Looks like they are starting with the utility line project on West Blvd. finally.

 

I have seen several of those big drill trucks on Clifton this week.  Not sure what those are for.

 

 

A more detailed project timeline is available on the enhance Clifton website:

 

http://www.enhanceclifton.com/node/5

 

It appears that westbound lanes will be completed first and then it will switch to eastbound in June, with the landscaped median coming this fall (Sept and Oct). The eastbound lanes are already torn down, so I wonder if that schedule is being reversed?

 

It's been interesting to see how traffic has adjusted to the construction. Right now the westbound traffic has been reduced to 3 lanes (two through lanes and a pseudo turn lane/through lane). This has caused back ups past the Westinghouse Curve on the Shoreway everyday this week at rush hour. I think ultimately the final design is a turn lane cut out from the median, 2 through lanes, and a rush hour bus only lane.

 

It may be that by removing the 3 through lanes for Clifton at rush hour, it will cause reduced speeds on the Shoreway, making the proposed speed reduction once converted a moot point?

Under normal conditions, I seldom saw cars driving in the curb lanes for fear of getting caught behind a bus stopping or an illegally parked car and not being able to get back into the next lane over.

Once construction is completed Clifton will continue to have 3 lanes each direction. 

Yep, although the outside lane will be for parking except during rush hours and in the direction of peak traffic flow the outside lane will be bus-only.

Yep, although the outside lane will be for parking except during rush hours and in the direction of peak traffic flow the outside lane will be bus-only.

 

Correct, and also correct with your above statement that currently a fraction of the rush hour traffic uses the outside lanes due to fear of being pinned behind a bus.

When I'm not on the bus, I'm one of the fearful.  :)

Work progresses on the $10m Enhance Clifton project in Cleveland and Lakewood to provide improved waiting environments and a landscaped median. This is yesterday morning in Cleveland where the median will be (but no median in Lakewood)...

 

 

 

Construction for Enhance Clifton in Lakewood.....

They've started on the bus shelters - and the ones on the far western part of Clifton are taking shape. The design includes peaked roofs and brickwork. I was driving so I didn't have the chance to snap a picture.

It's going to be a mess all summer, but I think the finished product should definitely help rejuvenate interest in this neighborhood. 

At about West 110th, I saw what looked to be old heavy wooden crossties dug up from under Clifton that I would bet are from the old Clifton streetcar. Remember that the streetcar tracks ran in the treelawns of a more narrow Clifton Boulevard until about 1947. The timbers looked like they were in the ground for a LONG time.

The bus shelters are taking full shape in Lakewood. This is at the corner of Bunts and Clifton. We'll see how the finished product looks once windows are installed, but right now I'm a bit underwhelmed.

^idk, I think they look great.

For the Lakewood portion of this project, the number of trees that have been chopped down and the amount of grass that has been paved over for this project is truly ridiculous. 

The project is a joint effort of RTA, the City of Lakewood and the City of Cleveland. Each city approved their portion of the project.

The new shelters harmonize much better with the lovely homes on Clifton and are a huge improvement over the aluminum & glass bus shelters of old.  Now, if RTA could now move over to the East side and replace those similar ugly bus shelters on the Blue and Green Lines in/near Shaker Heights with more substantial, harmonizing structures ...

Here's some photos I took along Clifton in Lakewood and Cleveland on Monday morning before 6 a.m. Still trying to adjust to Cleveland time after returning from Ireland ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there is no lighting in the new shelters?  How about digital signage showing times until next bus arrives?  No glass in the shelters?  Parts of Clifton Blvd dug up to replace a 100ft section with new pavement - why? Yeah, nice looking structures, but watching the construction process, these things will be looking like crap in about five years.  The whole thing feels like a high school project gone wrong.  My opinion, this is bureaucracy at its best.  Very very disappointing.

 

Furthermore, the progress of this thing is ridiculous [Lakewood portion only].  This project was started last Autumn and progress has been snail paced through the Summer of 2014.  Every morning and afternoon, during my commute I carefully watch for progress.  Rarely do I see anything.  I wish I could understand how projects like this work...

The new shelters harmonize much better with the lovely homes on Clifton and are a huge improvement over the aluminum & glass bus shelters of old.  Now, if RTA could now move over to the East side and replace those similar ugly bus shelters on the Blue and Green Lines in/near Shaker Heights with more substantial, harmonizing structures ...

 

We wont get those.  The planting of the trees to hide those was a compromise.  However, those glass shelters are a million times better than the wood structures we had.  And keep in mind we didn't have shelters at every station pre 1981.

I don't have the clairvoyance to see into the future how these shelters will look, but I like how they look now. And I love tracking the progress of this project ever since it actually began 2-3 months ago. I think it is and will do wonders for the boulevard. We're already seeing spin-off projects emerging from it. So here's more picks from this morning's walk.....

 

 

 

And a couple of scenery pics.....

