Some of the graffiti is art.  For a long time (the late 90s to mid 2000s), Cleveland had one of the, if not THE best, graffiti scenes for a city our size in the County.  The walls along the Redline tracks feature pieces from some of the biggest graffiti writers in the world - most of who made stops through Cleveland because they knew about our scene.

Some of the graffiti is art.  For a long time (the late 90s to mid 2000s), Cleveland had one of the, if not THE best, graffiti scenes for a city our size in the County.  The walls along the Redline tracks feature pieces from some of the biggest graffiti writers in the world - most of who made stops through Cleveland because they knew about our scene.

 

Hasn't most of it been painted over?

 

 

Some of the graffiti is art.  For a long time (the late 90s to mid 2000s), Cleveland had one of the, if not THE best, graffiti scenes for a city our size in the County.  The walls along the Redline tracks feature pieces from some of the biggest graffiti writers in the world - most of who made stops through Cleveland because they knew about our scene.

 

Hasn't most of it been painted over?

 

Some yes.  But most graffiti writers have profound respect for the big wigs and leave them untouched.  There's stuff in Cleveland that has been "riding" untouched since the 90s/early 2000s.  Some has been painted over by the City but that is a function of its location.

Am I the only one who doesn't necessarily have a problem with the graffiti along the Red Line?  The trash- sure, that needs to be cleaned up.  But the graffiti- I'm not wholly against.  It just doesn't send a negative message to me.    Graffiti has been on walls of cities since ancient times- and some of the graffiti along the route isn't that bad from an artistic standpoint, IMO.  I just don't get the feeling that I'm entering a negative or unsafe area due to the graffiti along the Line. 

 

 

 

Some of the graffiti I'd consider pretty good art. I'm fine with it too. The trash has been an ongoing problem for years. It's particularly disheartening to imagine someone's first trip here; they land at CLE hop on the Red Line and get to see mattresses and tires among the overgrown weeds.

 

It's a bad first impression.

Some of the graffiti is, too.  While I'm not against the artistic stuff in principle, the bulk of it is faux (or sometimes real) gang tags, signatures, and assorted random comments.  Don't rule out the idea of some of the more radical lefties or anarchists targetting convention-goers with it, either. Of course, the art eventually gets obscured with the vandalism.

 

  Again, first impressions.  Also remember what Mencken did to Dayton, Tennessee because he wasn't happy to be there.

Some of the graffiti is art.  For a long time (the late 90s to mid 2000s), Cleveland had one of the, if not THE best, graffiti scenes for a city our size in the County.  The walls along the Redline tracks feature pieces from some of the biggest graffiti writers in the world - most of who made stops through Cleveland because they knew about our scene.

 

Hasn't most of it been painted over?

 

Some yes.  But most graffiti writers have profound respect for the big wigs and leave them untouched.  There's stuff in Cleveland that has been "riding" untouched since the 90s/early 2000s.  Some has been painted over by the City but that is a function of its location.

 

I'm sorry, I meant painted over by RTA.

Some of the graffiti is, too.  While I'm not against the artistic stuff in principle, the bulk of it is faux (or sometimes real) gang tags, signatures, and assorted random comments.  Don't rule out the idea of some of the more radical lefties or anarchists targetting convention-goers with it, either. Of course, the art eventually gets obscured with the vandalism.

 

  Again, first impressions.  Also remember what Mencken did to Dayton, Tennessee because he wasn't happy to be there.

 

I have no doubts that anti-GOP graffiti will appear along the rapid transit lines, major highways, visible buildings, etc. in some cases the night before the event. By the time crews get around to painting it over, we'll be into our next presidential campaign season.

.

It won't matter anyway.  The vast majority of the attendees will hop on provided shuttle buses and won't be taking RTA trains.

It won't matter anyway.  The vast majority of the attendees will hop on provided shuttle buses and won't be taking RTA trains.

 

Just as the vast majority of people coming through Hopkins hop on taxis as opposed to the Rapid. This won't be out of the ordinary.

Random photo of Flats and Waterfront Line LRT from bus atop Shoreway high-level bridge.

 

Cross-posted in the Towpath Trail thread: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1375.msg741863.html#msg741863

 

RTA natural gas conversion, Red Line Greenway, among projects landing $42.7 million

By Alison Grant, The Plain Dealer

on January 24, 2015 at 1:50 PM, updated January 24, 2015 at 2:02 PM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- New natural gas buses, a bike path along an unused railroad line and a multipurpose trail in the Metroparks are among 11 Greater Cleveland projects receiving a combined $42.7 million from the region's umbrella transportation planning organization.

