March 6, 200817 yr Some Days, trip planner is great, some days is not so great, like today. Gripe: It does a poor job of recognizing "St. Clair" You need to type "Saint Clair" Took me 7 different combinations to get it to work. St Clair, St. Clair, St. Clair Ave., St. Clair Ave NE, and finally "Saint Clair Ave NE" worked. We hear you. Thanks for the note.
March 6, 200817 yr A letter for West Side rail users: Thank you for your e-mail regarding the winter storm of March 4-5. The National Weather Service at Hopkins reported .21" of freezing rain and 2.9" of snow on March 5. The West Rail Facilities Maintenance Unit is responsible for maintaining 15 rapid transit stations, including Brookpark. All available resources were deployed to clear the stations of snow and ice on March 5. The night shift's first priority is to clear all the bus loops. The second priority is to clear entrances and establish lot aisles. The third priority is to plow the parking lots. The day shift clears the walks and continues servicing loops/lots. On the mornings of March 5-6, a two-man crew was dispatched to service the walkways at Brookpark rapid station. Depending on the timing and severity of the storm, it may take some time to get to the lower priority issues. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have further questions. Barry K. Wisner Rail Facilities Supervisor, Brookpark Shop, 216-575-3818 [email protected] Hats off to this supervisor for such a thorough response. E-mails are preferred over phone calls, because he spends much time away from his desk.
March 6, 200817 yr http://www.sourcenews.com/news/today/cdr_b.lasso Here is a lead for a story that has been posted on the site for The Daily Reporter, which serves the Columbus legal community. Joe Calabrese is quoted farther down in the story as the President of OPTA. --- In order to comprehensively address the shrinking budget for public transit in Ohio, Sen. Capri Cafaro, D-Warren, wants to make sure the most knowledgeable people are sitting at the table. On Tuesday, Cafaro introduced Senate Bill 300 to establish a public transit funding task force. According to Cafaro, the state's general revenue investment in public transit has gone from $43.3 million in 2001 to an estimated $16.3 million in 2007. (click on link to read more)
March 6, 200817 yr FYI, passengers leaving Tower City on the rail after 4 p.m. today will receive free transportation and a letter from Joe Calabrese. The letter explains what happened during the ice storm, outlines RTA's response, offers an apology, and gives a free ride.
March 6, 200817 yr great...on a day I'm not at home! marvelous, just marvelous! I am so bitter today....ugh! Jerry...that is a wonderful thing to do. I hope this goodwill translates into more paid rides.
March 6, 200817 yr The letter from Mr. Calabrese has also been posted on our Riders' Alerts page, and further details about reroutes around the water main break in Public Square will be forthcoming....
March 6, 200817 yr FYI, passengers leaving Tower City on the rail after 4 p.m. today will receive free transportation and a letter from Joe Calabrese. The letter explains what happened during the ice storm, outlines RTA's response, offers an apology, and gives a free ride. I appreciate the attempt and hope it's very well received. I'm a monthly pass holder so it's n/a for me but is a good PR move.
March 6, 200817 yr Public Hearing Notice RTA will hold two public hearings to describe and receive comments on a proposal that the “Violation Fare” be equal to the price of a Bus/Rapid monthly pass, currently $63.00. This “Violation Fare” will be enforced on the Red Line and on Euclid Avenue between Public Square and Louis Stokes Station at Windermere. RTA will install new fare vending machines in stations and will adopt a new rule requiring customers to 1) pay their fare before using these services and 2) to maintain proof of payment in their possession. Uniformed Transit Police officers will conduct spot checks to enforce the rule, and violators of the rule will be required to pay the “Violation Fare” to RTA within 7 days after the violation occurs. Two public hearings will be held: Tuesday, March 25, 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, Noon RTA Main Office Board Room 1240 W. 6th Street The public hearing location is accessible to persons with mobility impairments. Interpretive services for hearing impaired individuals will be available. If you are unable to attend, written comments can be mailed to RTA Marketing and Communications Department, 1240 W.6th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44113, or emailed to RTA at [email protected]. All written or emailed comments received by 5 p.m. April 9, 2008 will be included for consideration and become part of the official record.
