I ride the downtown green trolleys all the time and considering its free to get on, there are far fewer wack-jobs than on the RTA. Why? And beyond that, homeless poeple are on the RTA all the time when I am. Are they fare jumping or how do they get on? I need to find a book on mass transit theory or something because this is fascinating.

The Trolleys ARE part of RTA. Do you mean the Rapid, or the regular buslines?

goteenb, how can you make that "assumption"?  Are you riding every line at all hours of the day or is that perception?

 

I only ride the train and a few bus lines, but I rarely see problems.  If one considers teens or drunks after games a problem, then they really need to reevaluate their public transportation experience.

 

What homeless people are on RTA buses or rapids?  I've never seen a homeless person on a train or a bus.

I've seen homeless people on the rapid several times.

I ride the downtown green trolleys all the time and considering its free to get on, there are far fewer wack-jobs than on the RTA.

 

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/9629861/detail.html  :|

I've seen homeless people on the rapid several times.

 

I've been riding the rapids for 35 years and have yet to see a homeless person on the train.

I've seen homeless people on the rapid several times.

 

I've been riding the rapids for 35 years and have yet to see a homeless person on the train.

 

I've seen plenty of people who look/smell homeless. Though I've never taken the time to ask if they really were.

 

Back on Topic, why are we wasting JMasek's time with this prattling?

I dunno, I think it's on topic. It's about RTA, isn't it?

 

When I see someone who has about 25 different bags with them, who smells, is unkempt, often also drunk and muttering to themselves with shoddy, very worn, mismatched clothes with holes I assume they are homeless people as well.  I never asked them though.

Maybe it's just the riders on the Cleveland Rapid?  There, back on topic.

I've seen homeless people on the rapid several times.

 

I've been riding the rapids for 35 years and have yet to see a homeless person on the train.

 

I've seen plenty of people who look/smell homeless. Though I've never taken the time to ask if they really were.

 

Back on Topic, why are we wasting JMasek's time with this prattling?

 

actually, I can put a little insight into this that will probably put the topic to rest -- if you're homeless, but can scrape together $1.75, public transit is a way to keep warm and give yourself a semi-captive audience from whom to pursue the next $1.75 (or more)

I've seen homeless people on the rapid several times.

 

I've been riding the rapids for 35 years and have yet to see a homeless person on the train.

 

I've seen plenty of people who look/smell homeless. Though I've never taken the time to ask if they really were.

 

Back on Topic, why are we wasting JMasek's time with this prattling?

 

actually, I can put a little insight into this that will probably put the topic to rest -- if you're homeless, but can scrape together $1.75, public transit is a way to keep warm and give yourself a semi-captive audience from whom to pursue the next $1.75 (or more)

 

I thought that too but the last homeless person I saw on the train was on one of our recent, freakishly warm days. I couldn't figure out why he was sleeping in the train instead of outside when it was so nice out.

I've only been regularly riding the RTA since the beginning of this year, but I've never felt unsafe, and I've seen one person who looked homeless. (But wasn't -- we were the only two on the bus at the end of the route and we talked to each other. She was very nice, but she was in serious need of a shower.)

 

For the most part, I've seen the same folks I see in the street, in businesses and everywhere else in Cleveland.

 

Anyone see Phillip Morris' column today? He gave a sort-of-thumbs up to the cameras and said he may acquiesce to becoming an RTA rider: http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2008/04/phillip_morris.html

I've only been regularly riding the RTA since the beginning of this year, but I've never felt unsafe, and I've seen one person who looked homeless. (But wasn't -- we were the only two on the bus at the end of the route and we talked to each other. She was very nice, but she was in serious need of a shower.)

 

For the most part, I've seen the same folks I see in the street, in businesses and everywhere else in Cleveland.

 

Anyone see Phillip Morris' column today? He gave a sort-of-thumbs up to the cameras and said he may acquiesce to becoming an RTA rider: http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2008/04/phillip_morris.html

 

He should!  All those reporters/columnists need to take a stake in our transportation system.

