6 hours ago, KJP said:

 

Sort of. I have housing densities for the urban core of Cleveland, as well as for overall density in Cleveland that also shows some inner-ring suburbs where most of the housing density is located. The other maps/charts show how much transit-supportive zoning there is within high-frequency transit corridors -- it's only 5.5% of land area or if you want to push it, 21.6% of land area is somewhat supportive or better. That's still pretty bad.

 

The dark blue areas in this map show where housing densities are 30 units per acre or better, the minimum threshold for transit-supportive housing density...

 

 

Again, blue is transit-supportive housing density in Cleveland and inner-ring suburbs. Not a lot of blue on there...

 

 

You can't have transit supportive density if your zoning doesn't allow for it. And the darker the green, the more transit supportive the zoning is...

 

 

This is using those color codes to measure how much applied zoning is transit-supportive and how much isn't. In other words, we don't allow land use to be transit-supportive, even in high-frequency transit corridors. And that's a big reason why our transit ridership is so low...

 

Thanks -- that's a lot of information to digest.  While it is nice to see downtown become more solidly "dark blue," it's disappointing that there aren't more pockets of blue spaced along the major transit corridors.  That is where RTA really needs to be advocating for change, particularly where the zoning is preventing increased density immediately adjacent the stations.

 

Shaker did a great job at Van Aken and they already have Shaker Square at the other end, so it seems like they should "get" the need for and advantages of TOD.  But the Green line east of Shaker does not seem to have many opportunities for increased density.  And if you can't build TOD along our rail routes, it's really going to be hard to get TOD on the bus routes.

1 hour ago, Foraker said:

Thanks -- that's a lot of information to digest.  While it is nice to see downtown become more solidly "dark blue," it's disappointing that there aren't more pockets of blue spaced along the major transit corridors.  That is where RTA really needs to be advocating for change, particularly where the zoning is preventing increased density immediately adjacent the stations.

 

Shaker did a great job at Van Aken and they already have Shaker Square at the other end, so it seems like they should "get" the need for and advantages of TOD.  But the Green line east of Shaker does not seem to have many opportunities for increased density.  And if you can't build TOD along our rail routes, it's really going to be hard to get TOD on the bus routes.

I disagree with the premise that we can’t add density on the Green Line. The median from Warrensville Center to Green Rd is MASSIVE! Line that thing with Point Access Block apartments and we’re in business. It’s a political, zoning, and building code problem, not a space problem. 

13 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

I disagree with the premise that we can’t add density on the Green Line. The median from Warrensville Center to Green Rd is MASSIVE! Line that thing with Point Access Block apartments and we’re in business. It’s a political, zoning, and building code problem, not a space problem. 

Absolutely.  But between Shaker and Warrensville it's pretty well developed into large-lot single family homes.  There it's not so much a zoning problem as a no-room-to-develop problem.  Not insurmountable, but more difficult to add density.

18 minutes ago, Foraker said:

Absolutely.  But between Shaker and Warrensville it's pretty well developed into large-lot single family homes.  There it's not so much a zoning problem as a no-room-to-develop problem.  Not insurmountable, but more difficult to add density.

 

The median isn't. And the areas surrounding the stations at Warrensville and Green are vastly underdeveloped for a transit station setting. I especially like the Warrensville station area that could be developed as an extension of John Carroll University, especially with the west side of Warrensville undeveloped from the college to the station. In fact, I renamed the Shaker-Warrensville station as Shaker-College Station.

 

 

 

At the Green station, I made this long before the pandemic. So all of the parking near the West Green station could be developed too.

 

6 hours ago, KJP said:

 

The median isn't. And the areas surrounding the stations at Warrensville and Green are vastly underdeveloped for a transit station setting. I especially like the Warrensville station area that could be developed as an extension of John Carroll University, especially with the west side of Warrensville undeveloped from the college to the station. In fact, I renamed the Shaker-Warrensville station as Shaker-College Station.

 

 

 

At the Green station, I made this long before the pandemic. So all of the parking near the West Green station could be developed too.

 

I was thinking four to six story Point Access Block multifamily with fancy facades to fit the character of the neighborhood, therefore substantially more density to support local retail and drive real ridership numbers on the green line. But otherwise very much in line with your proposals. There’s even plenty of room at the Belvoir station between the two of your awesome ToD plans. It’s really incredible how much underutilized land there is. You could have skinny point access block buildings with heavy screening between them and the street (e.g. a double row of evergreen trees) there’s so much space. 

