no, I'm not a woman and I do take that into consideration.  Again, just trying to understand where you are coming from as other have stated as well.

 

but anyway.....getting back to the GREATER CLEVELAND RTA SAYS HELLO THREAD. 

 

Lord knows I don't want THE HBIC to put up a graphic and go off on us!

Agreed!  Peace?  Sorry, I just am, like I said, hypersensitive to criticism of living in the burbs.  It's just what I prefer.

Agreed!  Peace?  Sorry, I just am, like I said, hypersensitive to criticism of living in the burbs.  It's just what I prefer.

 

No worries honey.    This is urbanohio you're going to have to get over being hypersensitive!  LOL. :wink:  We are a witty bunch here!

 

The next time someone comments on where you live, just say, "would you like to pay my rent/mortage??"  I'm sure silence will be the next thing you hear!

Or perhaps, "Do you have free heat?"  :)

Just FYI, I live in Lakewood and I have free heat and water and a gas stove, in an affordable small apartment.  I'm a female and I feel quite safe in my nabe.  That's just my experience, YMMV.  But this is off topic, sorry, back to RTA... I do have good bus service here on Clifton.  There, now we're back.

I think parts of lakewood are still very nice and safe.  When I lived there, I got close to 15 parking tickets, got robbed, had my car broken into, had my outgoing  mail (with checks which were re-used) stolen twice (left for the mailman.  won't do that again) and in one building, was victim (as were many others) to a semi-retarded gentleman who was stealing the women's underwear out of their laundry in the laundry room.  But honestly, SAFETY is not my issue with lakewood, even with all those stories.  The parking problem was a big hassle.  The only places I really enjoyed living there were apartments where there was a free parking lot (do you have that?), and I enjoyed it a lot.  And nobody ever harassed me on the street. My issue with not wanting to live there now is not safety.  I would just rather not, for reasons I'd rather not get into online.

 

Edited as an attempt to keep on-topic:  I did use public trans there to get to/from work and it was great service.

good Lord woman, you've definitely had some "experiences".  :-o

I didn't even mention the time I fell down the back stairway (metal, icy) when I was taking my trash out (required to take it this way but nothing was done to take care of the steps) and I managed to get a huge gash in my hand and had to go to the ER.  Yes, it's been an interesting life.

It will all be in my book. Well, maybe not down to those details. 

15 parking tickets.  How can a person get that many parking tickets in Lakewood?

Be very careful, the suburbs have been known to freeze over too!!!!

 

 

Well, I worked a LOT of jobs then and I was very, very sick.  One actually does speak to the other -  I'd have to quit certain types of jobs when I became too sick and then go back to them when I was doing a little better.  My first year in Cleveland I filed 13 W-2s and the 2nd it was 11; those were not fun years.  Anyway I usually had 2 jobs at a time to try to make ends meet and was on welfare.  If you count some of the extra writing gigs and the occasional night classes I taught, I had 3 and sometimes 4 jobs at a time :)  Because I worked until late at night there was nowhere to park for miles on the "correct" side of the street and due to having to rush in to use the bathroom, I'd often just park on the 'wrong' side (the one that expires at 6:30) and fully intend to be able to get up and out there before they could tow me. But again and again it didn't work.  Once I parked nearly a mile away from my building to park on the right side and it was SO snowy and cold walking back, I was nothing but mad.  And in the morning I had a ticket for partially blocking someone's driveway.  I will admit probably one or two of them were from being drunk (my way of medicating myself at the time when medications didn't work) and forgetting that I parked on the wrong side, so it's not all a sob story and it's not like the lakewood PD were doing anything wrong.

I'm really sorry for hijacking this thread with all my ramblings and promise to keep on topic going forward!

Damn girl! You have a hell of a lot more stamina and perserverance than I would have. I'm fortunate to live on Clifton at Beach, have a heated parking garage, natural gas stove, central air conditioning in my condo unit, fifth-floor balcony, indoor pool (seventh floor), party room (seventh floor), sun deck, lots of storage lockers, clean and warm laundry room in the basement and a well-kept, well-maintained building. And I was able to buy my two-bedroom unit for $45,000 back in 1996. Wonder why I don't want to sell it and move????

 

It also has excellent transit access to the 55, 807, 75x and the 26 (the old 326 on Detroit which still has 24-hour service). How's that for keeping this puppy on topic?!?!?!?!

The CEO of RTA lives within 1/2 mile of only 1 transit line (the 49).  Why is transit such a low priority of the leader of our transit system?  If he felt it at all to be important, I'd imagine that he would have at least considered transit accessibility when he purchased his home.  Transit availability influenced my decision for both current and previous residencies although I can afford to drive my car every day.  Transit ranks higher on my list of priorities than for the guy that runs the agency.  I find that to be odd.

