sorry for the unclarity; i read that the initial costs of BRT are what made it the best option for euclid, not that RTA has some problem with railroads. but i also heard that after a few years the maintenance costs of buses is higher than trains and the initial savings is gradually offset. if this is true (which i'm sure someone here can verify), wouldn't the ECTP's success effect the likelihood of a similar, rail-based project with higher initial costs? i'm sure a dwindling population and poopy economy play as much a role in deciding whether or not a city gets money for such things. but it also seems like ECTP is instigating a lot of private investment. and even though i cry myself to sleep every night knowing its not a real streetcar, i have to say that it looks really great and its the only avenue in this county on which i feel safe on a bike.

 

in the mean time i'll be viral marketing the false reopening of the subway on my blog site.

 

 

sorry for the unclarity; i read that the initial costs of BRT are what made it the best option for euclid, not that RTA has some problem with railroads. but i also heard that after a few years the maintenance costs of buses is higher than trains and the initial savings is gradually offset. if this is true (which i'm sure someone here can verify), wouldn't the ECTP's success effect the likelihood of a similar, rail-based project with higher initial costs? i'm sure a dwindling population and poopy economy play as much a role in deciding whether or not a city gets money for such things. but it also seems like ECTP is instigating a lot of private investment. and even though i cry myself to sleep every night knowing its not a real streetcar, i have to say that it looks really great and its the only avenue in this county on which i feel safe on a bike.

 

in the mean time i'll be viral marketing the false reopening of the subway on my blog site.

 

 

 

there is an entire thread dedicated to the HealthLine (FKA euclid corridor transportation project)

150th and Puritas gets my vote; mixed use, apartments, condos, and the area screams for services and a good coffee house. It's one of the busiest intersections in the area and yet there is not much there to make it a designation spot.

 

Also, with the invention of the E A Corridor and the new Cleve Clinic building, why wouldn't E. 55th work? I think it's a great idea.  Those two would be my first choices and then the third would be Quincy. I think it all has to be done with diverse depts within the City talking to each other...that might be a problem lol.  One of the proposals for the Charter Review Commission is to get all computers in the various departments updated with all projects, meeting notes, etc and viewable by each department, which unbelieveably does not happen now.

 

 

It’s interesting.  Mayor Jackson has, as council president and then mayor, thrown his weight behind the Target big box on W. 117 (car oriented) destroying homes for 100 city residents; Steelyards a strip mall with more big boxes and, now, this thing called Opportunity Corridor, which is little more than a freeway for West Side commuters to get to U. Circle jobs.  Transit-wise, he’s only given verbal support to a non-commitment to a resolution backing the West Shore Commuter rail.

 

In the midst backing all this car-oriented stuff in a shrinking city, at the very least the Mayor could consider TOD …

 

 

Mayor Jackson spent way too much time in Ward 5 and became ward-centric -- until he became mayor. When he ran for mayor he was visiting Cleveland neighborhoods he said he'd never been in.

 

Then, when he visited Costa Rico last year, that was the first time he'd been out of the country since his military service in Vietnam. And finally when he went to Paris earlier this year, he saw first-hand how rail can intimately relate with its surroundings without disrupting them. He was quite taken by that, and is now starting a drumbeat for rail investment.

 

Sometimes we assume people in higher positions of power know already what we know about our areas of expertise. But in reality they often know very little about it. The best thing you can do is show them what you're talking about. Telling them doesn't do it, people in power can and probably will hear from the highway zealots. I can't begin to recall how many elected officials I run into regurgitate the words of the last person they've spoken with on an issue. But if you show them what you're talking about, then they absorb the reality much more fully and it becomes a part of who they are. And then it doesn't matter how many highway zealots they hear from. They can defend their beliefs from an intractible position.

:whip:

only in cleveland would the strip of buildings between both rapid stations on E 79th be empty.

 

there are about 7 2-story buildings. they are within a few hundred feet of both stations. if this isn't the most likely sight for TOD in the world i don't know what is. in fact, there already is TOD and its empty. this area requires literally no investment. what does it take for clevelanders to take notice of this stuff? i'll bet i can buy one of these buildings for less than the cost of a car... and i would never need a car again because i could get anywhere in the entire city, by train, in about 15 minutes.

 

i just hope the city doesn't tear down whats left of this TOD before i get a chance to change it.

 

only in cleveland would the strip of buildings between both rapid stations on E 79th be empty.