March 7, 200817 yr I just wanted to let you know that when I stepped out into the brookpark rapid station parking lot tonight I said out loud, "Holy sh*t!" I couldn't believe how well it had been cleared, the paths to and from the cars to the building were COMPLETELY clear and well salted. I'm sure some of this was helped by mother nature in warming it up a few degrees but it was clear a lot of it was done by human hands and I just wanted to say thank you! This is the first time in so long I can remember walking so easily to and from my car! Also, the people were there handing out the flyers in tower city and the customers seemed pretty pleased.
March 7, 200817 yr ^ Thanks, I will pass your note along to those who toiled. Your words are appreciated.
March 7, 200817 yr RNR, they knew you would be out, in your white gloves, for inspection. :wink: I saw a guy sitting in a truck glaring at me and wondered if it was JMasek, or perhaps some goon trying to discern who the b*tch is that complained about them, waiting to rough me up :)
March 7, 200817 yr Responding to a question yesterday....Yes, the platform on the rail station at East 105 and Quincy is about 100 feet long and accommodates only one rail car. It was designed that way. The City of Cleveland is planning to do bridge work there. When that work is done, the platform should be extended. I have no other info at this time. thanks, jerry.
March 9, 200817 yr Please spread the word by any means possible... As of 7:15pm March 8, approximately 75% of RTA's bus fleet is snowbound. Rail is operating with slight delays. While crews will work through the night to restore fleet service to normal operation, we have approximately 40 calls in queue to our towing service for extrication of our vehicles from snow drifts. Service delays are expected to extend through Sunday morning. Further updates will be provided as they become available. I am in continuous communication with our Operation Center, and updated information will be posted to our Riders' Alerts page and linked from our home page.
March 9, 200817 yr ^Ouch I know the rapid doesn't fare so well with ice storms, but does it fare better with snow and related drifts?
March 9, 200817 yr ^Ouch I know the rapid doesn't fare so well with ice storms, but does it fare better with snow and related drifts? Generally speaking, yes. Ice is anathema to any rail system like ours due to buildup on the overhead catenary (the suspended line) breaking the connection to the pantograph (the retractable assembly on the top of each car that completes the circuit and transfers power to the vehicle). Also, ice on the rails makes climbing the slightest incline difficult, since we're talking smooth steel wheels on a smooth steel rail, which is a relatively low-friction, slippage-prone environment to start with. Snow, on the other hand is fairly easily cleared, doesn't cause as much buildup on the catenary, and can actually be cleared by wind as well as artificial means. Neither one is a particularly good situation, but forced to make a choice, I'd take snow any day. As I write this, I'm watching the tail-end of "Volcano" on AMC, and realizing how much worse things could be :-)...
March 9, 200817 yr Author Usually trains aren't affected by snowstorms. Even ice storms don't do nasty things to most trains, the exception being where electric trains and overhead electric lines or third rails are concerned. While I'm not a bus fan, I feel bad for the riders and employees on all those buses that got snowbound. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 9, 200817 yr it was funny (in a bad way) watching a #6 doing the old reverse-forward rock on public square this afternoon.
March 9, 200817 yr I came home on the Rapid last night at around 6:30 p.m., and we moved rather easily to W. 117. Not as fast as the summer, but not too slow. Better than sweating bullets on the Shoreway.
March 10, 200817 yr minor revisions have been posted to the water main break reroutes around Public Square, as the magnitude of the damage is now somewhat better known, and some streets closer to the vicinity of the break have reopened to traffic: http://www.riderta.com/nu_ridersalerts_list.asp?listingid=997
March 10, 200817 yr Rapid (Blue Line) Was running perfectly Sunday Morning, nice work guys. Stations were a bit sloppy, but I saw crews out clearing and I'm understanding of just how much crap they had to dig out. PS: that front-loader/plow that runs on the tracks is bad ass, i want me one of them.
March 10, 200817 yr Easy rides on the 26 and 25 yesterday evening. Not sure if they were on-schedule, but I understood that they likely wouldn't be, so I wasn't expecting the timetable to be accurate. Another one of my rides was free, though, since the farebox was out of order!
March 10, 200817 yr Walking in and out of the W25th street station has been horrible over the last couple days. It doesn't look like it has been cleared once and snow piles have been pushed in front of it by plows apparently.
