JMasek

As some of you may know, there is a free celebration on Public Square Dec. 31, with Drew Carey, from 6 p.m. to at least 12:30 a.m....at least, that's when the live TV coverage ends. The event is called "Cleveland Rocks". All Rapids (except the Waterfront Line) will run ALL NIGHT on Dec. 31, so there will be continous rail service from AM on Dec. 31 to PM on Jan. 1. Happy New Year.

Gee, that post had everything except an intermission. Thanks.

A clarification on renovation of the Brookpark Station. The designs are complete. Work is scheduled to begin in 2015. RTA is seeking additional federal funds that will allow work to begin sooner.

Brookpark rendering has been on the Web site for some time in the Major Projects section.

RTA displays its first newly renovated Red Line rail car on from 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, through 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11,. in Tower City. All 40 Red Line cars are getting interior 'facelifts', in addition to recently completed exterior work. The budget of this project for interior is $3.5 million and will take about two years to complete. RTA employees handle all the work for this interior overhaul project . All materials used are Buy America compliant. Upgrades and new features LED lighting replaces previous fluorescent lighting Upgraded seat frames and seats New windows Interior panels refurbished and painted with materials from Cleveland's own Sherwin-Williams Flooring and sub-flooring replaced with fire retardant state-of-the-art flooring Additional ADA space for strollers, bicycles, shopping carts Updated graphics and signage This project is intended to extend the life of the rail fleet by 15 years. RTA's five-year mechanical overhaul of rail cars was completed in 2012, at a cost of $21.6 million.

Q: The Brookpark station parking lot is 3/4 repaved. Is there a reason for the delay with the last 1/4? A: I just spoke with the Project Manager. Work for this year was completed in early November. The rest of the parking lot will remain unimproved (for now) because that is where the contractor will stage equipment while the station is fully renovated. If RTA paved all the lot, we would just to re-pave it after the renovation work was done. Although you CAN park on the unimproved portion, there is little reason to. I am told there are plenty of newly paved spaces available.

Q: Do you know when the Cedar University Rapid station will be finished. Based on the 24-month timeline, it would be September 2014, but I believe that is for the entire project, which also includes the new bus stations to replace the loop. Will the train station open before that and do you know if construction is ahead of schedule? A: One should never speculate this far along. Winter is just starting, and its severity could easily affect construction progress. I can tell you that generally speaking, we are happy with progress to date. Q: For the RTA guys, does RTA plan to upgrade the pedestrian route under the Mayfield bridges like they are doing with the Cedar bridges? A: Yes, those plans have already been approved.

Heavy-rail overhaul: You will see something by the end of the month. An event is being planned. Little Italy-University Circle Station: The first step is demolishing a RR bridge, and that will be started soon.

Yes, there are security camera in Red Line stations, and on all rail cars. By Dec. 31, there will be security cameras on all buses, except a few that are taken out of service in 2014. The cameras have proven to be very effective in helping Transit Police deter crime and ID criminals. Staying awake and alert are critical to your safety. I recently had an issue on the Red Line and I had to ask 3 passengers if a bag left alone was theirs. In each case, their ear phones were in and their eyes were closed. I had to physically touch each person on the shoulder to get their attention. That's not a good sign.

Today, the RTA Board approved spending up to $28.9 million for 60 new CNG-powered buses, to be delivered in March 2015, and up to 240 CNG coaches over the next five years. After this conversion, RTA's fleet of approx. 415 buses will still have about 100 vehicles -- such as trolleys and MCIs -- that use clean diesel fuel. As soon as the press release for Board highlights is posted, you can review a pdf of the PowerPoint presentation. It includes many interesting numbers.

<<Its great that this station will finally be replaced. But with all due respect this station is now and has been an embarrassment for so long. Its bad enough locals have had to deal with it but it's also one of the first impressions for out of owners coming from the airport. The new station is three years away, in the meantime can we at least give it a fresh coat of paint. I really don't understand leadership that allows something to look like this for so long.>> The Brookpark station was the last one to be built on the West Side, so it's also the last one to be re-built. Your glass is half-empty, mine is half-full. Look at all the great rail stations that RTA has built -- always one on each side of town at the same time. That helps keep construction from interrupting service so much. Maintaining infrastructure resources is a complex task, and choices always have to be made. Thanks for writing, and thanks for ridng.

On Tuesday, RTA will discuss a major bus purchase with the Board of Trustees -- about 270 buses bought over several years. The discussion will include a recommendation from staff that the buses be fueled by compressd natural gas (CNG). RTA stopped buying CNG vehicles several years ago because of the high cost of maintenance. However, a recent study/comparison by RTA found that the technology has improved. There is now an economic advatange, as well as an environmental one, to use CNG. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation will be posted as soon as possible after the meeting. I'm sure that will answer most of your questions.