 

 

For cryin' out loud stop with the COMPLETELY UNTRUE statements!

i retract the "only in cleveland" line; temporary insanity.

i retract the "only in cleveland" line; temporary insanity.

 

ummmmmmmmmmmmm

:whip:

only in cleveland would the strip of buildings between both rapid stations on E 79th be empty.

 

there are about 7 2-story buildings. they are within a few hundred feet of both stations. if this isn't the most likely sight for TOD in the world i don't know what is. in fact, there already is TOD and its empty. this area requires literally no investment. what does it take for clevelanders to take notice of this stuff? i'll bet i can buy one of these buildings for less than the cost of a car... and i would never need a car again because i could get anywhere in the entire city, by train, in about 15 minutes.

 

i just hope the city doesn't tear down whats left of this TOD before i get a chance to change it.

 

If you had the money, would you invest it into preparing these buildings for prospective tenants? Let's be realistic here. While we need more TOD, this is not the location where we should make our next step. Put things into context. The neighborhood is too far gone in this area for one little TOD development to change the tide of blight. Build off of the strengths that we have, create a market for this, then you can go into the most blighted areas of this city start something.

 

i'm not sure whats unrealistic about realizing the value of this neighborhood. it seems like all the requirements of TOD are met and, in fact, already exist. whats the missing element?

 

also, what does "far too gone" mean?

 

 

i'm not sure whats unrealistic about realizing the value of this neighborhood. it seems like all the requirements of TOD are met and, in fact, already exist. whats the missing element?

 

also, what does "far too gone" mean?

 

What's missing? Market forces.

 

Would a developer be able to command enough $ per sq ft to make this a financially-viable project? I really don't think so.

 

Would there be enough people willing to buy or rent in a renovated building on this stretch? I don't think so.

 

Too far gone? Have you ever been to this area of Cleveland?

"this area requires literally no investment. what does it take for clevelanders to take notice of this stuff?"

 

cyclovert, I certainly admire your passion and yes, the area around the E. 79th station has some existing stock that could (in an ideal world) make for an interesting TOD. However, it takes much more than a location adjacent to a rapid line - look at the criteria 3231 has pointed out. Plenty of people (including us "myopic" Clevelanders who aren't blessed with your vision :roll: ) can see that there's some potential in the buildings themselves, but "requires literally no investment"?!? Maybe if you're a shady flipper on HGTV who doesn't give a rat's @ss about the contamination of a former industrial site. Maybe if you don't care about the structural integrity of the buildings you're planning to renovate, etc.

 

And don't just look at the existing buildings but the neighborhood beyond - the abandonment and blight is staggering. The areas adjacent to the buildings you refer to are urban prairies or junkyards, and few amenities exist in a reasonable walking distance - aside from CMHA housing and some churches. 

 

The buildings in question (upper right) - note that the few buildings (except for one house) on East 79th south of the complex are abandoned. Some aren't just abandoned, they aren't even boarded up any more - that's "too far gone" in my book:

 

And to the north of the rapid station.

Rawlings and E79th is one of the corners in Cleveland that makes me saddest.  I wish we could mothball the commercial buildings on that stretch of E79th for later use.

Let's just plow the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard through that area (it would be aligned roughly where Grand Avenue is now). That will fix everything and certainly be of great use to the 50-75 percent of households in that area that don't have cars.

 

And that, ladies and gents, was pure sarcasm.

Let's just plow the Opportunity Corridor Boulevard through that area (it would be aligned roughly where Grand Avenue is now). That will fix everything and certainly be of great use to the 50-75 percent of households in that area that don't have cars.

 

And that, ladies and gents, was pure sarcasm.

 

What households? Seriously, in ten years there will not be anything here but green grass and brownfields.

And I'm not suggesting the Opportunity Corridor is the best possible (or even a desirable) scenario for this area. I'm simply saying to our displaced friend who thinks it's just a matter of us local yokels not seeing potential in some cool old warehouses that require "literally no investment", that there's a little more to the story than a simple flip in an "up and coming" neighborhood.

I'm referring to the census tracts in the planning sub-area.

by 'change it' i meant 'move there myself.' not house-flip.