"Back on Topic, why are we wasting JMasek's time with this prattling?"

 

Thanks for the support, but I skim very easily; no time is wasted.  :-D

 

The topic is a serious one. In my opinion, it is inaccurate to exchange the words "people who have body odor" with "homeless." But I get your meaning. If homeless people start to view public transit as a haven, will our "bread-and-butter" riders look elsewhere? Many transit systems have considered that question. Public transit is for everyone. Your comments are welcome, especially if they lead to real solutions.

I agree JMasek, I am not identifying people as homeless simply because they're dressed sloppily (as is most of America when not at work) or because they smell.  But when someone is acting deranged and/or drunk and is surrounded by like 30 different types of plastic bags, each one dog-eared and with holes and from, say GOLD CIRCLE or something that isn't even around anymore, that's what I'm calling homeless.

 

That being said I have only been asked for money by such a person once, he was asking everyone for money that was near the front of my car.  If this was a regular occurrance I would definitely be letting you know. 

Even if it isn't a regular occurrence, we should let Obi Wan JMasek know.

ooh!  This reminds me of a question I've been wanting to ask ever since I started riding the train.

 

Ok at the front of each car there is a rectangular piece of metal screwed into the wall.  It has a speaker like part at the top with a bunch of little holes in a circle.  Below that is a piece of plastic, the kind that might be over some kind of red LED light because the area behind the plastic is red colored.  It is flush with the metal.  There is something above or on this that basically says if you have some kind of problem and need to contact the operator to "press the button" to speak to the person.  But THERE IS NO BUTTON.  The red thing is clearly not a button, it doesn't stick out and there is nothing to press.  I wondered if maybe it was some high tech fingerprint reader or something so that if you touched it, it would do something, but obviously I'm not going to try that out just for fun.

 

Can you explain this?

Even if it isn't a regular occurrence, we should let Obi Wan JMasek know.

 

Obi Wan? Does that make me Darth JeTDoG? :-)

 

/ come to the Dark Side -- we have cookies...

Obi Wan? Does that make me Darth JeTDoG? :-)

 

/ come to the Dark Side -- we have cookies...

 

Sith Lord JeTDoG has a nicer ring and flow.

ooh!  This reminds me of a question I've been wanting to ask ever since I started riding the train.

 

Ok at the front of each car there is a rectangular piece of metal screwed into the wall.  It has a speaker like part at the top with a bunch of little holes in a circle.  Below that is a piece of plastic, the kind that might be over some kind of red LED light because the area behind the plastic is red colored.  It is flush with the metal.  There is something above or on this that basically says if you have some kind of problem and need to contact the operator to "press the button" to speak to the person.  But THERE IS NO BUTTON.  The red thing is clearly not a button, it doesn't stick out and there is nothing to press.  I wondered if maybe it was some high tech fingerprint reader or something so that if you touched it, it would do something, but obviously I'm not going to try that out just for fun.

 

Can you explain this?

 

Try it! It's RTA's equivalent of the Excessive Machine:

 

"This reminds me of a question I've been wanting to ask ever since I started riding the train."

 

I am checking on it now.

Anyone see Phillip Morris' column today? He gave a sort-of-thumbs up to the cameras and said he may acquiesce to becoming an RTA rider: http://www.cleveland.com/morris/index.ssf/2008/04/phillip_morris.html

 

Did anyone read the comments to this article lately?  I think it may be the most un-cleveland.com-like set of comments I have seen on that site.

RTAers,

 

Here's a contemporary example of the community clean-up activities that can be done along the Rapid lines....

 

KJP

__________________

 

http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/pdf/press/20080501494.pdf

Clean Cleveland Crews Give City Neighborhoods a

Good Spring Cleaning!

Clean Cleveland’s busy season is underway

 

CLEVELAND - The busy season for Clean Cleveland is now underway and sweeping through the City of

Cleveland. Residents can expect to see city crews from Parks, Streets, Utilities, Health, Building and

Housing, and Court Community Services in their neighborhoods inspecting, fixing, and cleaning in a

coordinated and systematic fashion. This year-round initiative ramps up in the spring, as the weather

gets milder. This effort is all a part of Mayor Frank Jackson’s goal to improve public safety and quality of

life in City of Cleveland neighborhoods by eliminating and removing symbols of neglect.