PRESS RELEASE: Greater Cleveland RTA Must Make Significant Improvements to New Transit Lines

 

Posted on June 27, 2024

 

GREATER CLEVELAND RTA MUST MAKE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS TO NEW TRANSIT LINES

 

Riders call for major upgrades to future bus rapid transit projects at community open house tonight

 

https://clefortransit.org/2024/06/27/press-release-greater-cleveland-rta-must-make-significant-improvements-to-new-transit-lines/

 

I wouldn’t be entirely upset if RTA kept this branding. 
 

W25 BRT Meeting last week, really great turnout. It was the typical write on a postit and post your thoughts type meeting:

 

 

Talking to one of the RTA staff, it sounds like all stops will have shelters which is a huge improvement vs present day.

Edited July 2, 2024Jul 2 by GISguy

On 6/11/2024 at 9:51 AM, JohnOSU99 said:

I plan on visiting Cleveland for my birthday in August and my only birthday wish is that the Waterfront Line is back up and running on a regular schedule.  Here's to another birthday wish not coming true, lol.

Soon any rail will be ''special occasion'' service.  Send that RTA GM back to Nashville; oh wait, she got run out of that no transit city and was brought to Cleveland to turn things around based on her ''experience''.  Experience at what? Promoting a transit initiative in Nashville to create a real transit that failed and RTA picked her up for some reason to turn around a large transit system. 

 

Something is wrong here...but no one cares and will not take the risk of criticizing India Birdsong. I knew she was bad news when she pulled that early maternity leave that forced RTA to amend its contract.  Birdsong now makes $335,000.

 

CLE needs, among many things, a competent transit leader.

Edited July 3, 2024Jul 3 by Oxford19

On 6/29/2024 at 2:31 PM, roman totale XVII said:

I wouldn’t be entirely upset if RTA kept this branding. 
 

Yes, way better than RTA's 1970s color scheme.  The MTA signs etc look great.

On 6/27/2024 at 9:05 PM, KJP said:

PRESS RELEASE: Greater Cleveland RTA Must Make Significant Improvements to New Transit Lines

 

Posted on June 27, 2024

 

GREATER CLEVELAND RTA MUST MAKE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS TO NEW TRANSIT LINES

 

Riders call for major upgrades to future bus rapid transit projects at community open house tonight

 

https://clefortransit.org/2024/06/27/press-release-greater-cleveland-rta-must-make-significant-improvements-to-new-transit-lines/

 

 

I have seen little if any evidence that GCRTA has made significant changes to its priorities since the Calabrese era.

 

Without signal priority, "BRT" is an oxymoron.

Fair point. The city never really addressed why it abandoned signal priority, plus the ongoing back-and-forth nonsense about "equity" with fair evasion/enforcement has just led to longer trips.

 

45 minutes from Public Square to Stokes is NOT BRT by any stretch of the imagination.

 

It's all so laughable. Seems this line was cursed on day one (the same day National City collapsed).

 

 

Edited July 3, 2024Jul 3 by TBideon

18 minutes ago, TBideon said:

Fair point. The city never really addressed why it abandoned signal priority, plus the ongoing back-and-forth nonsense about "equity" with fair evasion/enforcement has just led to longer trips.

 

45 minutes from Public Square to Stokes is NOT BRT by any stretch of the imagination.

 

It's all so laughable. Seems this line was cursed on day one (the same day National City collapsed).

 

 

 

Hell I was getting from Thwing Student Center to PS in 15-20 minutes on the 9 in the mid 80s.

2 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

I have seen little if any evidence that GCRTA has made significant changes to its priorities since the Calabrese era.

 

Without signal priority, "BRT" is an oxymoron.

Signal priority should be re-instated along with off board fair payment/ POP.

48 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

Hell I was getting from Thwing Student Center to PS in 15-20 minutes on the 9 in the mid 80s.

The number 6 was smooth sailing when I went to Case. I couldn't tell you how long the ride went, but it didn't seem bad.

 

Hell, the 9 and 9x weren't too shabby from Lyndhurst to downtown either. Maybe 45 minutes? An hour? I can't recall.