 

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency awarded the grants with federal dollars from a program focused on improving air quality and reducing congestion. NOACA released a list of the grants Friday evening.

 

More than half the total funding is going to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority as it transitions its fleet from diesel-powered buses and trolleys to cleaner-burning natural-gas vehicles.

 

RTA General Manager Joe Calabrese thanked NOACA for help in replacing vehicles that will age past their useful life of about 12 years by 2017-20.

 

The funding will pay for swapping out most of RTA's diesel-powered buses with  compressed natural gas-fueled buses; replacing 11 downtown trolleys that were put into service in 2006; and, in 2020, replacing the 21 bus-rapid transit vehicles used on the HealthLine, which opened in 2008.

 

MORE:

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/rta_natural_gas_conversion_red.html#incart_river

I saw a new looking bus driving down Euclid the other day with RTA decals on it and the destination sign read "training vehicle." I'm assuming this was one of those new buses? I somehow missed the news about them purchasing new vehicles, so I was confused when I saw the bus on the street.

The funding awarded Friday probably won't be received by GCRTA for a few months. And while GCRTA can go through its bus procurement process at the same time, it probably won't award a contract for those buses until sometime later this year. That means vehicle delivery and training is probably a year or two away.

 

Not sure what bus you saw, but GCRTA is constantly adding new buses to its fleet -- not to mention new drivers who need to be trained on the system's fleet and in all traffic conditions.

The funding awarded Friday probably won't be received by GCRTA for a few months. And while GCRTA can go through its bus procurement process at the same time, it probably won't award a contract for those buses until sometime later this year. That means vehicle delivery and training is probably a year or two away.

 

Not sure what bus you saw, but GCRTA is constantly adding new buses to its fleet -- not to mention new drivers who need to be trained on the system's fleet and in all traffic conditions.

 

Got it. Was thinking it was maybe a prototype or something. I know RTA adds new buses regularly, but this was a bus design I had never seen before, and the paint scheme was also different. It reminded me of this WMATA bus below. Wish I got a picture.

 

Was it one of the new Clifton buses? Check that thread for photos if you haven't seen those buses yet.

Was it one of the new Clifton buses? Check that thread for photos if you haven't seen those buses yet.

 

No, I'm familiar with the CSU line buses. It wasn't articulated.

 

C'mon, this is a SFW website, don't drop f-bombs here.  If you're that mad, contact RTA.

Months-long shutdowns of #Cleveland rail lines for major construction caused @GCRTA rail ridership to drop only 3.6%  Rail riders on substitute buses around months-long construction counted as bus riders. Total @GCRTA ridership was up.

 

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/Clevelands-rail-ridership-dropped-in-2014--43369

I saw a new looking bus driving down Euclid the other day with RTA decals on it and the destination sign read "training vehicle." I'm assuming this was one of those new buses? I somehow missed the news about them purchasing new vehicles, so I was confused when I saw the bus on the street.

 

Pretty sure I saw it too, it was on Prospect in front of Hyde Park.  It was more of a red white and blue scheme and said something on the side like 'the clean-air future' or something like that.  It had a significant hump at the top, and looked a little like a health line bus without the articulator piece.  I was assuming it was a CNG prototype.

Pretty sure I saw it too, it was on Prospect in front of Hyde Park.  It was more of a red white and blue scheme and said something on the side like 'the clean-air future' or something like that.  It had a significant hump at the top, and looked a little like a health line bus without the articulator piece.  I was assuming it was a CNG prototype.

 

That sounds like a reasonable explanation.

Did the bus look like this by any chance?

http://www.riderta.com/news/nov-19-rta-purchase-60-buses-powered-cng

 

Did the bus look like this by any chance?

http://www.riderta.com/news/nov-19-rta-purchase-60-buses-powered-cng

 

 

That's it! Good find.

Just a random thought: my normal Sunday grocery store trip from downtown to the Shaker Heinen's has gone off without a hitch today...despite awful road conditions. Sometimes we take having rail transit for granted, but it's always nice to have a reminder about how valuable it can be.

 

Just a random thought: my normal Sunday grocery store trip from downtown to the Shaker Heinen's has gone off without a hitch today...despite awful road conditions. Sometimes we take having rail transit for granted, but it's always nice to have a reminder about how valuable it can be.

 

We appreciate the patronage. Just think, at the end of this month, you'll have a Heinen's right downtown for you, just a HealthLine ride away ;-).