 

An example of Clean Cleveland activities include: waste pickup with same day pothole repair, graffiti

removal, and catch basin cleaning; followed by street sweeping the day after.

 

The next zone on the Clean Cleveland schedule is in Ward 12 and will include the area between East 61st

to East 64th St.(east/west) and Francis Ave. to Butler Ave. (north/south).

 

Media can get “before” photos of the area this afternoon, May 1, 2008. There will be an in-progress photo

opp. and media availability with Mayor Jackson and Clean Cleveland Department Directors at 10:00 am

on May 2, 2008. The avail will begin in front of St. Hyacinth Church (6114 Francis Ave) at East 61st and

Francis, continuing north up 61st to Bower, then left to East 64th and back to Francis. Media can obtain

“after” photos tomorrow afternoon.

 

Residents can participate in Clean Cleveland in the following ways:

 

• Be eyes and ears for your community: report high weeds and grass, graffiti, standing water, street and

traffic light outages, and abandoned properties and vehicles;

• Report illegal activity in and around abandoned buildings;

• Keep your neighborhood clean and healthy by disposing of waste properly, recycling, and keeping up

with yard work and important repairs to your home and property;

• Adhere to the waste set out rules;

• Keep their property, including their sidewalks, clean and free from debris;

• Keep an eye out for illegal dumping. Call 664-DUMP, to report any dumping; and

• Make sure to move cars off the street when street cleaning signs (see picture)

are posted - otherwise, parking enforcement crews will ticket violators.

 

Citizens can report concerns or let Clean Cleveland know how crews are doing by emailing

[email protected] or calling the Clean Cleveland Hotline at 216-664-2510. The phone is

staffed 24 hours a day, five (5) days a week and voicemail is available for weekend calls.

 

Please visit http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/mayor/initiative/clean/CleanCleveland.pdf for more

information and a Clean Cleveland sector map or www.city.cleveland.oh.us for information on general

City of Cleveland services.

 

The cooperation of every Clevelander is needed. Lets work together to make the City of Cleveland a City

of Choice!

 

- 30 -

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1209803560157200.xml&coll=2

 

RTA, Laketran to try using shoulder lanes for buses

Drivers could bypass badly snarled traffic

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Sarah Hollander

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Who hasn't longed to make a break for a highway shoulder when congestion stalls traffic to a crawl? Next month, public bus drivers can begin to follow that urge, legally.

 

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Laketran will begin testing the option on stretches of Interstate 90 in Cuyahoga and Lake counties. If the concept works, it could spread to other local highways.

 

..........

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

 

[email protected], 216-999-4816

^Creative.  Obviously Minny, Columbus and Cincy have been doing this for some time.  It sounds good if a little scary.  I know its illegal, but car drivers sneak onto shoulders during jams all the time, and w/ so many cars and so much congestion, how can cops really police it?  And if one of these cars dart out -- as the usually do -- in front of a bus traveling at 35 MPH...  The article says, however, copycats are rare, which is good (I'm not sure this ide would work in regions w/ a large % of rude drivers, like the Northeast)... Still, I like the idea.

If a car pulls illegally into a curb lane and a bus that's there legally crushes the car, then the driver got what he/she deserved.

 

When you protect stupid people too much, the quality of the gene pool declines.

yeah, but what about their passengers.

yeah, but what about their passengers.

 

Birds of a feather flock together.

Who, the bus's passengers or the motorist's passengers? If you're referring to the car's passengers, I'm with MTS. But 80 percent of all motorists drive without passengers, so the driver would likely be putting only himself at risk. On the bus, it's a much larger and heavier vehicle so the chances of passenger injuries from a collision with a car, pickup or SUV is low.

