From the Campus District e-newsletter...

 

Save the Date: East 34th Street Rapid Station Redesign

Public Meeting April 19th

 

RTA will host a public meeting at 6pm on April 19th at Tri-C Metro Campus Student Center to present the redesign for the East 34th Street Rapid station. After strong advocacy by Campus District stakeholders, RTA agreed not to close the station but instead to design and build a new station that will meet ADA accessibility guidelines, be better lit and more inviting. Campus District committed to work with RTA after the new station is built to promote increased ridership. Attend to learn more, see the design and provide feedback to RTA.

How many people use this station.  I never really understood the location of it, and why planners designed it there.  I thought the lower woodland/Broadway residential area was mostly taken from freeways before this was built.

In the abstract, it's a total waste of money. KJP can confirm, but pretty sure this is almost all federal money that can only be used for modernization/upgrades of existing facilities. Just totally perverse that the easy money goes here instead of addressing all the other legitimate capital needs in the system.

How many people use this station.  I never really understood the location of it, and why planners designed it there.  I thought the lower woodland/Broadway residential area was mostly taken from freeways before this was built.

 

It's not used much at all, not since RTA got rid of the old Campus Loop bus route. RTA proposed closing a couple years ago, but the Campus District folks fought it. There's no chance of any development popping up within a comfortable walk of this station due to freeways, railroads, women's prison and industries. And neither RTA nor Campus District folks want to see the Campus Loop restored, perhaps as an extension of the E-Line trolley. That's why I suggested the station should be relocated to where the new Commercial Road was built. No one seemed interested, including some transit advocates.

 

Consider:

 

east34-halfmile-radius1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

east14-halfmile-radius1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

 

Here's a couple of ideas I had....

 

 

CPD & jail site2s by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

east14stationareadevelopment by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

In the abstract, it's a total waste of money. KJP can confirm, but pretty sure this is almost all federal money that can only be used for modernization/upgrades of existing facilities. Just totally perverse that the easy money goes here instead of addressing all the other legitimate capital needs in the system.

 

Sad but true.  Spend it or lose it in government finance.  And little room for variation to move funds to something more productive.

How many people use this station.  I never really understood the location of it, and why planners designed it there.  I thought the lower woodland/Broadway residential area was mostly taken from freeways before this was built.

 

It's not used much at all, not since RTA got rid of the old Campus Loop bus route. RTA proposed closing a couple years ago, but the Campus District folks fought it. There's no chance of any development popping up within a comfortable walk of this station due to freeways, railroads, women's prison and industries. And neither RTA nor Campus District folks want to see the Campus Loop restored, perhaps as an extension of the E-Line trolley. That's why I suggested the station should be relocated to where the new Commercial Road was built. No one seemed interested, including some transit advocates.

 

Consider:

 

east34-halfmile-radius1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

east14-halfmile-radius1 by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

 

Here's a couple of ideas I had....

 

 

CPD & jail site2s by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

east14stationareadevelopment by Ken Prendergast, on Flickr

 

Can't understand why this E 14th Station idea didn't gain any traction with transit advocates.  Add in an anchor like the new Justice Center Complex and you really have a TOD project and a built-in ridership increase.  The WFL extension-loop on E 22nd is essential but any of the larger north-south street would work (E 9-E 22).

^I absolutely think a new station with the relocated justice center on top and adjacent multi-unit residences is a great idea... A surface, WFL loop connection?... not so much.

You know that $150 million per mile for rail construction that Calabrese loves to casually throw around? That would be a bargain compared to the cost of building a Waterfront/downtown loop as a subway. It will never be built.

You know that $150 million per mile for rail construction that Calabrese loves to casually throw around? That would be a bargain compared to the cost of building a Waterfront/downtown loop as a subway. It will never be built.

 

not as a subway, a surface connection.  the current WFL configuration is pretty much useless..

^I absolutely think a new station with the relocated justice center on top and adjacent multi-unit residences is a great idea... A surface, WFL loop connection?... not so much.