RTA bus stuck this morning at the intersection of Huron, trying to turn east on Superior.  Such a mess.  Had traffic backed up in all directions - Huron, Detroit/Superior, W.9th... 

Unfortunately, the Blue/Green line was a mess this morning with delays of up to 60 minutes. The reason cited was ice on the rails. I recall in years/decades past RTA would run trains all night to keep ice from accumulating on the rails and wires.

 

A friend of mine had a nice ride in a warm, cozy sleeping compartment on Amtrak last night from Chicago despite the 20 inches of snow that fell from Chicago east to Toledo. I recorded a webcam of his train passing through Chesterton, Indiana last night: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10202679407821220&l=8906172208767625748

 

When he arrived Cleveland, he waited at the Amtrak walkway to catch the first Waterfront Line at 6:50 a.m., but nothing showed up by 7:10 a.m. and he had a 7:30 a.m. PARTA bus to catch at Tower City-Prospect to Kent via UC/VA Hospital.

 

Instead, he dragged his suitcase through the snowdrifts and windchills up the Shoreway ramp to East 9th Street to catch the 9/12 Trolley (this is one visual example why we need an intermodal station in downtown Cleveland). There he rode to the 5th Street Arcade to have a quick breakfast at PJ's. Then took the E-Line trolley to East 21st north of Euclid to catch the PARTA bus at 8:30 a.m. on its way back from UC/VA to Kent.

The Red Line train I took out of Windermere this morning left about 10 minutes later than usual, but it was otherwise a typical trip. The operator apologized for the delay and said trains were "barely moving" this morning, but we were flying through the snow as she spoke.

Intermodal transportation hub site at west end of Muni Lot to be studied

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An intermodal hub consolidating the Cleveland operations of RTA, Greyhound, Amtrak, Megabus and downtown trolleys would go on the west end of the Muni Lot, under a proposal sketched out today.

 

A map displayed at a committee meeting of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority shows a future multi-modal transportation center along the rail tracks just south of the Shoreway and east of East 9th Street, between the North Point Garage and the Muni Lot in downtown Cleveland.

 

"This is a site that all stakeholders agreed on," said Amy Snell, RTA planning team leader.

 

Members of RTA's Planning and Development Committee voted unanimously to recommend an agreement with the city of Cleveland for a feasibility study on such a transportation center. The full RTA board will take up the issue at its Feb. 17 meeting.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/02/intermodal_transportation_hub.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Intermodal transportation hub site at west end of Muni Lot to be studied

 

Existing discussion:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,17673.0.html

Cold weather slowing @GCRTA Red Line trains which use pneumatic brakes, reducing speeds. Blue/Green Lines trains less affected because, in addition to pneumatic brakes, they also have the mechanical brakes. So our train downtown this afternoon overshot a couple of platforms and, by the time we got to Ohio City, we lost all braking power and coasted to a stop at Ohio City and began rolling backwards. We were able to get off the train which was taken out of service and we waited for the next train which was operating under restricted speeds....

 

Shot from our eastbound train which came to a stop next to the station platform and then rolled backwards west of it. This is where we finally came to a stop....

 

Our train was taken out of service, so we exited through the front car which was next to the platform....

 

We finally made it to Tower City on another train. A rush-hour crowd was waiting for westbound trains....

Cold weather slowing @GCRTA Red Line trains which use pneumatic brakes, reducing speeds. Blue/Green Lines trains less affected because, in addition to pneumatic brakes, they also have the mechanical brakes. So our train downtown this afternoon overshot a couple of platforms and, by the time we got to Ohio City, we lost all braking power and coasted to a stop at Ohio City and began rolling backwards. We were able to get off the train which was taken out of service and we waited for the next train which was operating under restricted speeds....

 

 

How does the cold affect "pneumatic" brakes?

How does the cold affect "pneumatic" brakes?

 

Pneumatic brakes use compressed air to actuate the pads/rotors/whatever to stop the vehicle. In a closed system air contracts and becomes more dense as it cools, which decreases pressure and decreases braking power.

 

I always figured air-brakes had an external pump to regular pressure to prevent the situation KJP described.

How does the cold affect "pneumatic" brakes?

 

Pneumatic brakes use compressed air to actuate the pads/rotors/whatever to stop the vehicle. In a closed system air contracts and becomes more dense as it cools, which decreases pressure and decreases braking power.

 

I always figured air-brakes had an external pump to regular pressure to prevent the situation KJP described.