 

Also, the CEO of RTA can be observed in an RTA auto to get from their offices on W 6th to the NOACA offices on E 13th.  That is the exact route the B-line trolley takes.  I will admit to spotting the RTA CEO on the E-line trolley before and seeing him board the #246.  He does use transit, but it's obviously not important enough to influence his home purchase or for all his meetings across downtown.

 

So before we all start bashing rockandroller (and other UOers) too much for their transit/residency choices, maybe we should first start asking that our leaders lead by example?

 

KJP sets a fine example.  He constantly advocates for transit, and he lives in a location to take advantage of it.  I'm sure he enjoys the advantages of RTA and his fine neighborhood.  The RTA CEO, however, lives in Westlake in a subdivision with several culdesacs.  Culdesacs are as anti-transit as a street can get.  I'm sure it's a fine house.  That is not the issue.  He could have purchased an equally fine house with transit availability as well, but chose not to.  If everybody else acted like the RTA CEO, RTA would have no customers.

 

 

^ You sound like a stalker!  :-D

Maybe, but he's right -- except in one respect. I'd like to take transit to work more often, which is a one-seat ride from where I live. Problem is, buses run only hourly on the #75 from Clifton/W.117th to the far west end of North Olmsted. It used to be half-hourly until RTA took every other bus and routed them down to the North Olmsted Park and Ride -- about two miles short of where I work.

 

Another factor is that the bus ride takes more than twice as long timewise compared to driving. That could be addressed by signal prioritization, but RTA hasn't shown any interest in that for even its busiest bus routes, let along the middle-of-the-pack routes like the #75. So I drive, even though I don't want to.

 

BTW, welcome to the board Pete. Please keep us posted on the transit-using habits (or lack thereof) of GM Joe. And don't let DanB dissuade you!

I agree with KJP.  When I lived in N. Olmsted and had to take the 75X, it was a murderous commute - kind of like the 6 for those of you who have ridden that. It just took FOREVER and I would inevitably get sick.  I actually get sick on public trans all the time but if the ride is kept to a fairly short duration (25-30 mins) and I wear my Sea-Band bracelets, it's tolerable, but I have to eat a little something before I leave in the morning even though I'm not hungry because if I ride with an empty stomach, I'll barf.  Yes, I have barf bags in my backpack; it's happened.  So I kind of consider myself extra virtuous for taking it. :)  But the 75X was so bad I just couldn't take it all the time.  If I were running even a few minutes late in the morning I knew I'd be egregiously late on the other side because it took over an hour to get to my job.  And I had to work a lot of OT and knew I'd be facing a long and sick trip home at the end of the day, so I'd drive.  The flyers weren't an option because I had to walk to catch the bus as me and my ex only had 1 car.  He could have driven me to the park and ride but I worked too late to get the flyer home and sometimes contemplating that hour-plus long ride home feeling sick the whole time was just not happening.

 

I was thinking more about this thread today.  I did want to point out that my drive downtown from home is a whole 12 miles.  I know RTA cannot possibly serve all the many, many burbs, but I'm not talking about Painesville or Brunswick here.  I just think the service could and should be better to these burbs.  Routes like the 75X and the 51X which many people use to get to and from jobs that are not downtown or homes that are not near a park and ride should run more frequently.  If they did, I could use them for errands instead of just work.

 

Damn girl! You have a hell of a lot more stamina and perserverance than I would have. I'm fortunate to live on Clifton at Beach, have a heated parking garage, natural gas stove, central air conditioning in my condo unit, fifth-floor balcony, indoor pool (seventh floor), party room (seventh floor), sun deck, lots of storage lockers, clean and warm laundry room in the basement and a well-kept, well-maintained building. And I was able to buy my two-bedroom unit for $45,000 back in 1996. Wonder why I don't want to sell it and move????

 

It also has excellent transit access to the 55, 807, 75x and the 26 (the old 326 on Detroit which still has 24-hour service). How's that for keeping this puppy on topic?!?!?!?!

 

KJP, I'm right with you and I'm not selling either .  I paid less less than you did for my crib and I chose it because of its location to the three rapid stations (It's a 6 minute walk or less, based on which station I use), three bus routes that run late and frequently as well as the great amenities with in a 5 minute walk of my front door.