 

32X was solid too.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2024Jul 3 by TBideon

Cleveland's BRT/HealthLine...from Silver rated to Bronze rated.  Decades waiting for an updated system to serve Euclid Avenue, from a subway to light-rail to a lackluster BRT line that was dropped to Bronze level by an incompetent Cleveland Municipal Judge.  No way would RTA challenge her inept and illogic ruling.

 

What's up with no signal priority on Euclid Avenue; not that it really matters now given the downgraded service thanks to said judge.

 

 RTA will go from swirling to down the drain unless Cleveland gets a competent GM and stops with the "personal box checking'' being qualifications.

Edited July 3, 2024Jul 3 by Oxford19

4 hours ago, TBideon said:

45 minutes from Public Square to Stokes is NOT BRT by any stretch of the imagination.

Just to drive your point home even more, the 3 bus takes 36 minutes to get from Public Square to Stokes. It's a 6.6 mile route vs the Healthline's 6.8, but has fewer traffic lights and passengers boarding/paying fares. 

 

The Healthline should obviously have signal priority and I would love an upgrade to rail, but I also think having it terminate at the Cedar station would be better as well. Steal a lane from Stearns and MLK so it has it's own lane for the entire route. It would make the route much more efficient. Then have another bus, possibly make the 28/28A another BRT route, and extend down to the Cedar station from East Cleveland. It would involve a transfer for some UH or Clinic employees, but would likely be an improvement for everyone else. 

 

We don't have ridership data, but I would bet most people boarding in East Cleveland and beyond the Cornell/Mayfield Rd area aren't taking the Healthline all the way Downtown. From Stokes, they can get there 10 minutes faster on the 3, and 25 minutes faster on the red line.  

 

I don't know if this is the correct answer without seeing more data, but I think it's an improvement over what we currently have. 

2 minutes ago, Oxford19 said:

Cleveland's BRT/HealthLine...from Silver rated to Bronze rated.  Decades waiting for an updated system to serve Euclid Avenue, from a subway to light-rail to a lackluster BRT line that was dropped to Bronze level by a Cleveland Municipal Judge.

 

 RTA will go from swirling to down the drain unless Cleveland gets a competent GM and stops with the "personal box checking'' being qualifications.

 

3 hours ago, TBideon said:

The number 6 was smooth sailing when I went to Case. I couldn't tell you how long the ride went, but it didn't seem bad.

 

Hell, the 9 and 9x weren't too shabby from Lyndhurst to downtown either. Maybe 45 minutes? An hour? I can't recall.

 

32X was solid too.

 

 

Those were the days of great transit in Cleveland.

2 minutes ago, Oxford19 said:

 

Those were the days of great transit in Cleveland.

 

The merger was the worst thing to happen to transit in Cleveland, especially being managed as it was by advocates of the lowest common denominator and an almost entirely downtown-centric system.

the joke is that euclid and its intersecting streets aren't even that congested (except for cars double parked in valet zones downtown). They could flip on signal prioritization tomorrow and nobody besides bus riders would even notice.

That whole street is just a nightmare to drive on in general. If they closed it down from CSU to Public Square and pedestrianized those blocks, that would be fantastic. Let the gangly buses drive on the enormous Superior instead. 

3 hours ago, E Rocc said:

 

The merger was the worst thing to happen to transit in Cleveland, especially being managed as it was by advocates of the lowest common denominator and an almost entirely downtown-centric system.

You keep saying this, yet you have never answered the question of how independent transit systems in Cuyahoga County would run better today than the unified system. 

4 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

You keep saying this, yet you have never answered the question of how independent transit systems in Cuyahoga County would run better today than the unified system. 

Same as independent transit systems in Cuyahoga County did pre-unified system, just like the CTA...those were the days of great transit in Cleveland.  Current GM is out of her league.

33 minutes ago, Oxford19 said:

Same as independent transit systems in Cuyahoga County did pre-unified system, just like the CTA...those were the days of great transit in Cleveland.  Current GM is out of her league.

This does not answer the question. The respective tax bases of the communities that ran independent transit systems have collapsed (for the most part). And labor costs are much higher. I do not see any evidence that indy systems would be better. I’m open to counter examples, but my bigger issue is that Eric has repeatedly made that initial point, but never answered the obvious follow up question despite being asked many times. 