Re: Smart cards. "IF" RTA's two vendors -- GFI and ACS -- complete all their pre-requisite work, RTA "may" begin rolling out smart cards, in phases, sometime in 2014. Right now, that's all I can say on that. (That statement has never stopped you before). It's way too premature to say much.

Re: Little Italy. The first work will be to demolish one of the existing bridges, and that will be later this year.

We'll update the Brookpak station page. The station design is more than 90 percent complete. An 18-24-month conxstruction project will begin after funding is confirmed (80 percent federal shares on most stations), bids are advertised, and contracts are awarded. The station will remain open, except perhaps for some weekenend shutdowns that are track and safety related.

Systemwide, RTA's on-time performance is in the 78-80 percent bracket. A bus or train is on time if it arrives 0-4 minutes after its scheduled stop. It is not on time if is early.

Greetings, I am back from a week-long trip to Amish Country, where "llife in the fast lane" means you have TWO horses pulling your buggy, and Twitter is only for the birds.

^ It has been branded the Waterfront Line. Some people might believe your suggestions don't hold any water. (bad pun intended) Of course, you are correct in calling it an extenskion of the Blue Line. However, it is a unique 2.2 mile track with special attractions. When you say "Blue Line", I think of nice homes. When you say "Waterfront Line," I think of football and rock-n-roll and the air show. I have not heard anyone inside RTA who is considering a name change.

^I have informed others about your concerns about the Waterfront Line. Thanks for sharing.

Copied from above: I have a few questions concerning the 5-trip farecard and the Red line 'fare paid zone' (FPZ) Question #1 I insert a newly purchased 5-trip farecard into a TVM at the West Park Rapid Station. It activates, but does not print anything on the card. So I insert it into the other TVM just to see what happens and the screen displays a message (can't remember the exact wording) that the current trip is active, no further action is required, four trips remaining. Now I'm wondering what would happen if I was asked to show proof of payment to an inspector. Do the fare inspectors carry a portable farecard reader to verify questionable farecards? A: Transit Police officers are aware of the 5-trip farecard issue. If there is a question, they would check the card on the farebox on-board HealthLine vehicles. At Red Line Stations, they would check the card in another TVM. At Tower City, the card is activated and will work in the gate/turnstile. Question #2 Let's say I activate a 5-trip farecard at noon. The expiration time stamped is 2:30 PM. During the course of the trip, I arrive at the Tower City Red line station at 2:10 PM, swiped the farecard at the turnstile, and enter the FPZ and realized I just missed the train. So I waited another 15 minutes for the next train. At the W. 65th station, a group fare inspectors board the train and asks everyone to show their farecards. Of course, by now my trip has expired. Will I be charged a violation fare? The way I understand it, a 5-trip farecard has unlimited transfers for 2 1/2 hour and entering a FPZ constitutes a "transfer". And since the trip was active at the time, I should be OK. On the other hand, the rules governing the FPZ requires a "current" proof of payment to be in your possession at all times. So what would happen in this case? A: Fare enforcement officers would be aware of the time issue, so No, you would not get a violation fare. Question #3 Assuming the answer to Q-2 is that I will be charged a violation fare, is there a way to "pre-activate" the next trip. Keep in mind that in Q-1 inserting a farecard with an active trip results in a message that no further action is required. On the other hand, if the TVM detects that the current trip will expire in x minutes, will it offer to activate the next trip and if so, what is the value of x? A: You cannot pre-activate trips but you do not have to worry. Fare inspectors allow sufficient time to complete any trip if you board the system prior to the expiration of the transfer.

to jhrvcleve -- I will seek an answer to your fare questions on Tuesday.

Earlier, someone asked about enhanced 7-day-a-week service on Clifton Blvd. I just checked, and it is as I thought. A: It is way too early to tell. That determination has not yet been made. Any and every increase in service costs money, and the health of the budget has to be taken into account. It would be irresponsible of RTA to determine new service now, when it would not start for a year. If you have a suggestion, please let us know via e-mail. I promise to forward them on to higher-ups. Thanks. [email protected]

^ Transit Police will have the authority to ticket cars parked in the bus-only lanes during the specific hours, as noted on signs. As a (naive) former Lakewood resident, who had his car towed from Clifton Blvd. on his first day of living there (1980), I believe RTA vehicles will benefit from Lakewood having an alert and caring law enforcement agency.

A firm has been hired by Board resolution.

^ PowerPoint presentations made at Board Committee meetings are linked to the press release summarizing the meeting, and sometimes to a Major Project page, if applicable. The Web site is a work in progress, and ridership reports may find a home, after other sections are completed.