  Somebody on this thread sounds a bit fragile when it comes to urban living and transportation!  :wink:  I don't know how my other half (female) was able to survive in Queens all those years of having to actually see, talk,  and be confronted with other people on the streets..and then have to take a crowded subway train 40 minutes to work!! 

  I guess I am not sure why someone who isn't interested in urbanism takes interest in this site?  This is not a slam at all, but it just seems odd.  God forbid if anyone like that ever moved to a really large urban area, they would need zanex to make it through each day! 

I lived in Los Angeles.  It doesn't get much bigger than that.  And I handled it just fine. AND I worked downtown, which is pretty gritty, parts of it anyway, as was most of my commute.

 

I have been to NY dozens of times.  I am perfectly comfortable just about everywhere there.  There is safety in numbers.  It's just a completely different feeling.  Making fun of me because you don't know what it's like to feel vulnerable (or irritated, which is more often my state of mind) from harassment is really awful.  Your Mom sure raised a sensitive son.

 

I am not fragile.  I was a security guard for several years and have defended myself fine in plenty of fights.  Just because I prefer to live where it's clean and I am comfortable walking around at night doesn't make me a p*ssy.  You do NOT KNOW what it feels like so shut it.  When your car window is smashed and you are left alone waiting for the police for 2 hours in a fairly seedy and sparse neighborhood (this was in the Flats) it is scary.  What if the person comes back?  They left CRACK on my car seat, what if they come back AND they're high and they have a gun?  I mean, why is that unreasonable thinking?  In all my years in the suburbs, nobody has smashed my windows and left crack on the seat.

 

Are you saying I'm a) not interested in Cleveland, supporting Cleveland businesses and in seeing Cleveland grow and succeed simply because I live 12 miles from downtown?  That is ludicrous.  Greater Cleveland includes the suburbs you know.  In fact, my city is listed as Cleveland not MH on 70% of my mail and in every magazine subscription DB, etc.  When I tell them my zip code, it comes up CLEVELAND.  I have done what I could to help make life here both downtown and in the suburbs I lived in better in a variety of ways that are important.  I don't remember signing something when I signed up for this site that said the only people that can post on here are those that live in certain zip codes because obviously everyone else is not interested in the city's success.

And now I'm starting to see why there aren't very many women on this site.

^^Pete, I think your instincts are correct.  JoeC, though charming (as I've heard he is) and however knowledgeable he obviously is, I perceive him as viewing the job as more, well, a job with a lot of ceremonial perks.  That's not saying he doesn't work hard -- b/c I think he does, he just doesn't share view that some view a transit chief should have, including where he lives viz transit.  So it's not surprising to me that he lives in one of the more transit-unfriendly, sprawl-oriented suburban communities like Westlake and uses RTA, personally, while in town and, even then, on a limited basis... I do see JoeC as a strong transit advocate, particularly as relates state and federal funding, and he has worked to upgrade the quality of existing RTA services.  I see some important innovative programs under JoeC, like the fare streamlining, eliminating bus/rail duplication and increased emphasis on TOD and, of course, ECP, whatever one may think of it… I’ll give him that.  But beyond his official capacity, I just don’t perceive that transit is central to his life.

 

KJP meanwhile lives & breathes railroading and transit and is extremely knowledgeable about it.  He's passionate about transit though I'm sure not paid nearly as much (sorry to get personal) as JoeC -- probably working more than often as a volunteer and an advocate, and that’s when he’s not working his “day” job.  So, yeah, that KJP chooses to live in a walk-able, transit-friendly neighborhood and is a frequent user – equally not surprising.

 

I could be dead wrong, but that's as I see it from my vantage point.

 

I for one appreciate your input, rockandroller.  And I am a little shocked that so many on here are so cavalier with another's safety.  I feel fine in most of the neighborhoods we've been talking about, most of the time, but I also realize that I am a fairly large sized male.  Size and gender make a difference in how much trouble you have to put up with regardless of how much you can actually handle.  Does anyone want that extra hastle?

 

Back to transit service to suburbs.  I see several reasons why it isn't likely that transit will ever service someplace like MH well.  One of these reasons is that the city isn't very predestrian friendly.  It isn't set up for people to get from place to place easily or comfortably by walking. That makes it unlikely that people will use transit much, beyond park and ride lots.  Public transit riders usually start of and end off as pedestrians.  If your starting point and/or destination point isn't set up for walking, what good is it to have a bus to connect those two points? 

 

Second, the density of people is low, meaning there are less people to walk to each stop anyway.

 

Finally, going out along a radius from a center point exponentially increases the area (draw a 10' radius circle and then a 12' radius circle to see what I mean) that needs to be covered by a service (imagine cutting those two circles up with lines representing adequate transit service, say no part of the circle more than an inch from a line) and means that there is a lot of service expansion required to service an area that isn't set up well for public transit to be successful.

