Ride to work

The indispensable role of a healthy Metro in the regional economy

 

Published on Tuesday, Jan 08, 2008

Akron beacon Journal Editorial

 

Imagine the closing of a local factory that employed 3,600 people. A community the size of Akron, Canton, even Cleveland would reel from the economic and the psychological blow.

 

Now think about the 3,600 people who depend on the Metro Regional Transit Authority to get to work each week day. The comparison isn't exact, but no one should doubt the harm to the business climate in this area if employees lost the option of traveling conveniently to their jobs via the bus.

 

.........

 

Find this article at:

http://www.ohio.com/editorial/opinions/13519682.html 

 

CHRISSIE HYNDE THINKS METRO IS SPECIAL

Rocker goes on roll for RTA

Pretenders leader joins transit system backers in support of sales tax hike on March 4 ballot

 

By Katie Byard

Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008

 

Akron rocker Chrissie Hynde rode a bus to add some star power to the campaign for a sales tax increase for Metro Regional Transit Authority.

 

Public transportation is ''what makes a city a city,'' Hynde said shortly after she arrived Monday morning in downtown Akron with other tax supporters, carrying a mix of homemade and official Metro RTA signs promoting the tax issue on the March 4 ballot.

 

''If you feel you have to have a car (to get around), you feel trapped,'' she said.

 

....... 

 

Find this article at:

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/15757177.html 

 

It seems to me that Ohio Hub project is a bit pie in the sky at this point. Ohio isn't going to all of a sudden "Go Rail". I think rail projects like West Cleveland-Lorain commuter line are needed to inspire and help promote rail as a serious option. Akron isn't even in the Ohio Hub Plans and I think thats fine since there doesn't need to be high speed trains linking Akron and Canton. There probably do not need to be high speed trains above 70+ linking Akron and Cleveland either. Thats what make Akron perfect and unique for low tech rail. We've been discussing potential Akron rail projects on 2 different threads one related to the Akron-Canton Airport expansion and the other to Akron Streetcars and it made sense to give it its own thread.

 

Essentially what I'm proposing is linking the 2 closest Ohio cities of Akron and Canton together via a train. There is already a rail line connecting the cities that is owned by Metro and doesn't see a whole lot of use except for scenic trips of the CVSR.

 

I think there needs to be a study to look into this further but even a rudimentary system that I'll outline should move a lot of people, take a lot of cars off the road, and barely alter what is already in place. It kind of started off with mrnyc's thought about the airport connections via the railroad. The railroad goes right next to the Lauby rd interchange off of I-77. From there it goes South to downtown Canton. From the airport North it goes next to the Goodyear airdock and right by the Goodyear HQ and their nearly $1billion dollar redevelopment before continuing on to downtown Akron. The line continues on through Akron going into the Merriman Valley where by placing a station right on Merriman Rd by the Liberty Common's it would pretty much have easy walking access to approximately 6000-7000 people. I'll lowball it and say 30-40% of them are students at UofA. This is essentially an instant TOD. Merriman Valley is the biggest grouping of UA students outside of the UofA campus. It already is a destination and has a rail line right next to it.

 

Create at least 3 new stations:

Akron-Canton airport

Goodyear HQ and massive retail complex

Merriman Valley

 

There could be a 4th station near Belden Village.

 

Perhaps have trains run up the Cuyahoga Valley to Independence where people can take buses the rest of the way to Cleveland.

 

The other rail line that needs to be looked at is Medina to Kent via Akron. There are 30,000+ people in both Medina and Kent. Its approximately 13 miles from Akron to Kent via rail and perhaps 15-20 miles to Medina. Again Metro owns the rail from Akron to Kent. I think some shortline owns the Medina leg.

 

If I'm not mistaken, a few years ago then-Congressman Sherrod Brown sought $ to build a multimodal station serving Amtrak, CVSR and Metro RTA buses.  What happened to that plan?  Yours is a good idea and I think some have been thinking along those lines in actually converting CVSR to some commuter rail service connecting Akron, Canton and Cleveland... There's a plan that's been talked about (though I don't know the current status) to extend CVSR from Valley View 8 miles into Tower City, downtown, along the Towpath.  CVSR would probably have a station at the new Steelyards shopping plaza in the Flats where the proposed rail route would abut.  As of now, most are only looking to extend only the traditional CVSR sightseeing services into downtown Cleveland but, as I said, some have commuter rail ideas, too.  All those sites you mentioned, esp UA and the ACR airport (and thrown the Pro Football HOF), are potential trip generators for the entire 60-mile route.