 

i find it odd that though everyone here would agree that the unseen 'market forces' of the cleveland area are to blame for such an urban tragedy its somehow taboo to cast a critial eye upon the cleveland market and the things it likes to consume and those it likes to pass up; i find it remarkable that between to train stations, in this metropolitan area of this size, that people like me (in their 20s, broke-ish and with nothing to lose) haven't shown up here by now- and not for the sake of some house-flipping scam.

 

'far too gone' sounds like a blank canvas... dotted with brownfields. i'm well aware of this neighborhood's history and its current social climate. but if a neighborhood has been displaced or 'blighted' to the degree that this one has been, there must be some point where it can start over.

 

my claim of 'literally no investment' was clearly hyperbole. i was thinking more along the lines of having to move a train station or rebuild a major arterial roadway in order to make this place more pedestrian-friendly or desirable for private investment.  its already really pretty too.

 

its ironic that this centrally-located neighborhood is considered the periphery.

 

 

i don't know what to tell you then cyclovert, if you think it is such a good investment, go for it.  I don't think you'll find many people willing to lend you money for such a project... for all the reasons spelled out above.

cyclovert, thank you for clarifying some of your earlier post, and I repeat - I think it's great that you can see potential in this area, and more power to you for possibly "being the change" you want to see. However, the condescending remarks like "only in cleveland..." and "what does it take for clevelanders to take notice of this stuff?" didn't help your cause. There are plenty of areas around the country that are underutilized and haven't realized their TOD potential and it's disingenuous to single Cleveland out.

 

As far as rehabbing the former industrial buildings, I suppose that relatively speaking - it wouldn't take much. But as 3231 pointed out, you have to have a developer who is willing to take such a risk. Easy enough - but that developer has to turn a profit, simple business 101 - and broke-ish 20somethings (emphasis on broke-ish) are great but are they a good market to target when you're wanting to turn a profit? You also have to have an ample and growing supply of those broke-ish 20somethings (and others who'd be interested). Not only that, those broke-ish 20somethings need to be okay with living in a high-crime area, surrounded by either blight, or vacant lots, with little existing retail or other neighborhood amenities. If this building was rehabbed, it would be an "island". The areas adjacent are either cemeteries or CMHA housing which isn't going anywhere. You can be aware of the neighborhood's history and social climate all you want, but do you have enough people who share your vision and aren't phased by the notion of being urban pioneers in a risky and low-profit market? 

 

It's not taboo to cast a critical eye (I'm getting sick of that sentiment - if there's anywhere people can cast a critical eye, it's on this forum) - but when you DO cast that critical eye, expect a response and don't brush it off as a blind retort. There's a difference between shooting down some idealism and pointing out relevant facts. So many times we've heard someone see a blighted area in Cleveland and basically say "silly Clevelanders, all you need is _____" - as if they're the first to ever notice or suggest ways to improve. No one's telling you this can't be done, but don't get taken aback when we provide reasons why it hasn't been done yet.

well put, mayday.

 

but i wasn't offended at the idea that my ideas most likely will yield terrible results (i'm well aware), but rather that i'm some kind of 'outsider.' i would never suggest that all you need is the ____. the ____ is already there.

 

whatever it is that drives the 'market forces' hasn't been fair in the amount of force it supplies to cleveland compared to, say, the southwest. and that's really interesting.

 

my intentions have little to do with business- so i shouldn't have posted that controversial  comment; not fair to all the people who respond to these things.

 

but thanks for all the information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I posted these pictures over at the West 117th thread in the projects/development section, but it would be appropriate to also post them here.

 

This is a portrayal of how horribly we have supported transit ridership with transit-supportive development around Rapid stations. There's lots of bad examples, and the West 117th/Madison area is one of the worst.

 

I'd love to see the self-storage facility demolished for a mixed-used development but it was just expanded. Oh someone please tell me how a self-storage facility is to feed pedestrian traffic to/from the transit station. It would be like zoning land around a high-speed highway interchange for a recreation use. It's a waste of land.

 

Then, on the southwest corner of Madison/West 117th, Union Carbide had a beautiful dorm-like building that would have made a fantastic housing conversion if the company sold it. But instead they wanted surface parking more (and didn't want to build a parking structure to consolidate parking to promote more density), we lost this:

 

In happier days in 1965:

 

In its last days in 1990 (this first photo was shot from the Rapid station platform, to show how close this building was):

 

 

 

 

And this last one was taken right at the SW corner of West 117th and Madison. Now it's a parking lot. Sigh....

can anyone tell me if there have been recent plans to extend the red line further east? it seems reasonable enough.