 

it is a great idea, a pipe dream though.  the WFL may as well be closed and perhaps set on a limited basis again.  the WFL like the other rail lines were built for a different era.  other alternatives whether it is driving, uber or taxis are the way to get from say E 9th-PHS to the East Bank or lakefront if folks are out on the town.  not the WFL or Red Line.

 

it will be sad to see the WFL stations rusting away again amid the new development, especially having that white elephant station on E 9th.  even on a limited use basis the WFL looked run down.  sparkling new ped-bridge etc and a rusting empty light rail station marring the view.

Another era? Good urban planning and transportation planning has no era unless we prematurely consign it to the dustbin through neglect. The WFL was built at the request of a city government only 20 years ago that didn't provide a land use plan and incentives to maximize its use. As long as the rail line remains, its use can always be maximized through supportive urban planning and development policies. That's at least starting to emerge, finally. Cars have been around for as long as streetcars and other forms of non-horse-pulled urban rail transit (1873 for the first streetcars vs 1886 for the first car -- although the first electric streetcar wasn't developed until 1888).

 

BTW, public transportation ridership is at or near its highest levels since the federal highway system was approved by Congress in 1956. Any city dependent on cars for transportation is not a very healthy city. It's why many cities are designing themselves to be less car-dependent....

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/28/end-of-the-car-age-how-cities-outgrew-the-automobile

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3040634/7-cities-that-are-starting-to-go-car-free

 

What can we learn from these more attractive cities? Pipe dreams are such because we choose to respect naysayers. Self doubt is the only thing that makes dreams unattainable.

Another era? Good urban planning and transportation planning has no era unless we prematurely consign it to the dustbin through neglect. The WFL was built at the request of a city government only 20 years ago that didn't provide a land use plan and incentives to maximize its use. As long as the rail line remains, its use can always be maximized through supportive urban planning and development policies. That's at least starting to emerge, finally. Cars have been around for as long as streetcars and other forms of non-horse-pulled urban rail transit (1873 for the first streetcars vs 1886 for the first car -- although the first electric streetcar wasn't developed until 1888).

 

BTW, public transportation ridership is at or near its highest levels since the federal highway system was approved by Congress in 1956. Any city dependent on cars for transportation is not a very healthy city. It's why many cities are designing themselves to be less car-dependent....

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/28/end-of-the-car-age-how-cities-outgrew-the-automobile

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3040634/7-cities-that-are-starting-to-go-car-free

 

What can we learn from these more attractive cities? Pipe dreams are such because we choose to respect naysayers. Self doubt is the only thing that makes dreams unattainable.

 

Right, the WFL was built for bar-hopping Rock Hall going riders.  Didn't happen.  No plans, remember this was Mike White's Cleveland, but fulfilled a train line through the Flats that 'ole Jeff Jacobs dreamed up as part of his west bank Nautica Plan.  The trolley was supposed to cross the Cuyahoga just east of the swing bridge (you know that railroad bridge there).

 

Yes, another era.  The Shaker Line (1913) built for Shaker Hts residents to get to work downtown.  The Red Line (1955) built without the subway loop, decent in its original plan for the time but woefully bad on the Tower City run to University Circle segment especially.  The later west side extensions were mainly set-up as commuter train stations with large parking lots, with the stations set far apart from the street.

 

This when Cleveland had 914,000+ residents with a robust downtown.  Cleveland today has a still declining population of  389,000 with the most distressed zip codes of any large U.S. City; we even beat Detroit on this list.  60% of RTA's ridership lost since the 1980s. High, if not the highest poverty rate, so your comparisons with these European and Asian cities is misplaced.  Sorry, Cleveland is not Madrid or Paris. 

 

Cleveland's a great city with much potential but its rail system layout is the worst in the U.S.  No other U.S. city is looking at Cleveland's rail system other than to see what not to do but they are looking at the HealthLine BRT.

 

I'm not hearing or reading much of any of the lakefront or flats developments even mentioning access to the WFL let alone building because of it.  In fact, I don't hear much TOD other than some on the HealthLine and your fantasy Justice Center/rail station juice-up.

 

Btw, never mention good urban planning and Cleveland in the same sentence.  Cleveland is a city known for its bad urban planning.  Cleveland's changing its image but its reinvention as a ''good urban planning'' city remains to be seen.