The multimodal station is currently under construction.  It will be finished in November 2008 and the changeover of moving the buses off of S. Main St to this new hub will begin January 2009.  There has been hinting at using rail with this building but I have not heard anything more than that.  This station doesn't connect with the Cuyahoga Valley to Canton line.  This does connect with Medina and Kent.  So there is nothing exclusive about the fact that the new hub is being built with a train connecting Canton to Akron.  The station for the Independence-Akron-Canton line is almost a mile away on the North edge of downtown.  We discussed in the streetcar thread its probably wise to have streetcars connecting these 2 locations.

 

 

 

 

The Ohio Hub is hardly "pie in the sky".  It is a serious, long-term passenger rail plan for the State of Ohio and has been actively embraced by Governor Strickland both on it's own merits and as a major part of his overall economic development and transportation plans.  The fact he appointed former Federal Railroad Administrator Jolene Molitoris as Chair of the ORDC and (more recently) as Assistant Director at ODOT is an indication of that support.

 

But I agree that Akron has great potential as part of a commuter rail network serving the Cleveland-Akron-Canton (CAC) corridor for all the reasons stated before.

 

 

Too bad, audidave, CVSR isn't a part of the new station.  Seems like a missed opportunity... Cleveland and Akron represent the closest together, largest central cities in Ohio (and, indeed, throughout the Midwest outside the Minn Twins and a few others); Cleveland has a rapid transit system; Akron has CVSR running through its core connecting Canton (and the airport) down the way and red-hot historic/trendy Peninsula just to the north.  No reason why these areas should not be connected. 

 

I know I read somewhere a while ago that a CVSR trainman, I think, bristled at the notion CVSR could be a commuter rail line; said the speeds were too low and other problems (other RRs more knowledgeable than I may get what he was talking about).  Still, I know retired-GCRTA guy Richard Enty was heading a study group for extending CVSR into Tower City (w/ a Steelyards Commons stop along the way) which potentially becomes more urgent if the planned new convention center is built there.

 

Getting CVSR into the Akron intermodal station will be a pricey item. They'll need separate tracks to get there from the valley, separate from those which CSX uses past the site.

 

Amtrak was to be part of the intermodal station, but Amtrak terminated its Three Rivers route (New York City - Chicago via Pittsburgh and many other stations) in 2005.

I've mentioned this before in other threads.... Akron and Canton can be part of the Ohio Hub by either providing connecting commuter trains to Cleveland for the Cleve-Detroit, Cleveland-Chicago, and Cleveland-Buffalo routes, and/or by extending  2-3 of the Ohio Hub round trips on these routes to Akron and Canton. 

KJP, I agree that would be expensive to link that track into the multimodal station.  Thats why I don't feel it should be done.  So Akron has 2 downtown train stations.  1 to go East-West and 1 to go North-South.  Link them via Streetcars.  Problem solved.  Its still going to be slightly expensive but its pretty much the expected streetcar path anyways.

 

 

I figure Akron can link up with the Ohio Hub via Medina, assuming Medina is part of the Ohio Hub...

 

I don't see the point in trying to bring in Amtrak to Akron since then people will then be able to say "see there's your passenger train coming into Akron.  Barely anyone gets on it at 3AM so obviously no one has any interest in riding on trains."

Whereas if the trains are controlled by Metro they decide how they sync up with buses, streetcars, and other trains.

Took a little trip into Akron today..  The first 3 are pics are where the new Multimodal facility(bus station) is going.  As you can see a train showed up right as I was shooting the pics.

 

The last pic is the CVSR station.  It looks pretty similar to other CVSR stations..

:? Can any of you mapers do a map of the Akron rail lines that could be used for the rail proposals mentioned above. Also the streetcar line mentioned. Thanks.

I've created a poor man's Google map of the rail line.  I'll work on the Streetcar system..