 

also, didn't west 40-something have a station or am i imagining this?

In RTA Transit 2010 plan released in the early- to mid-1990s, that was the last officials RTA document which proposed extending the Red Line to Euclid Square Mall area. That was when ESM was still (barely) a functioning mall. That site would make a great TOD, however, in conjunction with an intercity/regional rail stop for trains on CSX or NS to Buffalo, Toronto, and New York City. The Red Line extension was a brainchild of former RTA GM Ron Tober and his staff. The idea died when Tober left and was replaced with Joe Calabrese.

 

In 1970, then-Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes and his planning director Norman Krumholz proposed a Red Line station between West 41st and West 44th topped with high-rise apartment buildings. I don't know what happened to those plans.

In 1970, then-Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes and his planning director Norman Krumholz proposed a Red Line station between West 41st and West 44th topped with high-rise apartment buildings. I don't know what happened to those plans.

 

I've always liked this idea, though I never knew Krumholz/Stokes considered it.  It's a pretty good walk between the two existing stations, plus W41/44 is basically the heart of Ohio City, though Monroe, where the rapid tracks intersect, is a bit south of the ideal area.  I think this idea deserves another look!

 

Often times, it seems as if the redline is treated by RTA as a commuter line rather than a train connecting neighborhoods.  For instance, how many of the stations have large parking lots within or near the station?

In 1970, then-Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes and his planning director Norman Krumholz proposed a Red Line station between West 41st and West 44th topped with high-rise apartment buildings. I don't know what happened to those plans.

 

I've always liked this idea, though I never knew Krumholz/Stokes considered it. It's a pretty good walk between the two existing stations, plus W41/44 is basically the heart of Ohio City, though Monroe, where the rapid tracks intersect, is a bit south of the ideal area. I think this idea deserves another look!

 

Often times, it seems as if the redline is treated by RTA as a commuter line rather than a train connecting neighborhoods. For instance, how many of the stations have large parking lots within or near the station?

 

I have been told, and I can't substantiate this, that the same thinking which put the innerbelt cut where it is also determined the placing and setup of the red line stations.  Urban renewal, brutalism, pro-sprawl era.  Bringing people closer together was not high on the value list, and neither was TOD. 

since TOD is now higher on e1's list, it might be time to revisit it.

I had a house for sale at 44th and Bridge. It sold, but it would have sold sooner if it were closer to a station.  Two separate couples looking to buy rejected the home for this reason. I'm sure there are other examples of this.

 

 

E1's list?

E1's list?

I've never seen that but I assume:  E1's=Everyones

sorry I resorted to text abbreviations.  Yes, everyone's.

Often times, it seems as if the redline is treated by RTA as a commuter line rather than a train connecting neighborhoods.  For instance, how many of the stations have large parking lots within or near the station?

 

I think that's exactly what our rail system is, which is unfortunately why it will probably never reach it's full potential.  Honestly, Other than W.25th and Shaker Square, what stop in our entire system serves a remotely densely populated area.  It's a shame.

The Van Aken line serves a nice little corridor of density, though it tapers off very quickly.

W Blvd & Detroit has density, but somehow the station there fits in poorly.

 

We do have FEB and uptown that I would count as TOD underway.  And those high-end lofts on Van Aken.  Am I missing any?  I hesitate to include downtown Euclid Ave projects because they're more like TO-re-D. 

 

There are some possibilities for the current stations.  Triskett Towers anyone?  Triskett Village?  It's well positioned between Lakewood's Birdtown and a farily walkable section of Lorain.  Proximity to 90 and the new 117th big boxes couldn't hurt it's viability.  I'm not as familiar with stations west of there. 

 

I share Cyclovert's sentiments about 79th, but I get that piecemeal won't work there.  Quincy/105 is interesting.  The new juvie complex may support some nearby law offices.  Perhaps some other social services could be relocated to this area from Euclid.  It's also close enough to the clinic to justify some spinoff development.                     

 

       

We do have FEB and uptown that I would count as TOD underway. And those high-end lofts on Van Aken. Am I missing any? I hesitate to include downtown Euclid Ave projects because they're more like TO-re-D.

 

There are also active TOD planning/development initiatives at University Circle/Cedar Glen, Mayfield, Lee/Van Aken, and Warrensville/Van Aken. There was one at Brookpark but the developer never followed through.