You know that $150 million per mile for rail construction that Calabrese loves to casually throw around? That would be a bargain compared to the cost of building a Waterfront/downtown loop as a subway. It will never be built.

 

''Pipe dreams are such because we choose to respect naysayers.  Self-doubt is the only thing that makes dreams unattainable.'' 

 

Sound familiar?

 

''Pipe dreams are such because we choose to respect naysayers.  Self-doubt is the only thing that makes dreams unattainable.'' 

 

Sound familiar?

 

No. It's very different except to those who aren't familiar with the issues. Tell me -- what is gained by building a Waterfront Loop as a subway vs. an at-grade rail line on a dedicated right of way? Nothing except many times more cost.  That's why a subway won't get built. I do favor the Waterfront loop as an at-grade rail line and think it is achievable once GCRTA is able secure meaningful state funding.

I too am in favor of a WFL loop around downtown as an at-grade rail line and am in agreement that a 22nd street route would be good idea, but what if there is no demand for future development around the 22nd street/Orange Ave. area? Then this idea if implemented would be another waste of tax payer $ not unlike the rebuilding of the 34th street Red Line station.

 

Here are my thoughts on extending the WFL as an at-grade rail line. What about having the route come down E. 14th street to Chester Ave., take a turn east to E. 16th or 18th, then south to Carnegie Ave. where the line would turn west on Carnegie to hook back up to the Red Line and into Tower City.

 

Having the route more concentrated closer into the downtown area and advocating TOD around it could help improve ridership. Also, having the route closer to CSU/PHS/Wolstein Center/Progressive Field, and planned housing could bring needed ridership.

 

Another though is to have a new Justice Center complex build on the south side of Carnegie Ave. across from the Wolstein Center, say between E. 14th or E. 18th to E. 22nd. This would also bring additional ridership to an extended WFL that would be nearby.

^If the WFL as it is, is so useless as you note, why did Joe Calabrese, of all people, recently email the Fairmount people (developers of Flats East Bank) about potentially a public/private agreement to finance the WFL?  Obviously the rail line means something to them... Also you have a skewed vision of what the WFL is supposed to be.  It wasn't designed as much to move people, once downtown, around downtown, but to get them in an out of the entertainment and touristy areas.  Much of these touristy areas were never fully developed (like North Coast Harbor where, for 2 decades, the Rock Hall and the Science Center have sat there by their lonesomes ... until now, with the new development taking off there).

 

The problem with the WFL ridership now is a combination of its early-ending and unpredictable hours (which will get even worse if the cuts go through), and the availability of cheap downtown parking -- a problem which hurts transit in general here.  But once FEB begins to catch on more, esp during the summer, and once Phase III begins building on that sea of cheap surface parking in the middle of FEB, more people will be forced to seek alternatives to driving and, hopefully, the WFL will be one of them. 

Given RTA's fiscal constraints, I don't think RTA would consider infill stations like East 14th/22nd unless there was a developer willing to invest in the surrounding area -- if not provide significant funding directly to the station project itself. I do think a Waterfront line extension is justified without development in the East 14th/22nd/Orange area, however. It would do much better if the Justice Center/jail was built at East 14th/Prospect (see my illustration in the Justice Center relocation thread).

 

The problem with the Waterfront Line is it was built on the wrong side of the Shoreway and because not enough diverse, dense, transit-supportive uses were built within a 500/1,000-foot walk of stations. Too many walks require taking the long way around things in an inhospitable environment half of the year. There's lots of pretty, windswept plazas though, roadways with fast moving traffic and port facilities. That doesn't produce ridership most days of the year.

If nothing else, the WFL ROW might make a nice addition to the off-street trail/bike path network someday. It would seamlessly connect the Red Line Greenway to the lakefront via West third. I'm not completely trolling here.

Given RTA's fiscal constraints, I don't think RTA would consider infill stations like East 14th/22nd unless there was a developer willing to invest in the surrounding area -- if not provide significant funding directly to the station project itself. I do think a Waterfront line extension is justified without development in the East 14th/22nd/Orange area, however. It would do much better if the Justice Center/jail was built at East 14th/Prospect (see my illustration in the Justice Center relocation thread).

