KJP

If your shipping company has trained crews, a freight train and some fuel, you can't just show up and the use an American railroad company's right of way. Yet, this is how things are trending in Europe. Will it happen here? Should it happen here? Yes, I think so... PRESS RELEASE New European Commission Study Confirms The Benefits Of Competition In Passenger Rail Last week, the EU Commission published a Study highlighting the benefits of competition in passenger rail transport, in both Open Access (competition in the market) and competitively tendered Public Service Obligations (‘PSOs’ – competition for the market). The Study adds to the ever-growing evidence that competition, both in Open Access and PSOs, delivers benefits for All — passengers, operators, taxpayers, and the climate — that are crucial for accelerating the modal shift to rail. The Study reveals that commercially driven ‘Open Access’ competition “both decreased ticket prices and improved the quality of the service as compared to the situation prior to the start of competition. These two main effects have resulted in making railways more attractive to passengers, thereby increasing demand for rail, and shifting passengers to rail from competing modes.” However, the Study warns that “there are several challenges which impede reaching the full potential of competition”, which can be addressed by ensuring “easy access to all types of rolling stock…” and “equal access to ticket vending platforms for operators…”, as well as by “introducing track access charges rebates for operators in their first years of operations”. Regarding taxpayer-subsidised PSO contracts, the study shows that “where competent authorities have used competitive awards, they have consistently achieved a decrease in costs enabling improvements in the rail offer, notably as regards to service quality”. ALLRAIL’s Salim Benkirane says: “The evidence is clear — competition improves rail services for everyone. We must finally break down remaining barriers and fully open the rail market, to benefit passengers, taxpayers, and the environment alike”.

GCRTA isn't interested in doing that. But they are interested in moving your destinations next to the transit system.

The 2014 plan for a Red Line extension to Euclid assumed grade crossings for the Red Line where they already exist for the NS line. The Red Line would have also crossed over the NS tracks on a bridge, between Shaw and Coit avenues. This would have been a major expense -- one of major capital costs that could be saved by doing this instead.... Acquire 10.5 miles of right of way for NS bypass of Red Line extension Acquire abandoned CSX engine terminal at Collinwood Yard Construct new NS Bulkmatic bulk freight terminal on former engine terminal Construct 3.3 miles of double-track freight railroad on existing roadbed Construct 6.7 miles of single-track freight railroad on new roadbed Rebuild seven existing double-track railroad bridges Rebuild one existing single-track railroad bridge and add a second span Construct eight single-track bridge spans next to existing railroad overpasses of seven streets and one stream Construct 3 miles of new rail transit mainline track on existing railroad roadbed Construct 0.45 miles of new rail transit mainline track on newly graded roadbed Construct at-grade railroad turnout on rail transit line protected by ATS Construct new freight rail turnouts for Lincoln Electric from CSX and NS bypass Construct universal crossovers at three locations (about 2.5-3 miles apart) Construct eight new rail transit stations along the 8.5-mile Red Line extension Construct 8.5 miles of overhead electrification for Red Line extension

The George's own the land. Lindey's (NCR Ventures) has a ground lease with them. You're the second one to ask. I'd better clarify it in the article.

While transit may not be a development draw in Cleveland, public-sector development incentives connected to transit are. If you build near rail and bus rapid transit, not only can you tap transit-specific development incentives like those offered by the Federal Transit Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, your application ranking/score also goes up for other public incentives offered by the Ohio Department of Development, Cuyahoga County and city of Cleveland.

George’s third billboard lands on Opportunity Corridor By Ken Prendergast / September 30, 2024 A George family-owned billboard that metastasized into three as a result of a 2023 court settlement has found its third and final landing spot in Cleveland. That third billboard site is a piece of a city-owned parcel on the Opportunity Corridor near Quincy Avenue that is unlikely to be developed with any other uses, according to a city official. Title to the land will be transferred to the Georges. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/09/30/georges-third-billboard-lands-on-opportunity-corridor/

When you write the checks, you can call it whatever you want.