 

There are some possibilities for the current stations. Triskett Towers anyone? Triskett Village? It's well positioned between Lakewood's Birdtown and a farily walkable section of Lorain. Proximity to 90 and the new 117th big boxes couldn't hurt it's viability. I'm not as familiar with stations west of there.

 

Somewhere on this site is a site "plan" for an idea I had for developing the huge Triskett park-n-ride station.

I would say E. 116/Shaker Blvd. is still fairly dense.

Often times, it seems as if the redline is treated by RTA as a commuter line rather than a train connecting neighborhoods.  For instance, how many of the stations have large parking lots within or near the station?

 

I think that's exactly what our rail system is, which is unfortunately why it will probably never reach it's full potential.  Honestly, Other than W.25th and Shaker Square, what stop in our entire system serves a remotely densely populated area.  It's a shame.

 

the under-appreciated E 120th st rapid station is in a densely populated area. its just either one doesn't know it exists, is terrified of the desolate corner on which its entrance opens, or is terrified of the long, violent crime-friendly corridor leading to its platform.

 

i'm excited about its move to mayfield even though i think i like this old station. i have a lot of photos of it.

 

otherwise, i feel like the fate of old red lies in the crappier neighborhoods through which it passes. i'd hate to see this train devolve into the university circle/ Downtown express.

 

i'm hopeful that its only a matter of time before the importance of land surrounding stations between downtown and UC are recognized. go proximity!

 

There's no hope for the E 55th stop, other than industrial expansion.  E 34th could be interesting if the KJP innerbelt alternative were to happen.  E 79th screams potential but it is too far gone and we would have to lay down a massive new chunk of city there all at once.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Preserve every old structure possible, but what a great area to otherwise start fresh with and lay down the ultimate TOD.  Battery Park and Uptown combined!  With two trains!  :clap:  There will come a time to think big again.  Let's get ready for it.

E 34th could be interesting if the KJP innerbelt alternative were to happen. 

 

can someone show me a link to this? i'm a big fan KJP's maps. i also wonder about a station around 14th even though there's mostly a freeway interchange... oh, ODOT.

 

eh, maybe i should campaign to have the baseketball stadiarenas torn down to put the land to better use.

^Try this:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2438.0/msg,330313.html

 

II came across a Write of Way column of mine from earlier this year that I may not have posted. Here it is:

 

WRITE OF WAY

Ken Prendergast

 

May 8, 2008

 

We all want clean air and more good-paying manufacturing jobs. But until we clean our air, we won't see many new manufacturing plants.

 

Purdue University researchers said in April that Cuyahoga County ranks fourth-worst among more than 3,141 U.S. counties for carbon dioxide emissions. Surrounding counties aren’t much better.

 

This is unhealthy news for Northeast Ohioans, not just from a medical perspective but from an economic one, too.

 

In an April article "The Future of Automotive Site Location Competitions" in Trade & Industry Development magazine, authors Jeannette Goldsmith and Bryan Mitchell said automaking strongholds like Cuyahoga County probably won’t be getting more car factories.

 

The authors said car-makers are look ing for large tracts of land with accessible utilities, rail lines, interstate highways, a quality labor force and good air quality. Cuyahoga and its surrounding counties have all those attributes except the last.

 

Goldsmith and Mitchell said the Environmental Protection Agency’s air permit process typically takes a year in a clean-air county, but can take 24-30 months in a dirty-air county like Cuyahoga.

 

"The ability to obtain an air permit in a timely fashion is probably the most restrictive factor in the site selection process, and consequently an early screening factor," Goldsmith and Mitchell wrote.

 

Honda and Toyota recently looked for places to build assembly plants. Company officials refused to consider counties that didn’t meet EPA air quality standards. Both plants ended up in rural Indiana.

 

Other industries seeking to build new plants are staying away from here, including firms wanting to make clean-energy products. The irony isn’t funny for Greater Cleveland.

 

And it's not just Cuyahoga County that's gotten bad marks for bad air. The American Lung Association in its State of the Air 2008 report says Lorain and Medina counties are as polluted as Cuyahoga when it comes to gas eous ozone. Geauga, Lake and Summit counties fared worse.

 

Up to 95 percent of ozone pollution comes from vehicles, the EPA says. It’s another sad irony: too many polluting cars are driving automakers and other manufacturers to clean-air counties.

