I will be attending CSU this fall and will most likely be living in Lakewood (exact location in the city TBD, possibly on Detroit Ave). Does anybody have suggestions for the best transit routes to campus and back? My classes will end around 9:50pm.

Hi townley, the location of your home in Lakewood makes a big difference. If you live north of the tracks, the #55 is your best bet. If your last class ends at 9:50 p.m., you have to get to the stop on East 22nd in the tunnel below the library by 10 p.m. to catch the last bus back to Lakewood. Or you can board the #55 on Chester west of East 22nd. If you have a bike and live south of the tracks along Detroit, you can still take the #55 via the Shoreway/Clifton which is faster than the #26 on Detroit. Westbound #26 trips originates at East 13th and Payne up until 6 p.m. After that and during overnight hours (the #26 runs 24 hours a day), the #26 originates and terminates at Public Square -- which is also where the 24-hour HealthLine through CSU on Euclid originates and terminates. So you won't be isolated if you miss the last #55. But like I said, the #26 is slower.

 

Another option is to ride either the HealthLine or a trolley to Public Square, then take the Red Line to the West 117th/Madison, Triskett and West Park stations which are on or just south of the southern border of Lakewood. The last westbound Red Line train leaves Tower City at 12:40 a.m. The Red Line starts up again westbound from Tower City at 3:25 a.m. There are connecting buses at most stations:

> At the West 117th/Madison station, there is the #78 on West 117th that goes up to the Gold Coast (Edgewater Drive, Lake, Winton Place) and runs until almost 1 a.m.

> The #25 on Madison which stops running at 7 p.m.

> The #83 on Warren Road north to Lakewood Park. The last northbound bus from West Park station leaves at 10:50 p.m.

 

And of course, the #26 on Detroit pauses at the Red Line's West Boulevard station. However the #26 is very unreliable. So I usually avoid the #26. Thankfully, I live on the #55 route which is very reliable, but that doesn't help me on the weekends when the #55 doesn't run. This will probably change when the Enhance Clifton project is done, as might the restoration of late-night weeknight departures from downtown.

 

My suggestion if you want to live on or near Detroit Avenue and you want to use transit to downtown -- get a bicycle and use either the #55 on Clifton or bike to/from the Red Line at Detroit/West Boulevard, West 117th/Madison or Triskett. You can take your bike on the trains and of course all buses are equipped with bike racks. In fact, RTA is replacing the two-bike racks with ones that can accommodate up to three bikes in response to demand.

Thank you for the detailed information. In your experience is it unusual for a Red Line train to not have room for a bike? I read on the RTA website that if trains are full the operator may ask you to wait for the next train. I also saw a listing for an apartment at the corner of Clifton and Belle in Lakewood (Bellecliff Apartments). Have you heard anything positive/negative about this complex? Thank you.

First, the Bellecliff apartments: I see this is owned and managed by AIY Properties. My suggestion would be to keep looking.

 

Yes, it is unusual. Most Red Line trains have room for a bike. If the train is packed with standees then you may have a problem. But this sometimes occurs during rush hours or special events like large-crowd Indians games on Friday nights with fireworks. But this is not a regular situation. Even most rush-hour trains are not packed with standees, although they do have some standees. Most bike riders stand with their bike at one end of a rail car and out of the way of people traffic. However the Red Line cars are being rebuilt with new interiors that also provide more room for bicycles. Here is the first of the Red Line cars to be rebuilt (photo is from last Christmas), showing the area where a bicycle or wheelchair (which gets priority) can be parked....

 

Thank you for the detailed information. In your experience is it unusual for a Red Line train to not have room for a bike? I read on the RTA website that if trains are full the operator may ask you to wait for the next train.

 

As a daily rider and frequent cyclist, I have never seen it happen