March 10, 200817 yr Walking in and out of the W25th street station has been horrible over the last couple days. It doesn't look like it has been cleared once and snow piles have been pushed in front of it by plows apparently. I wonder how many people called to report this?
March 10, 200817 yr and how many actually got through to someone they could report it to? The Cedar/University Circle station is worse than the West 25th Street Station, if you ask me. And when I called, I couldn't get someone to report the problem to.
March 10, 200817 yr Jeffrey, I hear that the CircleLink (non-RTA) is detoured as well... can you confirm this?
March 10, 200817 yr and how many actually got through to someone they could report it to? Well, that would be me... I just spoke to Barry Wisner (the previously-mentioned west side supervisor whose crews handle these stations), and they are working as fast as they can to clear all west side stations. Between a couple of equipment failures (including a flat tire on a front end loader, never a fun circumstance), the need to remove stuck cars from the parking lot at Triskett, and (legally) parked vehicles that are blocking access to clear the W 25 station entrance, it's slow going, but it will happen.
March 10, 200817 yr Thanks for the update Jet, but seriously, what's up with the RTA hotline? It's strictly a matter of call volume... there's way more calls coming in than we have attendants, and unfortunately, some (many?) of them are calls that can be answered via common sense. If you have 18+ inches of snow drifts on your street, chances are bus service in the area will be delayed until such time as the municipalities can make the streets passable, which is something we have little control over. To report problems that may not require human communication, please use our online feedback form at http://www.riderta.com/feedback/. For anyone in Cleveland proper, if your street hasn't been plowed, you can call the city's Operation Snowbird hotline at 216-664-2510 to report such, as well as any damage that might be done by city plows to treelawns, sidewalks, etc...
March 10, 200817 yr Jeffrey, I hear that the CircleLink (non-RTA) is detoured as well... can you confirm this? Yes it is not going around on Fairchild, but rather stopping in Lot 44 around the corner.
March 11, 200817 yr The following message has been published on our web site and is currently being distributed to our e-news subscriber list. I encourage you to share it with any appropriate communications channel: Please be advised that, due to the gridlock created by the Public Square water main break, evening rush hour bus service will experience delays of as much as 30 to 45 minutes. These delays will also filter down to routes that serve the suburbs but originate downtown. We recommend that you plan accordingly for any appointments you may have. Full details of the reroutes put in place as result of the water main break can be found at http://www.riderta.com/nu_ridersalerts_list.asp?listingid=997 RTA apologizes for any inconvenience to its customers during this time.
March 11, 200817 yr On a lighter note, the schedules for spring service adjustments, taking effect March 23, are now available on RTA's Maps & Schedules page, at http://www.riderta.com/maps-schedules.asp. The only schedules that have not yet been published are those for the light and heavy rail, but they should be out within the next day or so. Modifications there will be very slight, and in fact most of this round of changes is minor tweaks, not major adjustments.
March 11, 200817 yr The last couple of days, while waiting for the blue/green line, I have seen a Red line train go by with Solon as its destination. The front car on the left side was the only one that had destination, the others had the correct Stokes/Windermere signage. What gives? I know the Red Line doesn't go to Solon, so why even have it on the scroll of destinations? where do you live?
March 12, 200817 yr I think back in the day both buses and the red line trains shared the same destination "scrolling" signs so all destinations exist on all signs.
March 12, 200817 yr The last couple of days, while waiting for the blue/green line, I have seen a Red line train go by with Solon as its destination. The front car on the left side was the only one that had destination, the others had the correct Stokes/Windermere signage. What gives? I know the Red Line doesn't go to Solon, so why even have it on the scroll of destinations? Wishful thinking? "If you destination-sign it, they will come?" :-) I kid, I kid... I can't speak too much for history as to why this car would have such a destination sign on it (I'm sure it made sense at some point in time -- you have to remember, our heavy rail rolling stock is quite old), but if you happen to see it again, please note down the car number and let us know, and I'm sure we can get it addressed. Making a request to have signage removed/updated in car #123 (for example) tends to yield quicker results than a request that all heavy rail cars be checked for Solon signage (mind you, if it were a system-wide problem, such a request would be perfectly valid, but this appears to be an isolated incident).
