justine

I use the restrooms in Tower City and have never found them unsafe. I wonder what the writer based this on.

Yes, that's it. Someone told me it will be another mobile telephone store.

How about providing bathrooms for those who have to pee?

Clvlndr, I hope the relocation of the bus stop across the street from the Crocker Park shopping center is not permanent. You could be right about the reason for this. It is very unfortunate that bus riders are seen as pariahs by these upscale shopping centers.

The bus stop at Crocker Park has been moved and I hope it is only temporary! The bus used to stop beside Trader Joes in the Crocker Park Shopping Center. I took the bus out there Friday and it let off across a busy street from the shopping center. There was no shelter or bench. The wait for the walk sign was long. It appears that the cars on the street travelling east and west have a long green light while the time for pedestrians to cross north and south to where the bus stop is now located have a short time to cross. This is especially bad on cold windy days. Crocker Park facility announced it would pay more attention to pedestrian safety after a woman was hit by a S.U.V. and killed while walking in the parking garage at the center. The relocation of the bus stop is more dangerous for pedestrians. Does anyone know if the relocation of this bus stop is temporary?

There is a storefront being renovated on W. 117th between 1-90 and Lorain Ave. They've added a brick façade and some nicely done big windows in the front. Does anyone know what is going in there? I noticed the former White Castle building across the street is still for lease.

I had breakfast at Joe's Deli this morning. Yes, there are new owners and related to the old owners who moved to Columbus. They have added some new items to the menu. Breakfast was good, portions smaller than George's Kitchen but I like smaller portions.

This is interesting and worth the read. I was surprised that my neighborhood had so many college graduates (Jefferson). Also, it was surprising that Lakewood has experienced such a population loss since it's retail area seems so busy. Some of this could be smaller households. There are a lot more households of one, two or three rather than large families. Some areas are "destinations" and may attract a lot of visitors and shoppers who don't necessarily live in the area. It will be interesting to see how Cleveland develops in the coming years.

Last Thursday, there was a presentation on the Lorain Ave. street improvements held at the church at 3625 Lorain Ave. The presentation was given by a panel of the City of Cleveland Street Engineers, the contractor for the project and the design firm. It seemed very positive to me. They will be removing unused utility poles along Lorain Ave., planting trees, adding pedestrian walk ways with a meridian in the middle of the street and flashing yellow lights at several intersections, adding dedicated bike lanes, and reducing some of the street parking. This is for the area from W. 117th to W. 140th street. Unfortunately, they will not be able to bury the utilities as they did at Kamms because Kamms had stimulus money and it is quite expensive to bury utility lines. Hopefully, more businesses will come into the area once the project is done. There were some people there who were wondering why there needed to be bike lanes and less parking. It was explained that cities all over the world use bikes and that this is part of the complete streets program. Where much of Lorain is now four lanes of driving, it will become two lanes of driving with more space and safety for pedestrians and people on bikes.

Thank for your replies. We did make it to the Park of Roses and it was impressive, with the roses still blooming. Seeing the inside of a Lustron home was very interesting. It made me wonder if we could build multi unit homes now with the same materials. Thanks for the diner suggestions. We will try those next time. We found the Katz Deli and the Northside Market and couldn't seem to get away from either place. Columbus is a good weekend getaway from Cleveland since it is so different and yet so close. If only we had the high speed rail (thanks for killing rail, R's!) and didn't have to fight the traffic on 71.

Hi forummers, My partner and I are going to Columbus for a few days. We plan to see the exhibit at the Wexner Art Center and the model of the Lustron Home at the Ohio History Center. We like diners and wonder if there are any good diners that have breakfast. I have explored Germantown, Short North and downtown previously but have never been to Clintonville. Is it a good place to explore? I heard it is kind of a hippie, alternative area. Also, I heard there is there a suburb that has a lot of examples of mid century architecture but don't know which one it is. Does anyone know where we can see mid century architecture? We mainly want to walk around neighborhoods and maybe go hiking in one of the metroparks that has a lot of trails and good fall color.

Thanks for posting the information about the housing trend reversal and the federal funding issue, KJP. People who work in real estate and development are aware of the trends underway and are investing in walkable dense communities with access to transit. As far as funding goes, I am wondering what people on this forum think about the future of state funding for transit. I know that our current state government in Ohio has been unfriendly to transit, but with the rising cost of health care costs which the state has had to pay in Medicaid, there is an opening for more funding for transit and walkable communities as a health issue. With the Medicaid expansion, the federal government is picking up most of the tab for Medicaid. Still health care costs are rising and obesity linked to sedentary lifestyle drives up health care costs. So, there may be an opening for transit funding and pedestrian pathways to schools just to offset the government's expenditure towards health care.

I know it is frustrating that the Red line is taking so long but I was at the University Circle stop last night making a connection, and I am really excited about the improvements being made. The new transit stop for buses will be closer to the rapid exit and entrance. This means no more walking along a long underpass to get to the buses.

I would like to try to make it. thurs. is better for me.

I think these problems will be solved. There is a forty year trend towards development in dense downtown areas which is a reversal of the forty year trend out to the suburbs. I like the Westshore transit idea a lot. With all the new bus booths being built on Clifton Ave., I am hoping that RTA will increase frequency and days of service on the bus that runs on Clifton. Does anyone know about the rumor that there is a plan to have trolleys run from downtown to the Edgewater neighborhood. One of the peopel working at a coffee shop told me that he thought stores and restaurant owners on Clifton were thinking of paying for trolleys to bring people from downtown to Edgewater.