 

The problem with the Waterfront Line is it was built on the wrong side of the Shoreway and because not enough diverse, dense, transit-supportive uses were built within a 500/1,000-foot walk of stations. Too many walks require taking the long way around things in an inhospitable environment half of the year. There's lots of pretty, windswept plazas though, roadways with fast moving traffic and port facilities. That doesn't produce ridership most days of the year.

 

I get your point, it would be much more convenient to riders if the WFL was north of the Shoreway -- that damn roadway is such a barrier to so many things.  However, when there are major events north of the Shoreway, ie the Air Show, the Tall Ships festival and special concerts/events at Rock Hall, there have been crowds of people who use the WFL ... But it's like everything else in Cleveland planning, we never will know unless we build it.  People have deemed the WFL a failure because we have stubbornly refused to build TOD to accommodate it -- Hunter Morrison, one of the esteemed city planners nationally, noted this about the WFL.  I'm hoping the built-out FEB will generate some semblance of steady traffic, as did the old Flats party clubs on weekends.

I'll reply in another thread, geared more for speculation-type discussions.....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2768.msg795216.html#msg795216

 

''Pipe dreams are such because we choose to respect naysayers.  Self-doubt is the only thing that makes dreams unattainable.'' 

 

Sound familiar?

 

No. It's very different except to those who aren't familiar with the issues. Tell me -- what is gained by building a Waterfront Loop as a subway vs. an at-grade rail line on a dedicated right of way? Nothing except many times more cost.  That's why a subway won't get built. I do favor the Waterfront loop as an at-grade rail line and think it is achievable once GCRTA is able secure meaningful state funding.

 

I have never proposed a subway loop for the WFL.  You are the only one mentioning that topic.  I've been advocating a CBD loop, at grade, the whole time.  How did a subway get in the mix?

^The typo in your first sentence just adds to the silliness of you guys going back and forth without reading each others posts carefully enough. You guys both clearly support an at-grade loop. The only subway comment was in response to someone else's post.

 

[EDIT, ah, boo, he fixed the typo.]

^If the WFL as it is, is so useless as you note, why did Joe Calabrese, of all people, recently email the Fairmount people (developers of Flats East Bank) about potentially a public/private agreement to finance the WFL?  Obviously the rail line means something to them... Also you have a skewed vision of what the WFL is supposed to be.  It wasn't designed as much to move people, once downtown, around downtown, but to get them in an out of the entertainment and touristy areas.  Much of these touristy areas were never fully developed (like North Coast Harbor where, for 2 decades, the Rock Hall and the Science Center have sat there by their lonesomes ... until now, with the new development taking off there).

 

The problem with the WFL ridership now is a combination of its early-ending and unpredictable hours (which will get even worse if the cuts go through), and the availability of cheap downtown parking -- a problem which hurts transit in general here.  But once FEB begins to catch on more, esp during the summer, and once Phase III begins building on that sea of cheap surface parking in the middle of FEB, more people will be forced to seek alternatives to driving and, hopefully, the WFL will be one of them.

 

You have succinctly nailed the problem with the WFL: ''it wasn't designed to move people, once downtown, around downtown but to get them to the touristy areas.''  That's why no one used it then and now so yes, the current WFL is useless without a loop. I stated that it was designed for bar-hopping Rock Hall going people so yes I do know what the WFL was supposed to be.

 

The issue with the WFL is not its unpredictable hours or some other rationalizing by folks like you but its lack or riders.  Where are the riders coming in from to go to FEB?  The very limited numbers of people with access to the Blue/Green Lines out in Shaker Hts?  Remember, the Shaker Rapid was designed in 1913 to bring Shaker Hts. workers downtown, when everyone worked downtown, not for 1990s bar hopping or lakefront attractions.

 

Even with all the flats and lakefront development, the WFL will not attract riders if Tower City is the main hub to use rail to get to the lakefront/flats areas.  You have an extremely limited base to pull ridership from today.