 

You can't stop someone from acting stupidly. And I since they haven't made safety devices explicitly for the stupid vs. non-stupid, it's should be up to nature to sort them out and let the strong/smart survive. We compassionate humans do get in the way sometimes....

JMasek, or someone else, can you translate this into normal people speak?

 

http://www.riderta.com/bc_contractopps_SolicitationsDetail.ASP?listingid=569

 

What will come out of this, final recommendations or something? What kind of grand timeline are we in for this project?

 

Thanks!

"A/E Services" means architectural and engineering services. In other words, the final design, specifications, materials and hard cost data for the new Mayfield station and a rebuilt Red Line bridge over Mayfield will be generated by the completion of this contract. Prospective bidders have until Thursday to submit their bid packages though I don't know when the architectural and engineering work is to be completed. Jerry?

I'd like to know (sorry if this has been covered before) if there are any plans to at least clean up the parking lot of glass at the brookpark rapid station, if not repave the lot, at least the half of the lot closest to the building (the lot on the side closest to Ford drive).  There are so many parking spaces with the teeny shatters that come from someone smashing someone's window, it not only makes it tough to drive through it and/or park, but makes it really seem like a place you're not comfortable leaving your car.  and the potholes/patching are really getting bad.

 

JMasek, any progress on this?  Now that the snow has stopped covering everything the parking lot looks worse than ever.  There is a lot of broken glass and a ton of holes.

JMasek, or someone else, can you translate this into normal people speak?

 

http://www.riderta.com/bc_contractopps_SolicitationsDetail.ASP?listingid=569

 

What will come out of this, final recommendations or something? What kind of grand timeline are we in for this project?

 

KJP's answer is essentially correct. This is what is known as Request for Proposals, or RFP, as opposed to an Invitation For Bid (or IFB). Because this is for services, an RTA panel will look at all proposals, hear some presentations, and then make a recommendation. Staff will present the recommendation to the Board at a Commitee meeting, and then the full Board will vote on it. The RTA panel will look at price, but even more importantly, at a firm's track record doing similar projects. In theory, anyone here could submit a proposal, but the panel would probably reject your proposal because you have never done this kind of work before.

 

I apologize if this explanation is too basic for you. I realize that some on this list may already know all this, but I am writing it for those who do not.

""JMasek, any progress on this?  Now that the snow has stopped covering everything the parking lot looks worse than ever.  There is a lot of broken glass and a ton of holes."

 

I passed this along today -- again -- but this time to a higher authority at the authority. Thanks for the prodding.

JMasek, or someone else, can you translate this into normal people speak?

 

http://www.riderta.com/bc_contractopps_SolicitationsDetail.ASP?listingid=569

 

What will come out of this, final recommendations or something? What kind of grand timeline are we in for this project?

 

KJP's answer is essentially correct. This is what is known as Request for Proposals, or RFP, as opposed to an Invitation For Bid (or IFB). Because this is for services, an RTA panel will look at all proposals, hear some presentations, and then make a recommendation. Staff will present the recommendation to the Board at a Commitee meeting, and then the full Board will vote on it. The RTA panel will look at price, but even more importantly, at a firm's track record doing similar projects. In theory, anyone here could submit a proposal, but the panel would probably reject your proposal because you have never done this kind of work before.

 

I apologize if this explanation is too basic for you. I realize that some on this list may already know all this, but I am writing it for those who do not.

 

A little basic, but I get it better now. So once contract is awarded, what's the next step timeline? (move the station already!)

"A little basic, but I get it better now. So once contract is awarded, what's the next step in the timeline? (move the station already!)"

 

This is government, and government works slowly. While planning is ongoing, the funding aspect is being firmed up.

 

The architect chosen by RTA meets several times with the local development corporation and other stakeholders to come up with a consensus on a concept, then on renderings and a final design. After RTA accepts the final design, engineers draw up specs, and the contractors bid on the project, using the RFP process already described.