That's correct, but Cleveland proper is also absorbing many African refugees from places like Senegal and Congo, and now a new surge from South America, namely Venezuela.

Crabbie conservatives don't ride the subway out of fear, but real crabs do.

To the following article... ... I added the following photo of Skyline on Stokes (the development formerly known as Stokes West) courtesy of Geis and V1Drone.

I was traveling around by Streetview and come across a stunning change in Conshohocken. From this Streetview, do a 360 then click the street arrow in the direction away from the gate across the road. Do another 360. Stunning. https://www.google.com/maps/place/51+Washington+St,+Conshohocken,+PA+19428/@40.0721898,-75.3098636,3a,75y,299.92h,77.17t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sGmPc2BGtHqDBcldKcyMXGg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D12.828051455806161%26panoid%3DGmPc2BGtHqDBcldKcyMXGg%26yaw%3D299.91795235166694!7i16384!8i8192!4m7!3m6!1s0x89c6be44f80561db:0xd9095b05499b64f4!8m2!3d40.0716055!4d-75.3091028!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F11tk2j4b03?coh=205410&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MDkyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

That area was already dropping fast in the 30s and 40s, with most of the large homes being converted in the Great Depression to boarding houses. I think a subway would have had to have been built in the 1910s to truly capture and shape the still-strong growth forces that were in play right up until Oct. 28, 1929. But the Euclid Corridor still would have seen some decline, like the North Broad Street corridor in Philadelphia (which would be in even worse shape if not for Temple Univ). My dad, born in 1929, always used to say that Cleveland didn't start recovering from the Great Depression until the 1980s.

Plus the east end of the Eagle Avenue bridge is higher than the west for the ramp to Ontario that's no longer there. The new ramp will be steeper. So there is a significant drop off between the east end of the Eagle Avenue bridge and the new roadway below. Even if they wanted to keep the existing bridge they couldn't. At this point it might be really cool to have a modern lift bridge built over the river here, like the one at North Coast Harbor but larger and busier. And don't allow trucks so it will last longer.

Again at the bottom of the page??

I was thinking more about his own hair which he did set on fire. Anyhoo, back to the circle...

CWRU’s South Residential expansion stops By Ken Prendergast / September 28, 2024 As Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) approaches its 200th anniversary, just two years away, the growing college has just one megaproject on its syllabus for Cleveland’s University Circle — the $300 million Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building. So CWRU’s bicentennial legacy is to do what it has often done — prudently build when it needs to, not when it wants to. Even so, news of what the university is not building may come as a surprise. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/09/28/cwrus-south-residential-expansion-stops/

The scoring criteria was changed a long time ago to favor New Starts funding for projects in cities like Cleveland (addressing economic development, poverty, equity, etc). GCRTA has also changed, too, from a corrupt, professional agency wanting to build and grow amid neglect to a self-anointed victim bragging about its abilities as it fights to survive.

But some of this was Bridgeworks LLC often changing the design itself. Landmarks Commission staff complained about having to assess so many variations of designs as well. Both sides were culpable. But let's look ahead. The design team has its marching orders. Hopefully they and the Landmarks staff and commissioners will align soon on the remaining piece.

Nice photo by @sonisharri from the SHW HQ thread. So whenever the northern edge of Scranton Peninsula gets developed, I hope it's with 8- to 15-story story buildings. There, the zoning height district is a 4, meaning they can go up to 175 feet.

OK. They must've lost some from other parts of the building because I got a building tour the day after the storm and the guide said they lost some panels.

@bdaily Ah, crap. I totally forgot about this and I can't go. Please let me know how it goes.

Good thing he didn't set those on fire!! 🤯

OK, so it's not all government spending

Those panels were blown off in the storm in August that caused major power outages around town. Probably waiting for the insurance company to write and the supplier to make more -- and figure out how to install them more securely. But that's just a guess.

I don't remember that going through design-review.