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=109216813410690775550.00044ab08caa31926139c

Nice job, audidave... I think stops at Kent State Stark and, especially, the Pro Football Hall of Fame would be viable.  Nevertheless, this service needs to be implemented all the way into downtown Cleveland.  I don't think people realize how close we could be to starting this service.  Most of the trackage is viable, there's a storage/repair facility near Brecksville and rolling stock already in place.  Of course there are sticky issues, I'm sure, such as signaling, upgrading track for speed and, as mentioned before, negotiating rights with the freight railroads in Cleveland... But all that seems doable esp for such a potentially impact-ful, important line.

:-)Thanks for doing the maps so fast.

I've now updated the map with a downtown circulating streetcar system. Akron doesn't really lend itself to a full blown steetcar system by its diagonal streets just outside of downtown. I've also now added a circulator for Summa Health Systems.  This would run by several of their buildings on W. Market as well as their 2 main hospitals.  I added an offshoot route to hit Akron General and Childrens and jump back on the downtown route.  Also added a UA campus circulator.  Tried to make it as logical and compact as possible.

Just merged eight Akron transit-related thread into this "super thread"

Metro offers incentives to ride the bus

By Beacon Journal staff report

POSTED: 12:24 p.m. EDT, Jun 10, 2008

 

    With gas prices soaring the Metro Regional Transit Authority figures it is the perfect time to introduce the public to the benefits of bus transportation.

 

    Monday, June 16 is the kick-off of Metro's Dump the Pump Week, an effort by public transportation providers nationwide to demonstrate why it is smart to ride the bus.

 

.........

 

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/19711619.html?page=all&c=y

http://cleveland.cox.net/cci/newslocal/local?_mode=view&view=LocalNewsArticleView&articleId=3537464&_action=validatearticle

 

Akron Bus Riders Getting Free Rides Today   

06-19-2008 5:55 AM

 

Summit County commuters are getting a deal on bus fares today. Akron's Metro Regional Transit Authority is promoting public transportation with a Free Fare Day. New and longtime riders won't have to pay a cent, unless they use the North Coast Express route. Metro officials will also have Prize Patrols on the buses with coupons from Akron-area businesses. The "Dump the Pump" promotion is aimed at converting drivers upset with high gas prices into transit riders.

Is Akron's RTA seeing an increase in riders like Cleveland?

I believe their ridership increase in their last reporting period (don't ask me what that was, though), was 4 percent. But the ridership on their longer distance routes like the North Coast Expresses are up 50 percent!

I believe their ridership increase in their last reporting period (don't ask me what that was, though), was 4 percent. But the ridership on their longer distance routes like the North Coast Expresses are up 50 percent!

 

I can image!  Does anyone see "rail" in that?  he he he

Solar panels make Akron's new transit center a leader in Ohio

Karen Farkas/Plain Dealer Reporter

December 31, 2008 04:39AM

 

Akron -- Indoor restrooms and a warm waiting area will please bus riders at the new METRO Regional Transit Authority transit center. But it's what's above and below them that distinguishes the sleek building.

 

Lining the roof are 432 solar panels, the largest single array in Ohio, which will provide about 33 percent of the facility's annual needs. A geothermal heating and cooling system includes 45 wells drilled 305 feet into the earth.

 

...........

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/12/solar_panels_make_akrons_new_t.html

http://www.ohio.com/news/37101409.html

 

 

 

 

New Akron transit center unveiled

By Bill Lilley

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

POSTED: 03:20 p.m. EST, Jan 05, 2009

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or [email protected].

 

 

Interesting there is no caption with that picture above.  I'm guessing those are vehicles from BIE- Business Interiors (Enterprise)? which is a block away or so.  The Beacon had a nice article a couple years ago on the large collection of antique cars the owner of that business has and keeps in his parking decks.  He supposedly offers tours of his facilities/vehicles to his preferred clientele.

^ I added the caption, sorry for leaving it off.  It's not very informative about the cars though.

See the action alert from the American Public Transportation Association posted at:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,14971.msg357239.html#msg357239

Impressive!!

 

Transit center gets ready to roll

$17 million Akron facility to open Jan. 18 with heated waiting area, other amenities

By Katie Byard, Beacon Journal, January 02, 2009

 

Holly Hoffman huddled in the chill, waiting for a bus on South Main Street in downtown Akron.

 

She's counting the days until Jan. 18, when the Metro Regional Transit Authority will open its new $17 million transit center.

 

The glass and steel building — on South Broadway and East Bartges Street — features a heated waiting area and indoor restrooms.

 

.......