 

 

So there is no lighting in the new shelters?  How about digital signage showing times until next bus arrives?  No glass in the shelters?  Parts of Clifton Blvd dug up to replace a 100ft section with new pavement - why? Yeah, nice looking structures, but watching the construction process, these things will be looking like crap in about five years.  The whole thing feels like a high school project gone wrong.  My opinion, this is bureaucracy at its best.  Very very disappointing.

 

I could be wrong, but still looks like there's a lot of work to be finished on the shelter. Do we know there won't eventually be glass and digital signage in there?

Furthermore, the progress of this thing is ridiculous [Lakewood portion only].  This project was started last Autumn and progress has been snail paced through the Summer of 2014.  Every morning and afternoon, during my commute I carefully watch for progress.  Rarely do I see anything.  I wish I could understand how projects like this work...

 

I think they finally got the memo. Lots of people working this morning. Along with lots of traffic congestion and idiot drivers being ridiculous, and this includes YOU 55 Route bus driver.

Clifton's the most beautiful, grand main drag on the West Side ... for me, it's not even close... I sure hope this project maintains the integrity of this street... I'm a little nervous, though.

Slow progress on the stations:

 

Old shelter vs new station comparison at Cove and Clifton in Lakewood:

 

What Enhance Clifton looks like from the #55:

 

So @GCRTA's newest buses are temporarily assigned to detour duty around Red Line-east construction. This is at the UC-Cedar station's bus loop, which isn't long for this world. Permanent duty for these bendy buses will be on Clifton Blvd.

 

Slow progress on the stations:

 

So @GCRTA's newest buses are temporarily assigned to detour duty around Red Line-east construction. This is at the UC-Cedar station's bus loop, which isn't long for this world. Permanent duty for these bendy buses will be on Clifton Blvd.

 

I like the new stations more than the silver ones, they seem like they will look more visually pleasing for a longer period of time due to having brick instead of metal, they also seem more well built due to the brick.

 

Sure do wish the Healthline was getting more articulated buses due to the current stock being on its last legs? Also will these run 24hrs down Clifton? It seems like RTA doesn't allow its articulated fleet to run all day on the west side.

This BRT will destroy RTA's belief that BRT drives so much development ($6 billion).

This BRT will destroy RTA's belief that BRT drives so much development ($6 billion).

 

I think they're already pleased that several new projects are already popping up and/or being redesigned in a more transit-friendly way. These including the townhouses at West Blvd., the new two-story Giant Eagle Marketplace/Starbucks (rather than the strip mall-ish Clifton Shoppes) and of course the Brickhaus development. And there's rumblings that the commercial strip on the south side of Clifton at West 117th will get redeveloped in some way, as well.

I like the new stations more than the silver ones, they seem like they will look more visually pleasing for a longer period of time due to having brick instead of metal, they also seem more well built due to the brick.

 

Sure do wish the Healthline was getting more articulated buses due to the current stock being on its last legs? Also will these run 24hrs down Clifton? It seems like RTA doesn't allow its articulated fleet to run all day on the west side.

 

Why would you think the HL vehicles are anywhere near the end of their life useful cycle??  That statement/question has me perplexed.

 

I think believe the Clifton stations are appropriate for the surrounding architecture.  The non historic Shaker Rapid stations shelters should be rebuilt using this design.

^Probably due to their poor condition

I like the new stations more than the silver ones, they seem like they will look more visually pleasing for a longer period of time due to having brick instead of metal, they also seem more well built due to the brick.

 

Sure do wish the Healthline was getting more articulated buses due to the current stock being on its last legs? Also will these run 24hrs down Clifton? It seems like RTA doesn't allow its articulated fleet to run all day on the west side.

 

Why would you think the HL vehicles are anywhere near the end of their life useful cycle??  That statement/question has me perplexed.

 

I think believe the Clifton stations are appropriate for the surrounding architecture.  The non historic Shaker Rapid stations shelters should be rebuilt using this design.

Just my self-analysis, the buses continuously break down and sometimes have to have regular 2200-2800 series buses replace them which to me indicates that they are having problems keeping the HL buses on the road due to maintenance issues. The HL buses probably will age faster due to them being used 24/7 so heavy mileage use is beginning to catch up to it in my opinion.  Also due to heavy usage the interiors are starting to show age, ramps are being duct taped, the LED indicators don't work half the time as well. Mechanically the buses sound loud an atrocious, especially given the type of route it represents. As I stated earlier from my self-analysis I feel like even though the buses are literally half way through their life cycle they will need to be replaced sooner than other RTA buses. I'm not speaking from an experts point of view though only my opinion.

Guys, I deleted your quoting of my message with the photos. Repeatedly seeing the same photos re-quoted in multiple posts gets a bit much to scroll through. Quoting the photos once is OK (but still unnecessary). Quoting the photos in three more messages is way over the top. Please consider removing photos, especially when there's multiple pictures, from your quoting of messages in the future. Thanks!

The bus shelters are growing on me. I do like that they fit into the neighborhood much better. They remind me of a smaller version of the transit shelter at the west end of Lakewood on Detroit where the road curves before heading over the bridge - albeit with a shingle versus metal roof. The shingle roof bus shelters will definitely require more maintenance in 10 years than other roofing types.