March 12, 200817 yr What is up with the Red Line? For the past two weeks, the eastbound trains have been few and far between during rush hour. I waited 30 minutes to get on one today while three westbound trains roared by, 1/2 full.
March 12, 200817 yr Yeah, and on Monday the 5:42 westbound train was a single car affair. Rush hour with one car. People were not happy. And on saturday night (yes, day of the storm) I waited 55 minutes at Tower City for the westbound train.
March 14, 200817 yr Sometimes, when rail vehicles are in the shop, there is a shortage on the line. RTA should soon have a full fleet again.
March 14, 200817 yr Jerry & Jet, is it possible for the station tickers to indicate when this is an issue or can the station booth attendants do this? When the knowledge is there, but isn't shared with the riders, that's a problem. Nothing irked me more in NYC than when I'd be waiting for the subway and it wouldn't show up for a half-hour and the MTA would somehow neglect to use its PA system or staff to tell the riders that there was a delay. Same thing here. If I'm told that the trains are running behind, I can opt for a bus or some other mode. My experience has been that the customer is most often left out in the wind (literally and figuratively).
March 14, 200817 yr Jerry & Jet, is it possible for the station tickers to indicate when this is an issue or can the station booth attendants do this? When the knowledge is there, but isn't shared with the riders, that's a problem. Nothing irked me more in NYC than when I'd be waiting for the subway and it wouldn't show up for a half-hour and the MTA would somehow neglect to use its PA system or staff to tell the riders that there was a delay. Same thing here. If I'm told that the trains are running behind, I can opt for a bus or some other mode. My experience has been that the customer is most often left out in the wind (literally and figuratively). In a word, maybe. I know that sounds rather non-committal, and for the time being, it is, because I need to have a further conversation with some folks internally. We have had some staff turnover recently that has changed the reporting responsibility for some of our information systems, and I want to make sure that the transition hasn't introduced any roadblocks. Improved communication has taken on a very prominent place in RTA's priorities lately, and you WILL see improvements forthcoming. Map Boy, you are 100% in the right for wanting good information -- as a user of our services, it's the least we can give you. People, I've found, will even accept lapses in service levels if the existence of such lapses is known about. More often than not, it's a question of figuring out where the correct knowledge is, and how to quickly, effectively get such knowledge distributed, which isn't always as easy as it sounds. Timeliness is also an issue -- if a delay lasts ten minutes, but takes thirty minutes to communicate through the system, then by the time it's been communicated, the delay has ended, and a second communication indicating such (and consuming another 30 minutes) has to take place, lest the wrong (outdated) information continue to be disseminated. More to come, stay tuned...
March 14, 200817 yr http://www.riderta.com/nu_newsroom_releases.asp?listingid=1146 RTA schedules two public hearings to discuss proof-of-payment fare system with customers.
March 14, 200817 yr Agenda highlights for the Board meeting on March 18 -- * A $1.186 million contract for cameras on the light-rail fleet * A $325,000 contrct for architecture and engineering services for the reconstruction of the Lee-Van Aken Station * An agreement with the City of Cleveland to give Transit Police more authority at bus stops, train crossing and layover zones
March 16, 200817 yr ^ I have wondered about Transit Police. I think I see them out and about more than CPD. Can they arrest people, or are they more like a security force? How many are there? what is their territory-ie everywhere RTA goes?
March 16, 200817 yr Transit Police...can they arrest people? How many are there? What is their territory-ie everywhere RTA goes? There are more than 100 uniformed Transit Police. They have full police powers, and go to the same training academy at Cleveland Police. They carry guns, and they can arrest you. They have authority on all RTA vehicles, all RTA facilities, Public Square (which can be viewed as one large transit zone), traffic control at bus stops, and along the Euclid Corridor Project.
March 16, 200817 yr ^And so, Jerry, the RTA cops have cross-jurisdictional authority is what you're saying. You can also get busted by the CPD on a bus or Rapid in Cleve or by the cops of whatever municipality the bus or train happens to be in at the time of the crime, no? ... Nevertheless, I think this new program is good news for all RTA riders. Btw, will the architects/engineers for the new Lee-Van Aken station conform to the existing Shaker Master plan for the area?
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