On 7/3/2024 at 11:45 PM, Boomerang_Brian said:

This does not answer the question. The respective tax bases of the communities that ran independent transit systems have collapsed (for the most part). And labor costs are much higher. I do not see any evidence that indy systems would be better. I’m open to counter examples, but my bigger issue is that Eric has repeatedly made that initial point, but never answered the obvious follow up question despite being asked many times. 

My reply was a bit facetious, but now that you mentioned it, what communities that ran independent transit systems collapsed? Brecksville and North Olmsted's tax base collapsed?  Garfield Hts, Maple Hts, and Euclid took tax base hits, but collapsed?

 

Cleveland was in free fall population collapse prior to CTS becoming RTA and has yet to bottom out from its now 7 full decades of, and at least the midpoint 2020s, of population loss.  If any of the cities involved with the RTA merger had its tax base collapse, it's Cleveland.

 

Although CLE has recovered some its tax base, it's not because of, or even a partly due to, its transit system.

 

I've heard points made that had Cleveland built its 1950s subway, its decline may not have been as steep.  Instead we got the cheap and easy Red Line (with 1 downtown hub station buried under TC which has now come back to haunt Cleveland), followed by the failed Water Front Line extension, and the promising, yet disappointing BRT/HealthLine (after waiting 25 years for an innovative transit line for the Dual Hubs of Downtown-University Circle.  Hell, the WFL can't even be depended on during its limited runs for 8+ Browns home games.  Then again, RTA is not dependable.

 

Btw, I just noticed there's a ''No Politics'' below my screen name as I am ''banned'' from current events for some reason...lol..yet a discussion of CLE RTA is rife with political issues lol

Edited July 5, 2024Jul 5 by Oxford19

18 minutes ago, Oxford19 said:

My reply was a bit facetious, but now that you mentioned it, what communities that ran independent transit systems collapsed? Brecksville and North Olmsted's tax base collapsed?  Garfield Hts, Maple Hts, and Euclid took tax base hits, but collapsed?

 

But RTA isn't funded by Cleveland alone.  Returning some bus lines to Garfield Heights, for example, would be a step backward from the current regional funding regime.

1 hour ago, Foraker said:

 

But RTA isn't funded by Cleveland alone.  Returning some bus lines to Garfield Heights, for example, would be a step backward from the current regional funding regime.

Didn't say RTA is funded by Cleveland alone...and who mentioned returning bus lines to Garfield Heights? Huh?

 

RTA recovery Step 1: fire India Birdsong

Edited July 5, 2024Jul 5 by Oxford19

Yes, posters who refuse to answer questions in good faith and only post conspiracy theories tend to get banned from the politics section of this forum in order to keep that section tolerable. And when they drag those conversations into other threads they get banned from posting entirely. 

5 hours ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Yes, posters who refuse to answer questions in good faith and only post conspiracy theories tend to get banned from the politics section of this forum in order to keep that section tolerable. And when they drag those conversations into other threads they get banned from posting entirely. 

I did answer in food faith then you respond with the above and avoid my other response?

 

Conspiracy theory here is that the communities' transit that merged with RTA had its tax base collapse.  Please name them. 

1 hour ago, Oxford19 said:

I did answer in food faith then you respond with the above and avoid my other response?

 

Conspiracy theory here is that the communities' transit that merged with RTA had its tax base collapse.  Please name them. 

I was referring to your posts in the politics forum leading to you losing Current Events privileges. 
 

My question here was directed to Eric. You are welcome to read the thread history where this topic has been discussed ad nauseam, leading to my calling out his disingenuous post.  

25 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

I was referring to your posts in the politics forum leading to you losing Current Events privileges. 
 

My question here was directed to Eric. You are welcome to read the thread history where this topic has been discussed ad nauseam, leading to my calling out his disingenuous post.  

Oh, that's right the conspiracy theories in the politics forum yet the posts still remain...hmm.

 

Anyway, the merger involving CTS, RTA, and others may indeed been extensively discussed yet I was asking which pre-RTA merger communities' tax bases collapsed as you stated.  That's all yet you're avoiding the question though...