 

In other words, servicing farther out suburbs with the level of service seen in the center city means that RTA would have to go out further, with more lines, to service fewer people, who are less likely to use public transportation.

Good points X and thanks for your answer and your opinions.  As I said before, public transit would be NICE but it wasn't the #1 defining factor in why I picked to live in the burbs; obviously if it was, I wouldn't live in them :)

 

The burbs aren't set up for a lot of walking but it depends on where you live.  Where I lived in Westlake and N. Olmsted I could walk to get a lot of my errands done and there was a lot of good neighborhood or park space nearby which was great for outdoor exercising/walking/jogging, which is one of the important factors for me.  When I lived in N.O. I regularly walked to the drugstore and the grocery that was close to me, there were a few restaurants and a coffee shop I could walk to.  And of course, nobody hassled me because there aren't very many other people out walking :)  Here in MH I do walk to the drugstore when it's nice out but it's rather a haul, so I can't get much to carry back with me or it will be too heavy.  I have to get a new backpack, that will help.  But there are really no restaurants within walking distance (that we would eat at) and not much else to do and look at close by. But it's balanced by the nice lake I mentioned earlier with the birds and such.  My patio borders a woods and we have so many beautiful birds and animals to look at every day, I would really, really miss that if I moved to a more urban area.  When you look out you never know if you're going to see squirrels and chipmunks chasing each other, birds of all varieties chirping, deer walking around or ducks and geese hanging out.  Everything is not generic and boring in the burbs. :)

rockandroller, don't let anyone's comments ruffle your feathers too much - I think a lot of it is a backlash against the non-stop negativity toward the city that exists outside of this forum (cleveland.com, Feagler, etc.). To JDD's comments - when you're in Queens there are a lot more people out and about and thus more "eyes on the street". That conveys a little more sense of "if I'm in trouble, there are people around to possibly help" whereas the "dead zones" of Cleveland are really foreboding. I might be male, but as a gay man I'm a little more attuned to areas where someone would feel vulnerable - there are areas of Cleveland that I love but I would NEVER recommend them as a place to live for a single female. 

 

Don't get me wrong rockandroller, I think it'd be great if you could find a setting in a closer-in 'hood that suits you, but regardless you live in the 'burbs but you obviously spend quite a bit of time (and money) in the city, supporting locally owned places, and that's something we can ALL encourage - even from the head of RTA. ;-)

Finally, going out along a radius from a center point exponentially increases the area

 

Your high school geography teacher is no doubt smiling- seeing "exponential" correctly used is a rarity!

 

This whole discussion is a great reminder just how much sprawl, depopulation and modern transportation has twisted our geographical sense of the Cleveland area.  That we consider inner ring suburbs (let alone MH) close or close-ish to downtown really says a lot about our incredibly efficient highway/commuter road system and the lack of serious traffic congestion.  Back in 1950, Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights and even Lakewood probably seemed pretty far out to most people in the County (the majority back then living in the City).

In response to an earlier post, staff in RTA's Schedule Department is aware of the running time issues on the #26 line and they are taking steps to address the problems.

Would it be possible to get one of the No. 25s to serve Shaker Square at night after the Rapid goes to bed?

Would it be possible to get one of the No. 25s to serve Shaker Square at night after the Rapid goes to bed?

The #25 on the West Side is now the #12 and #13 on the East Side. I talked to the staff in Service Planning. They noted the last bus now leaves downtown about 1:10 a.m., drops out of service in the Shaker Square area, and then heads for the garage. If RTA extended service for even one more hour x 365 days, that would cost more than $36,000 a year...and for how many riders? Right now, RTA is looking for ways to save money and stay afloat in a sea of rising fuel costs, inflated health-care expenses, and declining revenue from the sales tax. RTA is "not in a position" to pay $36,000+ to provide late-night service to a relatively few riders, Service Planning says. This may not be the answer you want to hear, but these days, the budget is the boss. Thanks for asking.

In response to an earlier post, staff in RTA's Schedule Department is aware of the running time issues on the #26 line and they are taking steps to address the problems.

 

I'll add my gripe here as well, since I have very little confidence in the online comment "box."

 

I've tried to make the best of things since my beloved 326 was cut in two, thus removing my best "one seat" ride option from home to work.  I was told that the splitting of the lines would help ensure on-time service all along the route, yet I waited for the 26 in some nasty weather this morning for 25 minutes near Gordon Square during a period when 2 different 26s were scheduled to come through.  I was there from 8:00 to 8:25 and naturally missed my connection downtown, having to wait another 10 minutes when I got to Public Square.  I was frozen and fuming!