Bus station opens in Akron

$17 million RTA site on South Broadway is heated and secure

 

http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/37809689.html

By Carol Biliczky

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

Published on Monday, Jan 19, 2009

 

Charice Giddings and her two daughters made only a dry run on Sunday, but they still made history of a sort.

 

The West Akron family was among the first passengers to see the Metro Regional Transit Authority's new station on South Broadway near downtown Akron.

 

The $17 million station debuted Sunday to replace an outdoor area along South Main Street as the main location for passengers to catch and change buses.

Post edited 9-4-09 to comply with terms of use

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or [email protected].

 

http://www.ohio.com/news/42329842.html

 

Vandals deface Akron's new transit center

By Jim Carney

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

POSTED: 12:26 p.m. EDT, Apr 02, 2009

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or [email protected].

 

 

An update from Metro with public meetings...

 

Summit, Ohio – METRO Regional Transit Authority, the public transportation provider for Summit County, will hold meetings presenting the final service recommendations for the next five years. The meetings will be held:

 

Monday, July 27 - 6:30 pm, Transit Center, 631 S. Broadway, Akron

 

Tuesday , July 28 - 10:00 am, Transit Center, 631 S. Broadway, Akron

 

Tuesday, July 28 - 2:00 pm, Twinsburg City Hall, 10075 Ravenna Rd, Twinsburg

 

Tuesday, July 28 - 6:30 pm, Cuyahoga Falls Library, 2015 Third St, Cuyahoga Falls

 

Wednesday, July 29 - 10:00 am, Barberton Library, 602 W. Park Ave, Barberton

 

Wednesday, July 29 - 6:30 pm, Stow City Hall, 3760 Darrow Rd, Stow

 

The goal of the Transit Development Plan, is to examine METRO services that have been cut or reduced over the past decade; to look at current demographics and land use patterns to determine where new service and what type of service should be put in place; to identify efficiencies of the METRO SCAT service; and to examine possibilities for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the East and West Market Street corridors. This is the third round of meetings in the TDP process which began in November 2008. Nearly 50 individual interviews, 600 passenger surveys, 500 mailed resident surveys, and 60 business contacts were made. The final plan will be presented to METRO’s board for consideration in August.

METRO RTA is the public transportation provider for Summit County providing fixed route and paratransit service. In 2008, METRO transported more than 5.8 million passengers.

No mention of Cleveland...compare/contrast when talking about adding BRT???  Seems strange and provincial.  Anyway, Akron Metro seems to be in decent shape...cutting fares and adding service :? is unheard of these days :clap:

 

http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/51882212.html

 

Metro looks to put plan in motion for bus routes

 

Board approval would be bring additions, expansions to service

 

By Linda Golz

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

POSTED: 12:18 p.m. EDT, Jul 28, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Linda Golz can be reached at 330-996-3640 or [email protected].

 

Reply 65, and 66 mentions BRT for Akron Metro RTA thread. I think if I understand this,it will start from the Summit Mall, West Market,Downtown to the East. Where will it go out East? Is there any other possible routes that might go North or South? Good transfer possibilities.

Looking at the map, it would go down Market Street, through the Goodyear Headquarters to the Canton Road business area.

 

It's pretty strange to see this, from an Native Akronite. But in a GOOD way. :-)

OK, I'm not yelling here. I'm just using really large, red letters to make this flier easier for you to find in the future......

 

SAVE PUBLIC TRANSIT!

Download the flier from:

http://members.cox.net/corridorscampaign/Save%20public%20transit%20flier.pdf

 

I need your help! Please print out this flier in large quantities and post them legally in visible places. Or just hand them out to people on your bus or train each day. If the driver asks you to stop, please comply. Thanks!

I realize many of you don't read the Lorain County Transit thread. I encourage you to do so today as some news there is likely a harbinger of things to come for all Ohio counties:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=16502.msg444095#msg444095

Thought I'd dust this thread off and add something for the other fellow Summit County UO members to put their .02 in about..  Something that doesn't come along every week.  A 20 year plan seeking input..  I really wonder how much input they expect to get when its not marketed, not highlighted on their website, and you pretty much have to be a transportation geek exploring their website to even find out about it.. Anyways, I filled my survey out and actually kind of expect to be taken kind of seriously since I wouldn't expect more than 10 other people will take this survey..  I guess why make work for the commission members by having to read hundreds if not thousands of "petty" responses.. 

