cgi-bin/exec/view.pl?archive=94&num=16269 Published on 14 Mar 2005 by Axis of Logic. Archived on 15 Mar 2005. How to deceive friends and influence people: Oil crisis lies by Julian Jackson I’m going to give you some money. Alright, it’s only notional money, but here it is: you have a product that costs about $20 to produce. You sell it for $50. That’s a nice 30 bucks profit. Now this is the world’s most popular product and you sell millions of units each day. So you voluntarily decide to stop selling 1 million units per day, giving up 30 million dollars profit per day.

I would think a Segway also requires balance, too. Is it because a bicycle requires side-to-side balance while a Segway needs front-back balance? MrNYC...not everyone works 9-5 jobs. I'm also a reporter and I often get to work at 10 a.m. Sometimes I don't have to be at work until 11:30 a.m. Sometimes I have to start working at 7 a.m. But occaisonally I don't get home until 11 p.m. after covering city council meetings all evening and then get back to the office to write about them. And, on election nights, I don't get home until 3-5 a.m. Reporters work as many hours as it takes to meet a deadline. I hope this doesn't become a "my job is tougher than your job" debate. My point is that, just because someone gets to the office later than people working other kinds of jobs, doesn't mean they work a shorter day. KJP

I haven't seen one in a long time! I know I've posted some stuff here and there, but not a general thread for people to post all sorts of energy-related news and comments. So if you want to combine them here, it sounds like a good idea to me! If our government really cared about us, we wouldn't be so dependent on an energy source whose production is flattening out and is destined to decline sooner rather than later. We need alternatives to oil, and we need them ASAP. Reduced gas prices will only keep us addicted to the stuff. If our government is unwilling to stop enabling our oil addiction, then each consumer should resist paying the higher prices and make changes in their lifestyles to afford living in this new paradigm. But if we are unwilling, then we have no one to blame but ourselves for lining the oil executives' pockets. KJP