KJP

I was at the Crew game tonight vs Cincinnati. A great experience. Unfortunately, FCC's defense/goalie and its ability to play keep-away was too much for Columbus. My first-ever MLS game. It won't be my last!

Go Marcy!

This was one of the few hangups to be overcome prior to the start of construction and the start of service.... Mobile zoning board OKs train platform for Amtrak Gulf Coast service https://www.progressiverailroading.com/amtrak/news/Mobile-zoning-board-OKs-train-platform-for-Amtrak-Gulf-Coast-service--71883

I had reported in 2022 that the Haslams wanted to put a domed stadium on the northeast side of downtown. The Haslams even reached out to some property owners (including WKYC) but apparently ran into some disinterest from at least one property owner (I don't know who). The Haslams asked the city to intercede with the thought that it could lead to eminent domain if things didn't progress. With the Port's eminent domain fight with the Georges underway at that time, the city didn't want a repeat of that. I don't think they were concerned about losing. They were apparently concerned about delays given how many properties had to be acquired. So the city urged the Browns to look elsewhere.

Differing views, values on Downtown Lakefront causing Browns to consider Brook Park By Ken Prendergast / May 9, 2024 As the old saying goes, “Show me your budget — I will tell you what you value.” Along those same lines, if you want to know what Cleveland city officials vs. the owners of the Cleveland Browns want from their returns on investment in the lakefront, show me your actions, not your words. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/09/differing-views-values-on-downtown-lakefront-causing-browns-to-consider-brook-park/

I was thinking of sharing it in an article but then I looked through it last night and I didn't see anything really newsworthy in it.

Their goal was to add parking garages to make it possible to eliminate the surface lots along the line. If I'm going to a restaurant in the Flats, I'm not going to park at a garage at the Muni lot and then take the Waterfront Line several stops to go have dinner. I'd want a garage within a short walk of where I'm going to eat.

Ohio City Inc. wouldn't sell it to GLBC because they didn't want a growing factory and its trucks in a crowded neighborhood.

Interesting. BTW, the Skylight building was built in 1991 and was partially leased by Sherwin-Williams starting in the 2010s. It is considered part of the headquarters but isn't the original 1930 headquarters building that SHW sold to Bedrock for redevelopment (possibly as residential). SHW extended its lease at Skylight to late 2025 because of the HQ construction delays.

Ohio City is first site for Whalen’s new venture By Ken Prendergast / May 8, 2024 What does a quarterback like to do? Run a winning team and call his own plays. With that, Cleveland-area native and former pro football quarterback Dan Whalen is taking the snap from center this week and launching his own real estate development and investment firm — Places Development. Not only is the new firm based in Cleveland, Whalen said much of his business focus will be on Cleveland. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/08/ohio-city-is-first-site-for-whalens-new-venture/

Already reported in some dubious blog. Dang, with all these new hires, methinks they're gonna need more big buildings.

Shore to the core to the shore for some more....

Working on an article. Stay tuned.

CSU students: here’s how to get the Waterfront Line on track… By Ken Prendergast / May 8, 2024 When a group of 16 urban planning graduate students from Cleveland State University (CSU) took a critical look at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) light-rail Waterfront Line, they unsurprisingly found a number of things lacking. But there were some surprises discovered during their research that could boost ridership if addressed effectively. MORE: https://neo-trans.blog/2024/05/08/csu-students-heres-how-to-get-the-waterfront-line-on-track/

Too bad we don't have a national crime thread

The office market is getting clobbered everywhere Fort Worth's tallest building trades hands at a shocking 91% 'discount' in just 3 yrs of ownership The lender was the highest bidder w/ a $12.3M credit bid in an auction The building was previously acquired for $137.5M in 2021 That's a $125M 'haircut' in just 3 yrs Source: Dallas Business Journal

I measured 50 feet. In Florida, Brightline is seeking to have I-4's median preserved at 44 feet for the extension to Tampa.

What's cool is that, because I-70 was built early on, all of the new highways and interchanged that have been built since were built above it. The medians through those interchanges are appear to be free and clear of obstructions. I'd like to try and serve the Sandusky area. The challenge is it's hard to serve with rail unless you restore the old New York Central line along the Sandusky waterfront. Otherwise you have to transfer to local transportation for everything and sometimes transfer twice. For example, transferring to the Islands means transferring to a bus to get to the boat -- unless you add a station at Port Clinton where the Jet Express is an easy 5- to 10-minute walk from the tracks and the former station site. In the 70s and 80s, the high-speed rail plans completely bypassed Sandusky and several navigable water inlets in favor of traveling next to the Ohio Turnpike.

Plus, Ohio is a big pay-to-play state when it comes to state politics. Tough to get anything done, let alone something big and new, without paying the pipers.