 

Why wouldn't this affect trucks and buses on the roads?  The air pressure keeps the rotors and pads OFF the wheels....

It could.  It happened to some of Bendix's (Elyria based commercial vehicle braking system manufacturer) products a couple of years go.

 

This is rare and only occurred in extreme cold temperatures (in Canada and Alaska). 

My guess is this is more about cold and icy steel rails.  Air pressure drops would cause the brakes to get stuck ON, and the train wouldn't move at all.

My guess is this is more about cold and icy steel rails.  Air pressure drops would cause the brakes to get stuck ON, and the train wouldn't move at all.

No kidding? I guess I misunderstood how they worked all these years. You learn something new every day.

My guess is this is more about cold and icy steel rails.  Air pressure drops would cause the brakes to get stuck ON, and the train wouldn't move at all.

No kidding? I guess I misunderstood how they worked all these years. You learn something new every day.

 

As I mentioned upthread, perhaps there is something I do not know about train brakes.  But I do know about truck & bus brakes.  I'd be damned scared to be driving in front of a semi in weather like this if cold weather caused their brakes to fail!

I'm not sure, but I think the Tokyu cars had problems in the winter when they were delivered 30 years ago.  IIRC, RTA was operating the (then spanking new) Blue/Green LRT cars over parts of the Red Line (just the Windermere branch, I think) until the problem was fixed... I believe it was a snow/braking problem back then, as opposed to the cold today.  Not surprising the old RTA actually ordered cars that hadn't been snow tested which was absurd given Cleveland's climate and the outdoors/gully nature of the Red Line route -- much of it, anyway ... Even though the old RTA leadership seemed to have it's heart in the right place, it was an outfit that couldn't shoot straight.

Don't think this was previously posted:

 

RTA planners: Keep East 34th and East 79th rail stations open

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/02/rta_planners_keep_east_34th_an.html#incart_related_stories

 

Upgrading the East 34th Street station that has the Red, Blue and Green Lines, which is used by an average of 288 people a day, will cost $7 million. Repairing the Red Line station at East 79th, used by 155 people a day on average, will cost $12 million.

 

No mention of RTA having looked at the option of relocating the stations to better locations (as KJP has illustrated)

 

But, there as this good news at the end:

 

Cleveland recently passed a zoning measure that will ensure higher densities and urban development standards along the 79th Street corridor.

My guess is this is more about cold and icy steel rails.  Air pressure drops would cause the brakes to get stuck ON, and the train wouldn't move at all.

 

It certainly is about the cold but not the rails. The trains were rolling past stations, then started to roll backwards through the station and beyond it until it lost its momentum. It was if we had no brakes at all. I was getting reports from people on other trains that were over-shooting their stations too. And when trains slip on the rails, the trains jolt or stutter and come to a much faster stop than what I experienced.

My guess is this is more about cold and icy steel rails.  Air pressure drops would cause the brakes to get stuck ON, and the train wouldn't move at all.

 

It was the air brakes.

 

cold affects every Pneumatic system, doors and brakes in particular.

 

you are definitely correct that Air brakes should operate in an always on positions just like trucks.  The difference between Trucks and Electric trains is the fact that most braking by Trains is going to be through Dynamic braking not friction braking. dynamic brakes turns the motors into generators and feed that recovered energy into resistor banks that convert that energy into waste heat, with Regenerative braking it is sent to the OHL to power other trains (on the blue and Green lines). 

 

Dynamic braking is most effective at high speeds where energy recovery is highest, and lest effective at low speed where the energy created is weakest and cannot "stop" a train but only "slow" the train down. Thus a smart system would design less capable Friction brakes only to handle low speed stopping not higher speed slowing where Dynamic braking is more effective.

 

In theory:

 

it could have been that the air lines were Frozen leaving the brakes ON, and the train continued to operate and the brakes finally failed as they wore down, leaving the train able to slow down but unable to stop.

 

Maybe....

 

Cold weather knocks old streetcars out of service

 

 

 

 

Excellent infographic on the issues with cold and old trains

 

Don't think this was previously posted:

 

RTA planners: Keep East 34th and East 79th rail stations open

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/02/rta_planners_keep_east_34th_an.html#incart_related_stories

 

Upgrading the East 34th Street station that has the Red, Blue and Green Lines, which is used by an average of 288 people a day, will cost $7 million. Repairing the Red Line station at East 79th, used by 155 people a day on average, will cost $12 million.

 

No mention of RTA having looked at the option of relocating the stations to better locations (as KJP has illustrated)

 

But, there as this good news at the end:

 

Cleveland recently passed a zoning measure that will ensure higher densities and urban development standards along the 79th Street corridor.