 

Post-merger RTA tanked, now in its 5th decade of free fall, so the fact that someone says it's the worst thing to happen to CLE transit isn't exactly misplaced despite the fact that pre-merger indy transit communities' tax base did not collapse.

nice to hear —

 

 

Column criticizing Cleveland transit compared to Denver’s left out a few things

 

Published: Jul. 07, 2024, 3:04 p.m.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/letters/2024/07/column-criticizing-cleveland-transit-compared-to-denvers-left-out-a-few-things.html

On 7/3/2024 at 6:10 PM, Boomerang_Brian said:

You keep saying this, yet you have never answered the question of how independent transit systems in Cuyahoga County would run better today than the unified system. 

 

The last independent system in the county was Maple Heights Transit, which remained autonomous for awhile.   It ran much better than GCRTA at the time, even with older equipment.

 

Competition helps, if only to highlight the inefficiencies of the lesser competitor.

Edited July 8, 2024Jul 8 by E Rocc

47 minutes ago, E Rocc said:

 

The last independent system in the county was Maple Heights Transit, which remained autonomous for awhile.   It ran much better than GCRTA at the time, even with older equipment.

 

Competition helps, if only to highlight the inefficiencies of the lesser competitor.

 

no, thats like comparing a squirrel to an elephant. 

 

the reality here is overall consolidation for public services is by far more efficient and better for the taxpayer.

 

institutional problems like service and spending involve a lack of consistent oversight. how did rta get to be some untouchable fiefdom? what chased off the good guys at rta like ron tober? fix that.

 

1 hour ago, E Rocc said:

 

The last independent system in the county was Maple Heights Transit, which remained autonomous for awhile.   It ran much better than GCRTA at the time, even with older equipment.

 

Competition helps, if only to highlight the inefficiencies of the lesser competitor.

Eric, this doesn’t answer the question. That was 40+ years ago. How would Maple Heights (or any other inner ring suburb with a collapsed tax base) operate a successful transit system TODAY? How would it afford the much higher labor costs? How would it deal with bus vendors and other key suppliers as such a small agency? How would it staff a maintenance department with no economies of scale? Across the country there are countless examples of small agencies operated independently by a suburb and there is a common theme - they all SUCK. Terrible frequency, no reliability, no information. They are a box-checking exercise that doesn’t meaningfully help the community. These are just a few of the really good reasons that so many metro transit system consolidated! Your repeated claims that the transit systems should have stayed independent doesn’t hold up against the most basic of critiques. Either back up the claim with some evidence of how it would work in the current environment, or stop making that claim. RTA has many challenges and we need to be focused on solutions that can actually improve public transit in our community, not pining for “the good old days”. 

33 minutes ago, Boomerang_Brian said:

Eric, this doesn’t answer the question. That was 40+ years ago. How would Maple Heights (or any other inner ring suburb with a collapsed tax base) operate a successful transit system TODAY? How would it afford the much higher labor costs? How would it deal with bus vendors and other key suppliers as such a small agency? How would it staff a maintenance department with no economies of scale? Across the country there are countless examples of small agencies operated independently by a suburb and there is a common theme - they all SUCK. Terrible frequency, no reliability, no information. They are a box-checking exercise that doesn’t meaningfully help the community. These are just a few of the really good reasons that so many metro transit system consolidated! Your repeated claims that the transit systems should have stayed independent doesn’t hold up against the most basic of critiques. Either back up the claim with some evidence of how it would work in the current environment, or stop making that claim. RTA has many challenges and we need to be focused on solutions that can actually improve public transit in our community, not pining for “the good old days”. 

Excerpted from an OMOT.org. article

 

"Under different names at different times, the village (now city) of Maple Heights has operated direct bus service to Public Square  and a crosstown line connecting with the Van Aken Boulevard line of Shaker Heights Rapid Transit ever since 1935."

 

"Midday and Saturday service to Cleveland is offered every half hour, with Sunday trips every two hours. Headways on the Dunham-Crosstown route are about the same."

 

Did Maple Hts. Transit only have two routes or were there more?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, this is how Cleveland treats dedicated bus lanes (which when compared to rail reveals the fallacy of "dedicated")...

 

 

4 hours ago, KJP said:

Meanwhile, this is how Cleveland treats dedicated bus lanes (which when compared to rail reveals the fallacy of "dedicated")...

 

 

This is definitely not due to filming either, I have seen this numerous times.