Anyways, here's the link. make your keystrokes heard... http://www.akronmetro.org/metro-downloads.aspx

 

Interesting article. Probably positive effects for Northcoast ridership.

 

 

http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/metro-buses-told-to-leave-chapel-hill-mall-grounds-1.235003Metro buses told to leave Chapel Hill Mall grounds

 

By Dave Scott

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

Published: September 14, 2011 - 10:04 AM

Metro will move most of its buses off of Chapel Hill Mall property starting Sept. 25.

 

CBL & Associates Management, operators of the mall, sent a letter to Metro on Aug. 19 demanding the move because of “extensive and continual damages your vehicles are causing to our asphalt surfaces.”

 

The mall agreed to allow one route per hour on mall property.

So because of one pothole in the asphalt, Metro RTA has to take their 800 daily mall visitors elsewhere. Something does NOT add up here.

 

That sure doesn't speak well of asphalt, does it Jerry Wray (ODOT director and former asphalt industry association president)?

 

EDIT: to add the word "NOT" above

^Wouldn't it be easier for everyone involved to just pour cement in the area where they sit? Or was this just an excuse to get rid of the busses and the poor people that are associated with them? I think I just answered my own question, nevermind.

Not sure if this has been reported/posted, etc., but I've been tweeting with @AkronMETROBus about submitting their information to Google Transit. They told me they recently did submit and are awaiting approval!

Just seen this today while browsing Ohio.com... interesting indeed

 

http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/passenger-rail-service-in-akron-could-be-on-track-1.249536

 

Passenger rail service in Akron could be on track

By Bob Downing

Beacon Journal staff writer

 

Published: December 9, 2011 - 12:40 AM

 

Could a new public passenger rail line be in the city of Akron’s future?

 

The Akron Metro Regional Transit Authority is embarking on a study to investigate the feasibility of developing rail service from the Merriman Valley to downtown Akron to the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. headquarters to points south.

Moderator Note

 

When referencing a news article on UrbanOhio, please do not copy and paste the entire article in your post. It's a violation of copyright law and runs the risk of putting UrbanOhio in big trouble. A headline, a brief summary, and a link to the full article are sufficient.

The metro rail study should be enlightening on various levels.  The focus will primarily be along that corridor.  However, a train system is not a single section of track in isolation.  There are ways to offset cost by scaling up.  So the path and choices they make for this initial section will likely have affects on following phases whether they are full extensions of the line to the airport and Canton or new off-shoots to consider whether to Hudson or Kent.  The quote in the article was that this was not going to be a commuter line doesn't mean that they shouldn't plan for it to be a commuter line in the future..

 

I suspect that the easiest thing to do will be to do nothing and just follow the track that the CVSR follows to and fro when it is not using that section of the tracks..  Run a locomotive at twice the speed of the CVSR and it might be considered a huge hit. 

 

Looking over the map, I think I pointed out in another thread that if Metro was able to jump onto another set of tracks as it is coming into Akron there might be some more interesting options.  The main issue of getting to downtown Akron is that the tracks bend to the East from the South through downtown Akron.  This means that for a train coming from the West/North as a train coming from the Merriman Valley would it must go forward and back up onto the highly used tracks of CSX.  To me the solution may be a little pricey but to cut through some property on the bluff of the Elizabeth Valley and curve around into the railroad trench that heads into downtown.  Add a third set of tracks and a stop at Quaker Square would probably be the most ideal for University students followed by a destination at the Intermodal bus stop.  They can then use a new titanium pedestrian bridge(yet to be built) to get over to the campus from Quaker Square.  This would save the time of students being dropped off in the Elizabeth valley to jump on a shuttle bus to be taken over to campus(and expense to the University)..  This would also add a different Northside stop closer to downtown by Luigis and fairly accessible to the Northern half of downtown.  A stop at the Intermodal stop would be more accessible for people in the Southern part of downtown like by AES, GoJo and all the new student housing over there.

 

Additional issues I see with this are likely the MLK bridge might need to be widened to accommodate 3 sets of tracks.  Also coming out of the trench back into the Valley towards its next destination is a labyrinth of tracks and it will likely be elevated tracks to be built through that section.. 