 

I'm surprised and glad these stations remain open.  It's lightly populated in these areas now, esp along E. 79th, but the people there need these stations, esp with the no. 12 bus along Woodland removed a few years ago.  Too bad more consideration couldn't have been given to relocating the Red Line's E. 79 station to E. 89-Buckeye-Woodland, but losing any of the 3 stations in question would have been far worse.  Let's hope at least some TOD development can happen near these station.  I know about the 60 jobs mentioned for Orlando Bakery's expanded plant along Grand Ave.  With their razing the old vacant Van Dorn factory buildings and clearing that site, hopefully there's further opportunity there.  CMHA is upgrading their rundown 60s-era buildings just north of the station which is positive.

Excellent infographic on the issues with cold and old trains

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/article22798455.ece/BINARY/w620/WEB-nw-to-ttc-cold-0204.png

 

Oh no! Not shrinkage!!

 

^ I'm glad I'm not the only one that had that come to mind

 

Edit: while walking down Madison, trying to get to W 117, I noticed that the 25 bus doesn't run on the weekends. Since when did that happen??

Don't think this was previously posted:

 

RTA planners: Keep East 34th and East 79th rail stations open

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/02/rta_planners_keep_east_34th_an.html#incart_related_stories

 

Upgrading the East 34th Street station that has the Red, Blue and Green Lines, which is used by an average of 288 people a day, will cost $7 million. Repairing the Red Line station at East 79th, used by 155 people a day on average, will cost $12 million.

 

No mention of RTA having looked at the option of relocating the stations to better locations (as KJP has illustrated)

 

But, there as this good news at the end:

 

Cleveland recently passed a zoning measure that will ensure higher densities and urban development standards along the 79th Street corridor.

 

I'm surprised and glad these stations remain open.  It's lightly populated in these areas now, esp along E. 79th, but the people there need these stations, esp with the no. 12 bus along Woodland removed a few years ago.  Too bad more consideration couldn't have been given to relocating the Red Line's E. 79 station to E. 89-Buckeye-Woodland, but losing any of the 3 stations in question would have been far worse.  Let's hope at least some TOD development can happen near these station.  I know about the 60 jobs mentioned for Orlando Bakery's expanded plant along Grand Ave.  With their razing the old vacant Van Dorn factory buildings and clearing that site, hopefully there's further opportunity there.  CMHA is upgrading their rundown 60s-era buildings just north of the station which is positive.

 

"Neighborhoods near the rail stops have had a drop in population and no sustained business development, so it makes sense to spend millions to repair them only if future residential and commercial projects boost ridership, the research found."

 

So they decided to do it even though it doesn't make sense.

 

Current levels of ridership can be served by buses (restoring or adding lines as necessary), which of course can stop closer to where the riders are.  Saying that this expensive asset should be tied up because a few people "need" it is not only incorrect, it sounds like the looters in "Atlas Shrugged".

^That article similarly confused me. I half expected the headline to have been wrong when I got to the sentence you quote.  It appears RTA believes the city's promises (below) and is justifying its decision to rebuild on those grounds:

 

The city of Cleveland's regional development chief, Edward Rybka, assured RTA this week that Cleveland will put city dollars on the line to stimulate growth in nearby  neighborhoods.

 

"I want to be very clear that we're not going to have plans put on the shelf after RTA makes a significant investment in the stations," Rybka told members of RTA's planning and development committee.

I remain concerned that the East 34th station will remain a low ridership station (unless GCRTA extends the E Line trolley to it) because there is no development planned or very little even possible within a half-mile of the station through some of the most inhospitable pedestrian environments imaginable. Yet this station replacement is funded.

 

But I am slightly more optimistic about the East 79th Red Line station. There appears to be some property sales in this area which might produce some mixed-use development nearby, and the city and GCRTA are pursuing a grant from NOACA to develop a station-area development plan to support more transit-friendly development patterns within a half-mile of this station. Notice that the CDC wasn't among the grant applicants listed -- they don't seem to have much interest in promoting transit-friendly station-area development yet want Cuyahoga County taxpayers to pay $12 million to keep this station open. This station is not yet funded.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/cleveland-metro/road-closed-after-rta-bus-catches-on-fire

E. 116 Station (just west of Shaker Square) redevelopment -- public meeting February 17, 2015 to present final station design (construction to begin sometime in 2016)

 

http://www.riderta.com/majorprojects/e116