^The typo in your first sentence just adds to the silliness of you guys going back and forth without reading each others posts carefully enough. You guys both clearly support an at-grade loop. The only subway comment was in response to someone else's post.

 

[EDIT, ah, boo, he fixed the typo.]

 

I've read all the posts, sorry.  Someone else hasn't I guess since he assumed someone brought up a WFL subway.

Red Line Greenway Beautification on 4/2

 

http://sharetheriver.com/blog/2016/3/31/red-line-greenway-beautification-on-42

 

That's not a rail project. It's a trail project.

Greater Cleve RTA ‏@GCRTA  46s47 seconds ago

Public Meeting on E 34 St re-design set for Tues 4/19 at 6pm. @TriCedu Metro Campus

 

http://www.riderta.com/news/april-19-2016-public-meeting-set-east-34th-st-campus-station-redesign

^

The new station will feature a hillside walkway with covered rest points. The station will be in compliance with ADA accessibility guidelines, and offers enhanced security and improved lighting.

I'm curious as to what this station will look like.

^There's a rough diagram/plan floating around out there. It's more or less like the ramp system being built for the new East 116th station. A way to provide ADA-compliant access without providing an elevator. Makes lots of sense for an almost-worthless station like East 34th, where you really hope there are minimal post-construction maintenance obligations.

It's only a schematic...

 

Does this mean that 34th street commuters are going to grade-cross the westbound track, a-la the current (temporary) Brookpark station?  I sure hope not.  Although RTA would be saving money, this would be highly inefficient and likely slow down trains (with trains from 3 different lines-- not to mention the empty, non-revenue train moves between TC and the E. 55 Street yard), esp during rush periods with people running for trains -- which could pose safety problems, as well.

Does this mean that 34th street commuters are going to grade-cross the westbound track, a-la the current (temporary) Brookpark station?

 

Yes

^Then this is extremely poor planning and design on RTA's part.  Either it's penny-wise/pound foolish design, or RTA's sticking to community leaders who demanded a new ADA-compliant station when RTA really just wanted to close E. 34th. 

Adding an elevator shaft would nearly double the cost of this little-used station from $7.7 million dollars to about $14.1 million. It's not worth it and pedestrian grade crossings work just fine on lesser-used stations on the Shaker lines.

 

Here's RTA's presentation on the East 34th-Campus station with some more detailed station conceptual designs...

 

http://www.riderta.com/sites/default/files/pdf/presentations/2016-04-05_E.%2034th%20Elevator_Final.pdf

God that presentation is depressing. The only significant trip generator is an extremely bleak half mile walk away. Can't believe RTA is being pushed to rebuild this thing given its backlog of capital needs. Hope very little of its own discretionary money is going into it.

The station is far from everything. How many people daily arrive/depart that station?

I think it's a few hundred. RTA was going to close the West 65th station because it had only 600 boardings per day. But it replaced the station with a facility made of recycled materials and uses very little energy. So it was more cost-effective. That station is also surrounded by a neighborhood that was down at that time. Now there's always at least a half dozen people getting on/off each train at West 65th.

 

But there is no neighborhood surrounding East 34th, so there's no chance for a neighborhood to come back unless existing properties around the station are acquired by a single public agency, cleared, cleaned and assumes all liability from soil issues experienced by future investors/users, then marketed with a transit-supportive land use plan. If that station is ever going to get any use, either the surrounding area has to wipe the slate clean and start over, and/or the E-Line trolley needs to be extended to the station.

288 boardings per day, according to this 2014 Cleveland.com piece: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/with_east_34th_east_79th_rapid.html

I think it's a few hundred. RTA was going to close the West 65th station because it had only 600 boardings per day. But it replaced the station with a facility made of recycled materials and uses very little energy. So it was more cost-effective. That station is also surrounded by a neighborhood that was down at that time. Now there's always at least a half dozen people getting on/off each train at West 65th.

 

But there is no neighborhood surrounding East 34th, so there's chance for a neighborhood to come back unless existing properties around the station are acquired by a single public agency, cleared, cleaned and assumes all liability from soil issues experienced by future investors/users, then marketed with a transit-supportive land use plan. If that station is ever going to get any use, either the surrounding area has to wipe the slate clean and start over, and/or the E-Line trolley needs to be extended to the station.