 

Hopefully the study takes this into consideration since it is an "alternative" study..  Phase 1 might be to just get service quickly going and Phase 2 might be to add this connection to downtown Akron and maybe a CAK airport connection, while planning for a future KSU connection.  A federal or state push might be to finally link up to downtown Canton for a serious commuter railway to help alleviate the 6 lanes of traffic on I-77.

 

This is great news; good for Akron Metro RTA... Sure would be nice if transit officials in Akron's big brother up north would get more aggressive in getting CVSR into Tower City.  You'd think there would be an even greater push given all the development in downtown Cleveland, esp the new, expanding casino in Tower City... Yeah, I know there are obstacles and difficult challenges, but aren't there always when a city is attempting to move forward?  It would be nice if this city would face and defeat a challenge rather than vice versa (which is too often the norm in Cleveland)...

 

As for Akron, let's hope they can pull this off.  Metro RTA already stepped up to the plate and expanded CVSR south to Canton. One would think that the Northside stop would have to be expanded to accommodate the additional rail traffic.

Just heard about this. Sorry for the late notice.......

 

METRO will discuss findings from its recent master planning study (see: http://www.akronmetro.org/Data/Sites/2/Assets/PDF/finalmetrorailfreightsystemstudy(optimized).pdf ) & W. Market/Arlington Rd. transit corridor service needs (includes analysis of Merriman-Goodyear commuter rail).

 

Please stop by the meetings below to share your thoughts or gather info:

 

Tues., July 24: 11a - 12:30p @ Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center; 631 S. Broadway Ave.

Tues., July 24: 6p - 7:30p @ Northwest Akron Branch Library; 1720 Shatto Ave.;

Weds., July 25: 6p - 7:30p @ Goodyear Branch Library; 60 Goodyear Blvd.

 

http://www.akronmetro.org/public-meetings-july-24--25.aspx

FYI: Akron METRO RTA will be expanding its North Coast Express bus schedule soon. It will add more buses that will come up I-77 into downtown Cleveland, directly into Playhouse Square and then might a right turn on Euclid to University Circle and the VA Hospital. I do not yet know what enroute stops are planned, how many buses per day they will operate, or when the service will begin. But I know it will be soon as I saw the mock-ups for the route maps being designed for their timetables while I was at a meeting last week at METRO's HQ. Stay tuned.

Looks like seven more round-trips a day....

 

Metro RTA to expand Cleveland routes

By Dave Scott

Beacon Journal staff writer

July 31,2012 03:02 PM GMT

 

Metro RTA will expand Cleveland service to include the Veterans Affairs hospital in Wade Park, the Terminal Tower area for gamblers headed to Horseshoe Casino and travelers to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

 

The weekday service will begin Aug. 27 and will cost $5 each way for most riders. Tickets will be $2 for disabled riders and those 65 or older.

 

Metro RTA Interim Director Richard Enty said as many as 150 Summit County veterans have visited the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center each day since another veterans hospital in Brecksville closed

 

READ NOW AT:

http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/metro-rta-to-expand-cleveland-routes-1.323566

An article on the new Metro Director. Nice to have someone like him in charge. Metro severely lacked vision.  It does what it does well. But now it will be exciting seeing the agency use its tracks to take cars and trucks off the road going forward.

 

http://www.akronnewsnow.com/news/local/item/46080-metro-chooses-new-executive-director

Looks like they rewrote the piece on Metro's website.....

http://www.akronmetro.org/metro-rta-announces-executive-director-appointment.aspx

 

The next item on their site has the details of the expanded Akron-Cleveland service, including the schedule.....

 

http://www.akronmetro.org/service-to-cleveland-to-expand-in-august-.aspx

Service to Cleveland to Expand in August 

Tuesday, July 31, 2012 12:32:08 PM

 

It's your lucky day! Beginning Monday, August 27, METRO will expand Cleveland service to include the Veterans Affairs hospital in Wade Park, the Terminal Tower area for those going to the Horseshoe Casino, and the entrance to the Greater Cleveland RTA’s Red Line train to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. 

 

The weekday service runs Monday through Friday and the fare is $5.00 each way. The fare for seniors and persons with disabilities is $2.00.

 

The x61 will begin at the Robert K. Pfaff Transit Center and takes passengers through downtown Akron and into Cleveland. Additional stops include the Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland State University. To view the complete schedule, click here:

 

http://www.akronmetro.org/Data/Sites/2/Assets/PDF/updatednxcfallschedule.pdf