I find that a lot of the RTA bus lines ending at Public Square becomes quite a pain when it comes to getting passed downtown.

 

For example, I'll be moving to Edgewater soon and was looking at the route options to get to my work in Midtown. The best option is the CSU line, then transfer to the Health Line with a wait time of up to 10 minutes give-or-take, depending on the time of day/schedules.

 

Now, obviously, many trips don't call for going straight across the city. But why not have the busses "loop" in Public square and then continue East or West out of downtown opposite of where they came?

 

The 26 goes down Detroit. Wouldn't it make sense for it to continue down Superior/St. Clair/Prospect? Especially if a new BRT Line is put in down Detroit, shouldn't that just continue down Euclid as the Healthline? If not Detroit, then Lorain or whatever you want.

 

Is there something I'm missing here? I'm certainly no transit expert and I'm sure this is much easier said than done. But, this problem comes up a lot for me, and I can only imagine how annoying it must be for folks without other means for transportation.

10 hours ago, KJP said:

Meanwhile, this is how Cleveland treats dedicated bus lanes (which when compared to rail reveals the fallacy of "dedicated")...

 

 

lol I mean I just can't anymore. The way we treat transit in this region, let alone country is just insane. 

Wanna know why these car brains think busses worsen traffic? It's because of this BS allowed by the city, transit agencies and cops that force buses in car lanes, and you have an endless cycle. BRT my ass

Despite these problems, I hope Clevelanders can recognize that they still have an amazing transit system overall.  One of the things that my husband and I love about visiting Cleveland is the fact that we can park our car at the hotel and never have to touch it again for the entire weekend.  We always stay at a hotel next to a Red Line station which gives us easy access to downtown and the rest of the RTA bus and rapid system.  It hurts my transit-loving heart that we have to show proof of purchase on the Blue/Green/BRT lines, but at least those lines exist and get us to where we want to go.

Quote

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has won a $10.6 million federal grant to purchase and deploy new electric buses in poorer, high ridership areas, federal officials announced Tuesday.

The money will be used to replace some of the RTA’s diesel buses with electric ones, as well as install charging stations for the new vehicles.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/greater-cleveland-rta-wins-10-6m-grant-to-buy-electric-buses-for-poorer-service-areas/ar-BB1pGK7U

On 7/8/2024 at 4:39 PM, Zagapi said:

I find that a lot of the RTA bus lines ending at Public Square becomes quite a pain when it comes to getting passed downtown.

 

For example, I'll be moving to Edgewater soon and was looking at the route options to get to my work in Midtown. The best option is the CSU line, then transfer to the Health Line with a wait time of up to 10 minutes give-or-take, depending on the time of day/schedules.

 

Now, obviously, many trips don't call for going straight across the city. But why not have the busses "loop" in Public square and then continue East or West out of downtown opposite of where they came?

 

The 26 goes down Detroit. Wouldn't it make sense for it to continue down Superior/St. Clair/Prospect? Especially if a new BRT Line is put in down Detroit, shouldn't that just continue down Euclid as the Healthline? If not Detroit, then Lorain or whatever you want.

 

Is there something I'm missing here? I'm certainly no transit expert and I'm sure this is much easier said than done. But, this problem comes up a lot for me, and I can only imagine how annoying it must be for folks without other means for transportation.

 

Welcome to my neighborhood of 28 years! 

 

The 26 used to be combined with the 3 to be called the 326. When buses on side of town ran late (which was and is often), it would get later and later to the point that the bus behind it would catch up to it. So instead of having a bus every 15 minutes, you'd get a 30-minute gap with the bus showing up packed with standees. You'd have to get on because you didn't the empty bus behind it yet.

 

A good way to fix this is to go to a proof-of-payment fare structure systemwide and standardize the traffic light preemption among all safety forces in the county (probably could get a Homeland Security grant for this) and put GCRTA buses on the same system (get an FTA grant for that), thereby giving buses (and Shaker Rapids) signal pre-emption at all intersections. Those two changes would not only dramatically speed up all transit routes and save labor and fuel costs, but it could improve the on-time performance of transit lines.

1 hour ago, KJP said:

 

Welcome to my neighborhood of 28 years! 