 

Great points.  IIRC some Green community activists from Oberlin College as well as the old Eco-Cities Cleveland group pushed for rebuilding W. 65 and developing the Eco Village townhouses on W. 58th... And while there is still some blight in the immediate area, that lower Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood is considerably stronger than when the W. 65th station reopened and some locals consider the Rapid station as a neighborhood asset.

 

I sure wish RTA considered proposals to relocate W. 34th ... Even a move a few blocks west to E. 30th would have made the station more convenient to Tri-C as well as the huge main Post Office building which, with some prodding, could maybe have opened an entrance more convenient to the station -- it's currently on the opposite end of the complex, far away from the Rapid.  RTA wanted E. 34th closed and, now that has been chided by public pressure into keeping it, is spending the absolute minimum to rebuilding in its current horrible location (adjacent to a prison complex, no less) with no thoughts of any kind of TOD relocation. 

RTA improving access to Little Italy Station from University Circle

 

By Ginger Christ, The Plain Dealer

on June 15, 2016 at 12:50 PM, updated June 15, 2016 at 1:09 PM

 

Cleveland, Ohio -- The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority soon will break ground on a construction project to connect its new rapid transit station to University Circle.

 

RTA in August will begin work to extend its Little Italy - University Circle Red Line station to Euclid Avenue. The $1.3-million project will focus on the roughly quarter-mile stretch along the north side of Mayfield Road to University Circle.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/06/rta_improving_access_to_little.html

^Very good news.

 

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I was driving through Little Italy heading to UC one evening and, for the 1st time, saw that curvy, metallic sculpture over RTA's Little Italy-UC station entrance lit in an array of changing colors.  It's quite beautiful; nicely done.

Last week CSX was jackhammering away below its overpass of Mayfield Road to add drainage. Glad to see work is underway in advance of the RTA improvements.

Nice. It's quite the contrast to walk underneath the RTA controlled underpass and the CSX controlled underpass. Literally, LED lights and a clean sidewalk with new handrails versus high-pressure sodium vapor lights, broken handrails, sidewalks covered in slime and stagnant water.

EAST DESIGN REVIEW

EAST2016-015 – RTA East 34th Street Station Re-Design: Seeking Schematic Design Approval

Project Address: 2820 East 34th Street

Project Representative: Jennifer LeMasters Wirtz, Parsons Brinkerhoff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interim?

Interim?

 

Permanent. No overhead access/elevator because the station's usage doesn't justify it. The overhead access/elevator would increase the cost of the station from $5 million to at least $15 million.

Thanks. It's a remote area for sure - and this makes best use of the terrain.

Interesting. Note the bold text below....

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2016/08192016/index.php

 

Cleveland City Planning Commission

Agenda for August 19, 2016

 

EAST DESIGN REVIEW

EAST2016-015 - RTA East 34th Street Station Re-Design: Seeking Final Approval

Project Address: 2820 East 34th Street

Project Representative: Jennifer LeMasters Wirtz, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Mark Campbell, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Peter Lawson Jones, Public Engagement

Note: this project received Conditional Schematic Design Approval on July 15, 2016. Approval contingent on RTA studying relocating the station to East 22nd Street.

 

What's the connection between East 22nd Street and the proposed Campus Station? I am assuming the station will really be at East 14th Street unless they plan on razing the building between Orange and Broadway avenues. There really isn't a good location for this station - it's been an industrial and public realm for decades - with prisons, a central postal processing facility and industry that isn't going anywhere any time fast.

I'd prefer the station to be relocated between the new Commercial Avenue/East 9th Extension and East 14th. At least it's next to a lot of blank-slate properties. If the Post Office's Carrier Unit were relocated eastward and south of Broadway, it would open a huge development site.

 

Question is -- why is this being considered now? Station site alternatives were considered during the East 34th closure hearings and alternatives analyses. Local stakeholders wanted the station kept where it is. Now the city is suggesting that alternatives should be considered again? Why does the city do this at the 11th hour (or in Public Square's case, the 13th hour)??