Here's another couple of crazy ideas. And I don't know why I never thought of this before, perhaps because I was too hyper-focused on repurposing old railroad lines. One of those is the former New York Central, now Camp Chase Industrial track, from Columbus to London, OH which offers a potential 110-mph route but only for 25 miles. But things align very well to create a dedicated passenger-only rail line from Columbus all the way to Cincinnati via Dayton. Here's how you do it..... Leave Columbus on the former New York Central but only for about 2 miles until you go under I-670. Acquire and demolish four small businesses to shift over to and alongside the north side of I-70. Just east of the interchange with I-270, enter the median of I-70. Travel in the median of I-70 for 52 miles until Enon, OH, southwest of Springfield, where I-70 crosses the ex-New York Central (now the mainline of Norfolk Southern) AND the parallel Erie Railroad which has been gone for nearly 50 years but is relatively undisturbed. Both are mostly straight with gentle curves and there's only 10 at-grade road crossings in 17 miles with three of them in the last three miles before arriving Dayton. An extra benefit is that the vacated Erie RR is off-set from the NS tracks by about 75 feet so passenger trains can travel at 110 mph, or even 125 mph in 14 miles if seven of the grade crossings are replaced with overpasses. Into central Dayton, the elevated railroad of NS/CSX is four tracks wide but has only two tracks on it. A new bridge is needed over the Great Miami River just west of Dayton Union Station (still plenty of room here for a multi-track station). West and south of Dayton, keep NS and CSX on the same right of way by moving CSX over to NS all the way into Cincinnati. Brightline gets the CSX route into Cincinnati. I picked CSX because it has very little industry and even fewer customers along it. And at Hamilton, an enhanced passenger rail line to Chicago can split off and share tracks from Hamilton into Cincinnati. Some major trackwork is needed in Hamilton. South of Winton Place near Cincinnati, I'd build a new, dedicated HSR line into downtown Cincinnati between Mill Creek and the freight tracks, then cross over Mill Creek to the former B&O to avoid Queensgate Yard entirely and take that right of way to near Paycor Stadium (Bengals), travel below Second Street and put my station in the "Riverfront Transit Center."

Red is the existing Cleveland-Chicago Amtrak route Blue are potential Brightline routes into Cleveland. Black are potential Brightline routes into Detroit. Yellow are potential Brightline routes into Columbus.

Along with a map:

Here's a crazy idea. If Brightline wants to serve Chicago-Fort Wayne-Lima-Columbus, they could lease/buy the rights of way from their owners. In the case of the longest single segment, the 220 miles from Gary, IN to Dunkirk, OH is owned by the Chicago, Ft. Wayne & Eastern (CFE). Brightline could position itself to serve three busy travel corridors if it went a little farther, possibly buying the shares of CFE for about $200 million based how much CFE's parent Genesee & Wyoming sold for in 2019. That would give it a route from Gary to Crestline, OH. Brightline could give G&W trackage rights. Getting to Crestline gets Brightline to the 3C&D corridor. So Brightline buys.... + CFE corporate -- Gary, IN-Crestline, OH (270 miles) + CSX Scottslawn Sub -- Dunkirk, OH-Columbus (71 miles) + CSX Columbus Line Sub -- Galion-Columbus (60 miles) + Right of way alongside CSX Greenwich Sub -- Crestline-Berea (63 miles) + Right of way alongside NS Chicago Line -- Berea-Hopkins Airport (3 miles) + Vacant double-track right of way alongside CN's IC line -- Kensington, IL-Chicago (13 miles) Brightline leases.... South Shore Line -- Gary-Kensington (16 miles) There will have to be major investments to these lines. The Chicago-Kensington section is probably a $750 million project right there but it gets you a 125 mph already grade-separated route into central Chicago. That doesn't include a Chicago station which I would put on the St. Charles Air Line between Clark and State with stations added to CTA Orange/Green line and Metra's LaSalle Street Station access. This station location will allow expansions to O'Hare Airport, Milwaukee and even St. Louis. To avoid having to double-track the entire CFE line, I would combine off-peak Cleveland-Chicago and Columbus-Chicago trains at Dunkirk. Sections of double-track would still have to be built based on proposed schedule patterns. The Crestline-Cleveland line will be expensive. It will have to be double-tracked and since it is new, I would grade-separate the entire 63-mile route. That's probably a $3 billion project. But it gets you a 125-mph route with diesel power. South of Galion to Columbus, trains can cruise on the upgraded former CSX line at 110 mph, allowing a Cleveland-Columbus trip time of about 85-90 minutes and a Cleveland-Chicago trip time of about four hours. The crazy thing is that Hopkins-Crestline-Chicago is 348 miles while the current Amtrak route is 341 miles downtown-downtown.

Oldie but a goodie. Came out shortly after Lebron's return. Extremely well done...

Uh, that was actually the "second look" at AJ Rocco's. 😜 https://neo-trans.blog/2024/04/25/downtowns-new-aj-roccos-reopening-in-may/