 

The 26 used to be combined with the 3 to be called the 326. When buses on side of town ran late (which was and is often), it would get later and later to the point that the bus behind it would catch up to it. So instead of having a bus every 15 minutes, you'd get a 30-minute gap with the bus showing up packed with standees. You'd have to get on because you didn't the empty bus behind it yet.

 

A good way to fix this is to go to a proof-of-payment fare structure systemwide and standardize the traffic light preemption among all safety forces in the county (probably could get a Homeland Security grant for this) and put GCRTA buses on the same system (get an FTA grant for that), thereby giving buses (and Shaker Rapids) signal pre-emption at all intersections. Those two changes would not only dramatically speed up all transit routes and save labor and fuel costs, but it could improve the on-time performance of transit lines.

 

Thanks! I can't wait to have some sense of permanence in Cleveland now that I'll finally own my own place. Hopefully I don't blow my wallet and health on too much late-night breakfast at My Friend's!

 

I like the suggestions you've made. Hopefully these and other options to increase speed/reliability are being considered. I'm sure there's plenty of hard-working folks working on these types of issues that outside people like me can't see.

 

As someone who works in project management for the public sector, there are so many things to consider that quickly complicate the situation. "Why don't they just do this?!" Well, because there's a lot more to it than just that lol.

And a giant F-K YOU from RTA today as no green or blue lines are heading east from Tower City, and finding the goddamm 67X on Prospect was a miracle. There's no bus stop for this shuttle either. 

 

Beyond annoyed, and the driver chain smoking and yelling at his cell phone outside is not exactly a welcoming moment.

53 minutes ago, TBideon said:

And a giant F-K YOU from RTA today as no green or blue lines are heading east from Tower City, and finding the goddamm 67X on Prospect was a miracle. There's no bus stop for this shuttle either. 

 

Beyond annoyed, and the driver chain smoking and yelling at his cell phone outside is not exactly a welcoming moment.

And there won't be until early August. I get that repairs and upgrades are necessary, but imagine just closing down a highway for a month. This country just does not care about transit. 

 

I had the same issue finding the replacement bus last summer during the rail shutdown when trying to get to Larchmere Porchfest. Tower City to E55 was down. After a few minutes of looking. We asked another bus driver where to go, who told us the wrong place. Then we happened to pass another bus parked away from any stops or markings, with no number or destination displayed on the bus, and asked that driver if he knew where to go. It was his unmarked bus.

On 7/8/2024 at 4:28 PM, PlanCleveland said:

This is definitely not due to filming either, I have seen this numerous times.

 

I follow her, it turned out to be on a Sunday morning and they allow parking there for Old Stone Church.   Usually there's signs.

9 minutes ago, PlanCleveland said:

And there won't be until early August. I get that repairs and upgrades are necessary, but imagine just closing down a highway for a month. This country just does not care about transit. 

 

I had the same issue finding the replacement bus last summer during the rail shutdown when trying to get to Larchmere Porchfest. Tower City to E55 was down. After a few minutes of looking. We asked another bus driver where to go, who told us the wrong place. Then we happened to pass another bus parked away from any stops or markings, with no number or destination displayed on the bus, and asked that driver if he knew where to go. It was his unmarked bus.

 

One of my common surface routes (Canal at Hillside) has been closed down for a couple weeks now and Munson Rd in Mentor is about to close for a month.

Wouldn't it be nice, magical even, if there were CLEAR messaging at the airport and ON the redline heading east that the green and blue lines are offline, and one has go to go x location on Prospect for a shuttle.

 

The RTA won't/can't even do the BARE MINIMUM and inform passengers, except for a difficult-to-use website and uninterested personnel.

 

No more defending RTA.

11 hours ago, TBideon said:

Wouldn't it be nice, magical even, if there were CLEAR messaging at the airport and ON the redline heading east that the green and blue lines are offline, and one has go to go x location on Prospect for a shuttle.

 

The RTA won't/can't even do the BARE MINIMUM and inform passengers, except for a difficult-to-use website and uninterested personnel.

 

No more defending RTA.

 

This is nothing new.   I was dating a woman who lived near Shaker Square when I was in college.  I took the Red to 34th and the green or blue never arrived.  It was down that weekend, basically without notice.   In an era before cell phones, I "lived with the canines" for awhile.

 

This is what happens when the main focus of an entity is a captive audience.