 

After the Board authorizes a contract, RTA lawyers work with the selected vendor to draft a contract. If there are major issues to be resolved, this process could take a while. After the contract is signed, RTA does what it needs to do to prepare the site, and then RTA issues a "notice to proceed" to the contractor. THEN, and only then, does the public see physical progress at the work site.

 

Other variables are land acquisition (if needed), and possible zoning changes. If a landowner does not wish to sell a needed parcel at market rates, it can hold up a project a long time.

 

This is one of the reasons why long-range planning is so critical to transit.

 

Our trains may move fast, but infrastructure changes do not. As you can see from the above, predicting a completion date on a project in its infancy is less reliable than predicting the weather in NE Ohio.

 

If KJP remembers the late Sun Newspapers copy editor Charles Repede, he may remember his favorite line..."the time it takes is the time it takes." Not profound, but accurate.

 

Thanks for your interest.

If KJP remembers the late Sun Newspapers copy editor Charles Repede, he may remember his favorite line..."the time it takes is the time it takes." Not profound, but accurate.

 

Yes, Chuck had lots of things to say. He reminds me of my current assistant editor who recently said with great depth "when you're on your own time, you're on your own time." My, what great philosophers we have....

I wasn't being critical of the time it takes, I was just trying to get a feel for what stage we were in.

Status of cleaning up the Brookpark Rapid Station Parking lot:

 

Crews patched potholes on these dates -- April 2, 8, 10, 16-17, 23 -- and they are finished, according to the supervisor. :clap:

 

A different department cleans up broken glass, and they have been directed to this lot.

 

Let me know when you see improvement. :wave:

Thanks!! I will let you know when the glass is cleaned up.  The repeated patching of the potholes has led to the surface of the lot looking like a war zone, but as long as I'm not going to lose a front wheel or something in a hole, I can deal.

RTA Board Committees meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 13, to discuss the following:

* Euclid Corridor Project Update

* Area Plan for Warrensville/Van Aken Station

* Security architect services for a track bridge on East Blvd.

* First Quarter Management Report

* First Quarter Audit Report

 

a track bridge on East Blvd?  What is that?

a track bridge on East Blvd?  What is that?

www.mapquest.com/maps/%5B9800-9899%5D+S+Blvd+Cleveland+OH+44108/

 

Just southwest of University Hospitals and Carnegie Ave., the Red Line tracks intersect with East Blvd. The Mapquest link will take you there.  Click on "aerial image" for a better view. I believe the bridge is over the tracks, thus it is RTA's property and we must maintain it.

:clap:  I am taking off a few days of "well-deserved" vacation, and if I so much as look at a PC, my better half will threaten me with severe bodily harm. Post your questions, and either JetDog or I will address them asap. Bye.  :wave:

a track bridge on East Blvd?  What is that?

 

Not being a Cleveland native myself, and knowing where East Blvd as I'm aware of it does (or doesn't) intersect the Red Line, I asked one of our engineers about this.

 

As I understand it, East Blvd was the former name of MLK, and the bridge in question is where the Red Line tracks pass over MLK, immediately (~400 ft, give or take a few) southwest of the Cedar/University station. We still refer to it internally by its legacy name (old habits die hard).

I got it now, I thought "track bridge" was some internal acronym or something.

Would I enjoy a trip on the airport rapid with four days worth of business clothes in my suitcases?  I am thinking of doing a resource-sensitive business trip using the Laketran commuter bus to Cleveland Public Square in the morning, and then humping my bags down to the Red Line.  Return Friday.  Boss said he would pay for parking at the airport, but,  I still have to hump my bags on and off of that Grayton Road shuttle and all...

 

Would the homeless guys enjoy the entertainment value?  (sorry, had to throw that in).

 

<= FWIW, I am male and occasionally look like that.

I don't see why not.  there are escalators and elevators.  I don't carry luggage often when I travel so that depends on how fast you're able to walk and if your comfortable carrying/pulling the bag.

Yeah, i figure as long as you have wheels. Tower City has Escalators/Elevators and so does the airport.

^When I travel, it's also often with "four days worth of business clothes" and I don't consider it a problem at all.