I had the Taro Bubble Tea at Pho Thang and it was very good! The staff is very friendly and accomodating and the space is attractive. This is a great addition to downtown.

I put a little more than 3,000 miles a year on my car and live on the westside of Cleveland in the Jefferson neighborhood. I take public transit whenever I go downtown or to the east side but find that I use my car a lot for trips that are about 2 or 3 miles. The walkscore where I live is 75 which is higher than a lot of areas in Cleveland but I find that certian things like my fitness center would involve two buses so it's easier to drive. Yes, it is a contradiction to drive to the fitness center for a work out. Walking to the bus and rapid is part of my work out. I haven't found a good way to get to Lakewood by transit since it involves two buses and there is the freeway in the way of walking. It's too bad there aren't more pedestrian bridges over the freeway and over W. 117th. I have a library, a drug store, several middle eastern markets and lots of restaurants within walking distance. I was without a car for over fifteen years in other states and managed pretty well. Somehow, I end up using my car here more than I would like. Maybe I need a different neighborhood.

If someone wants to live "car-lite" and walk, bike and use public transit more, what is realistic in northeast Ohio? Would driving less than 3,000 miles a year be considered "car-lite"? Since this is a car-centered area with reasonably good public transit and some bike lanes, what have others found is a reasonable goal for driving less. I generally use my car about half the time and walk and ride transit the other half but I'd like to use the car even less. I make about five trips by car to Michigan every year. How do others do it? I am looking for tips and ideas.

Maybe we can have some influence on the architecture, especially since the company does know how to develop high density buildings. I live near W. 117th and Triskett and I often use the W.117th Madison Rapid Station. It is one of the best designed stations we have. I agree it would be a real shame to tear down the mixed use building near the station that was the basis of the design. As someone on a "car diet" I often walk along W. 117th to run errands and it feels like I am walking along a suburban highway. I am also very frustrated with the design of the proposed apartment building. Lorain Ave. makes for a more pleasant walk for errands because although it is somewhat "run down", it has a more urban feel and is more pedestrian friendly. I attended the open house presentation sponsored by Cudell Improvement about this development. They are happy to have more housing for people who need it and are not really too aware of good urban design. They may not have much input from anyone with an architectural or urban planning background. How many of the CDCs in Cleveland have people with Urban Planning or Architecture degrees on their staff? I wonder if the CDCs are open to hiring people with this type of background and if it would make a difference for a CDC like Cudell. The development on Clifton and W. 117th looks pretty good. Are we only getting good design in the high end neighborhoods now?

It was in Barcelona, Spain and it was buses not steetcars. The driver could still keep an eye on things. I think having people hover around the driver is inefficient and could be stressful for the driver.

The waitress said there are plans to reopen the adjoining Mercado. The previous owners moved the Mercado to a larger space on Lakewood Heights Blvd. As far as I know, that store is still open. Mi Casita has the same delicious food as before.

I was recently out of town and noticed that on the buses, people inserted their tickets or money at two areas about one third of the way back from the bus. I thought this was an efficient way to do it because the passengers weren't all crowded around the driver but the driver could still keep an eye on the passengers by looking in the mirror and seeing that they were putting in their fare. Also having two areas to swipe the passes - one on either side of the bus - moved people along inside the bus more quickly. The driver had a clearer view of the traffic. I wonder if RTA has considered doing this.

Mi Pueblo at 12207 Lorain closed and now has new owners. It is called Mi Casita Restaurant. I've eaten at the new restaurant a few times now and it seems to be basically the same as Mi Pueblo but with a smaller menu. Also, they are not open for breakfast early in the morning any more. The food is good and the prices reasonable. The decor and atmosphere is very plain, though.

I bought a condo in the "Midtown" area of Detroit in 1997. It was an unrehabbed historic building. Before buying the condo, I went to the City of Detroit Building and Saftey Department and looked at the file for the condo. There was nothing that looked too negative in the file. I also asked to see the condo meeting minutes and by laws. Since the condo was dirt cheap, I was able to pay off the mortgage in about two years. When I bought the condo, it was mostly owner occupied. During the twelve years I lived there, most of the owners moved out and rented their units so it became mostly a rental. This can be a problem if you want to sell the condo because banks are reluctant to provide mortgages when the balance becomes more renters than owners. Luckily, when I wanted to sell the condo, the neighborhood had become "hot" and someone bought the condo for cash. It would have been difficult for anyone to get a mortgage. Also, the condo had no parking or central air which would have made it hard to sell in a neighborhood that was not "hot". I still only got back what I paid and what I put into it. I think it's best to consider the location, the sanity of the other condo owners, the record of inspections and violations and still try to buy at a low price if you can. There will always be surprises once you get into a place

The free Italian film festival starts this week in Cleveland (and several other midwest cities). See www.italianfilmfests.org for the complete schedule. One that may be of particular interest to those on this forum is, "Teorema Venezia" (The Venice Syndrome). Venice, Italy has become almost unlivable for it's remaining inhabitants due to the large influx of tourists and cruise ships. Films start at 7 p.m. at Stosacher Auditorium, Case Western University.