 

They have already resurfaced the 2 eastbound most lanes of Clifton. It will be nice once the median is carved out, but I think that is at the very end of the summer.

Streetscape takes shape on Clifton from West 115-117th. This is part of the $20 million Enhance Clifton bus-rapid transit project in Lakewood and Cleveland which includes enhanced transit waiting environments, bendy buses & landscaped median in Cleveland.

^ Nice. Red brick never goes out of style.

Nice to hear that Clifton is getting a green median after all. Finally it'll live up to the name Boulevard.

 

And semi-related to the topic: I noticed the Westgate Transit Center had some construction going on the last time I was in that area (April or May). Since the Transit Center will be the west end of the Enhance Clifton route, are they reconfiguring it to accommodate the new articulated buses?

 

EDIT: Is Rocky River involved with this project at all? Since these buses will pass through a significant portion of the city on the way to the Westgate TC, it would be great if the stops along Lake and Wagar Roads had similar enhancements.

Nice to hear that Clifton is getting a green median after all. Finally it'll live up to the name Boulevard.

 

And semi-related to the topic: I noticed the Westgate Transit Center had some construction going on the last time I was in that area (April or May). Since the Transit Center will be the west end of the Enhance Clifton route, are they reconfiguring it to accommodate the new articulated buses?

 

EDIT: Is Rocky River involved with this project at all? Since these buses will pass through a significant portion of the city on the way to the Westgate TC, it would be great if the stops along Lake and Wagar Roads had similar enhancements.

 

While the Clifton buses will continue to extend through Rocky River to the Westgate Transit Center, the Enhance Clifton improvement project ends at the west end of Lakewood. Here is the project description.......

 

http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/cliftonblvd

 

And semi-related to the topic: I noticed the Westgate Transit Center had some construction going on the last time I was in that area (April or May). Since the Transit Center will be the west end of the Enhance Clifton route, are they reconfiguring it to accommodate the new articulated buses?

I believe they are the same length as the current articulated buses that already stop there on the 26, so I don't think the work is related.

Some pics from this morning's walk, mostly of the Transit Waiting Environments (aka shelters!) along Clifton starting in Lakewood and going into Cleveland.....

 

At Fry Avenue in Lakewood:

 

New crosswalks across West 117th:

 

At West 117th in front of Twist which has been pretty busy this week with GG9 visitors in town!

 

Clifton housing stock in the Cleveland side:

 

Still using stumpy buses for now. Nice crowd of passengers boarding at West 110th Street:

They've put the stop names up on the Lakewood bus shelters yesterday. They aren't signs but rather indivual raised letters. They look very nice. I'll try to snap a pic on the way home.

I suppose they are a bit better than the ones on Detroit which are not exactly shelter.

They've put the stop names up on the Lakewood bus shelters yesterday. They aren't signs but rather indivual raised letters. They look very nice. I'll try to snap a pic on the way home.

 

Ha ha, beat you to it......

 

 

Thanks KJP

It looks as if they're 95 percent done with the curbs. Just dropped by the Enhance Clifton site. I have the feeling we're not truly going to know what this is going to look like until it's completed.

 

Cleveland Median Lanes Phase 3

Install Landscape Medians in Cleveland September - October 2014

Roadway Markings & Finish Landscaping November 2014

 

PROJECT COMPLETION December 2014

Some recent (Saturday) pictures from along Clifton:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,27241.msg724860.html#msg724860

They started cutting the pavement out for the medians today. It's moving along nicely. I am concerned at how the pavement and the stamped concrete will hold up long term...

They started cutting the pavement out for the medians today. It's moving along nicely. I am concerned at how the pavement and the stamped concrete will hold up long term...

 

I'm no expert but it really does seem like rushed, sub-standard construction.  I'm surprised given the condition of Clifton prior to this that the feds wouldn't require rebuilding the road bed from the ground up.  It appears they are just repaving a couple inches over the top.

^that's not the impression I get from driving on Clifton during construction.

This morning I noticed the new signs in Lakewood that said bus-only in the curb lanes from 7 to 9:30 am

 

People were ignoring the signs

This morning I noticed the new signs in Lakewood that said bus-only in the curb lanes from 7 to 9:30 am

 

People were ignoring the signs

 

Motorists did the same thing along Euclid Avenue until RTA police started ticketing motorists. RTA police also have law enforcement powers along Clifton too.

More progress report photos......

 

Stations are getting lighting. This one is at Fry Avenue in Lakewood....

 

Construction of Enhance Clifton requires a morning dance ritual of persons removing their cars parked on the street to make way for construction work to be done.

 

Clifton, Constantino's & construction....

 

A landscaped median is being added to the Cleveland section of Enhance Clifton from east to west. This is looking east from West 110th.

 

Enhance Clifton, looking west from West 110th in Cleveland.

 

Enhance Clifton will be complicated by resurfacing of West 117th in the coming weeks. But the road sure needs it after the terrible job done a decade ago by Allega....