Sounds like a Bad day for Mr. Map Boy. ;)

Yes, but all is well now.  Plus, I've heard from 2 different people who had nightmare commutes in their private automobiles, so it's not like the bus is the only thing that was screwy today!

Misery loves company.

RTA Board of Trustees will meet in committee, beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The items will include an update on the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project, and a look at RTA, major projects and federal legislation. That look is an annual event, and is always interesting.

GCRTA in the news!

 

clean air > http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=53610&bw=

 

comfortable busses > http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=53681&sid=82456&bw=

So, just how long were those buses idling for on Public Square?  :wink:  I know... you can't win with me!

 

A friend went over to check out the hullabaloo on Thursday, but he couldn't figure out what was going on.  He said it looked like a protest, but it was actually people picketing for public transportation.  The second video obviously doesn't tell the whole story... so what was it?

So, just how long were those buses idling for on Public Square? 

 

It's okay, I was thinking the same thing.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/cleveland-rolls-barrels-big-oil_460706_1.html

 

Cleveland Rolls Out Barrels Against Big Oil

 

CLEVELAND, Jan 31, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Peaceful Protestors Question the Economics of Driving

 

A crowd of commuters gathered on Public Square in downtown Cleveland armed with picket signs, auto parts, and a message -- it's time to Join The Ride by taking public transportation. High gas prices have put a drag on the economy, and according to the group, the best stimulus plan for the country is for Americans to incorporate a bus or train into their commutes. The demonstrators, angered by news of record profits from Exxon and Shell, caught the attention of downtown office workers. So did the oil barrels blocking off the streets and the 45-foot long buses parked in the city's busiest intersection.

 

......

Cool. Nice way to get the word out, even if Exxon and Shell aren't responsible for their record profits. We, the unwashed masses, are.

Way to go, RTA.  :clap:

JMasek et al.--

 

Check out this short article on Bogota, Columbia's BRT -- with a link to a nice video.  An example for Cleveland to follow perhaps?

 

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/can_brt_encourage_bikes.php

 

congrats to rta and cleveland commuters for the protest. great idea. i read about it in a ny paper - it got notice.

Yes, excellent job on the publicity- very cool!

 

JMasek et al.--

 

Check out this short article on Bogota, Columbia's BRT -- with a link to a nice video.  An example for Cleveland to follow perhaps?

 

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/can_brt_encourage_bikes.php

 

 

^Thanks for posting that- that was really interesting.  It's one thing to read about existing BRT systems but quite another to see good footage of them in action- that Bogota one is incredible.  As are its bike facilities.

Check out this short article on Bogota, Columbia's BRT -- with a link to a nice video.  An example for Cleveland to follow perhaps?

 

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/can_brt_encourage_bikes.php

 

Thanks. Did you know the Cleveland project includes bicycle lanes from CSU to Case?

Forgive me if this has been addressed but for the past few months, the "Next train" notices at the OC rapid station do not indicate whether or not the Airport/Windermere train is eastbound or westbound.  I know back in the summer/early fall, it would say, "Airport/Wind East" or "Airport/Wind. West".  Now it's a toss up.

 

Just wondering...

 

Thanks!

Those tickers are often more confusing than they are helpful.

Forgive me if this has been addressed but for the past few months, the "Next train" notices at the OC rapid station do not indicate whether or not the Airport/Windermere train is eastbound or westbound.  I know back in the summer/early fall, it would say, "Airport/Wind East" or "Airport/Wind. West".  Now it's a toss up.

 

Just wondering...

 

Thanks!

 

Good catch, cle.  I noticed the same thing the other day at OC/W25th.  I think the sign is broken.  Jerry can fill us in.

They were working fine two weeks ago -- the last time I used the Ohio City station.

 

I don't find them confusing. I think they're helpful in removing questions as to when the next trains are scheduled to arrived. Helps remove one of the "unknowns" of taking transit.

The sign "works" as in it tells you when the next train is coming but it doesn't tell you if it's east/westbound like it used to (summer time?)  I know back in the fall at UC/Cedar stop it didn't mention east/westbound either.  I should have mentioned it earlier  :wink:

^ I just talked with the people in charge of these signs, and they will check ASAP. On some signs, the direction moves first, leaves the screen, and the "next train 3 minutes" comes a few seconds later. FYI, I have never heard Ohio City shortened to OC before (and the journalist in me hopes I never hear it again).