 

Let's not forget the medical consequences. The American Lung Association says half of all residents in Cuyahoga County and surroundùing areas suffer physical ailments that put them at risk from dirty air. That includes asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

 

So far, Northeast Ohio's governmental and corporate response is to apply cosmetic Band-Aids when it should be applying tourniquets.

 

We've been testing tailpipe emissions, improving traffic signals and adding more lanes to roads to keep traffic moving. It's not working.

 

Instead, we should be redesigning neighborhoods that allow us to walk, bike, take transit and drive short distances to accomplish day-to-day needs. Not only will smarter land use patterns clean our air, they'll help us save on fuel costs.

 

Portland, Ore., once a blue-collar lumber mill town, has rebuilt its city around walking, biking and transit. The EPA recently declared the city met its air-quality standards. It's no secret how to clear the air.

 

But sometimes summoning the political and corporate will is the toughest step. Or perhaps local governments and real estate developers don’t know there is an alternative to the 1950s highways uber alles approach.

 

They need to know and to act, for the sake of the region's health.

anyone have a ballpark figure of what it would cost to build a rapid station at W 41st?

That's a great article, by the way, KJP. Did you ever receive any responses from it?

anyone have a ballpark figure of what it would cost to build a rapid station at W 41st?

 

Unless the two Rapid tracks are spread apart from each other, two platforms with two sets of stairwells and elevators would be needed. If the tracks were spread, it would require just one platform, stairwell and elevator for a center-island station between the two Rapid tracks. But that would also require moving the overhead electric wires and support poles, called catenaries. Ballpark estimate? Perhaps $8 million to $12 million.

 

That's a great article, by the way, KJP. Did you ever receive any responses from it?

 

Thanks! I don't remember if I got any responses. That was a while ago.

can someone direct me to a thread or something? i was wondering if the euclid avenue, pending success, could easily be turned into a light rail corridor? it seems like what was built is essentially that but without rails and wires. and, being that most of the US electrical energy comes from coal, is it really any 'greener' to use rail? i guess emissions locally would be improved, but overall?

 

thanks for always taking my questions.

Just a gut feeling on my part, but I doubt very much that we'd see light rail on the Euclid corridor for many years. The cost would be high and it would take a really far out scenario (peak oil) to make it happen.

 

I think we'd be far more likely to see the waterfront line extended east of something out to Lakewood before anything would happen with Euclid Ave. After all, it was just built!

and, being that most of the US electrical energy comes from coal, is it really any 'greener' to use rail? i guess emissions locally would be improved, but overall?

 

thanks for always taking my questions.

 

How about building some wind turbines out in the lake to run an expanded, electrically powered rail transit system for Cleveland? Just because we've relied on coal for electrical power generation, especially for trains and transit, doesn't mean that should continue. See:

 

http://www.calgarytransit.com/environment/ride_d_wind.html

 

http://cahsr.blogspot.com/2008/09/powering-high-speed-train-with.html

Oh, and by the way....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1615.msg359769.html#msg359769

 

Let's get back to discussing TOD stuff here.

Shaker has received a (federal, I think) grant of around $4M to move forward with prelim work on redesigning the Northfield/Warrensville/Chagrin/Van Aken intersection and extending the Rapid about 1/3 mile to the UH buildings-- of course the reconfig would move the area towards a high-density TOD walking district..  First, I was surprised completion of this important project was not on the recently released transportation "wish list" for Greater Cleveland.  Why was that?  Second, given that it appears this stubby Blue Line extension seems in the cards, how much are behind-the-scenes powers really looking at the relatively cheap, extremely worthwhile extension of the Rapid to Harvard Park shopping center in Chagrin Highlands?  I know UOers have speculated about it, but is it really on the radar of our local leaders (and RTA) and can it be? ... There's already lots of projects built and going up in this corridor, plus the Blue Line could have a stop at the front door of the popular Tri-C East campus.

 

Is RTA and/or the County really being pushed given Obama's greater focus on local infrastructure programs (although his current transit $$ is being usurped by seemingly foolish tax cuts ... but that's for the political board...)?  It certainly seems this Blue Line extension could stimulate greater TOD development at the Highlands, as well as at such corners as Northfield/Harvard and Harvard/Green.

Funding for reworking the street grid is on the stimulus wish list. It may not get very far because it's not shovel ready, but it could be included in the long-range (1-year) portion of the stimulus if the federally required planning work (for which the $4 million planning grant is for) is completed in time.