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

Are you taking the train to the airport or being dropped off at the airport?

Train to the airport

so Boreal, are you going to do it?  If so, Please report your experience.

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

I have one of those vintage hard suitcases with two little wheels at one one end.  I never bought one of those modern suitcases with the telescoping handle, large wheels and stable footprint like a siege engine.

 

Looking at my schedule now, I may end up on the fifty minute RTA bus ride to Shoregate when I return.  Get yer kicks on the 39F.

Boreal-

 

One other item of note (and I do hope you give the Red Line a try): board at the front or back of any car, and there is sufficient rack space for you to place your bag out of the way of other passengers without obstructing a seat.

 

I will advise, since it's the bus I routinely take, that some segments of the #39F (i.e., the 5:00pm out of downtown) can be a bit crowded. We're a friendly bunch, though.  :-D

Dear RTA,

 

please get some better pass machines at tower city

 

all of the pass machines today were out of service

 

signed,

 

pissed off rider who has to make bus transfers

Dear RTA,

 

please get some better pass machines at tower city

 

all of the pass machines today were out of service

 

signed,

 

pissed off rider who has to make bus transfers

 

I've passed this along to the appropriate party, and hope that you took the time to communicate through our usual feedback channel: http://www.riderta.com/feedback/

 

Dear RTA,

 

please get some better pass machines at tower city

 

all of the pass machines today were out of service

 

signed,

 

pissed off rider who has to make bus transfers

 

I've passed this along to the appropriate party, and hope that you took the time to communicate through our usual feedback channel: http://www.riderta.com/feedback/

 

 

As I had suspected, based on the report that all machines were down, this was due to an electrical problem at Tower City. The problem was corrected as of 9:00am today. Thanks for making us aware of the issue.

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:

 

As of this morning the broken glass patches are still there, as well as various bottles/litter.  Note that this is the side of the lot where the buses pull up.  It's really in poor condition between the uneven terrain and the broken glass - the glass is the teeny bits that you see when someone gets their window shattered, and there are several spots like this.

From the "Ingenuity Festival" thread http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1723.msg284751.html#new

 

CornerCurve brought up a good point about the HealthLine construction and the potential impact on the Ingenuity Festival: "I am curious to see how much Euclid Corridor construction they can complete by the end of July in time for the festival. It wouldn't be much fun to have to weave through construction barrels to get to different events."

 

I think this might be an opportunity for RTA/Clinic/Ingenuity to make a little lemonade out of some temporary lemons - maybe some sort of exhibit showing off the HealthLine and its impact/benefits? Not being a logistics/event planning expert, I'm not sure how that would play out but I think it should be given consideration. Piles of torn-up street and stacks of bricks aren't going to win people over, but something creatively tying into the festival just might :-)

^They aren't too far from finishing up the Playhouse Square portion.

What if they turned the construction barrels themselves into pieces of art somehow? Some kind of giant sculpture or something. Or construction ribbon art? That would be fun to see, too. :-D

^They aren't too far from finishing up the Playhouse Square portion.

 

In that case, just park one of the new vehicles on Euclid :-D

^They aren't too far from finishing up the Playhouse Square portion.

 

In that case, just park one of the new vehicles on Euclid :-D

 

Well they did have one there last year, just off Euclid.

None of this "just off" crap - plunk that sucker down where it'll be used!

my understanding is that the bus line will be running in that section of euclid by ingenuity - and using the station.  there is going to be some kind of band on the RTA platform. 

 

the roads will be closed to regular traffic, except for the buses, which should be interesting.

Good! Give people more of a taste for urban life. ;)

For those who may not have seen this announcement (and I hope I'm not stealing Jerry's thunder by discussing this :-) ), RTA CEO and General Manager Joe Calabrese has been named to Ohio's 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force. The full text of RTA's release discussing the Task Force can be found here, and the Task Force home page is at http://transportationfortomorrow.ohio.gov/.

 

The reason I bring this up is simple -- one key component of this task force's work is public input. As such, there will be public meetings held at a number of urban centers throughout the state. Cleveland's meeting will be June 17 at CSU's Cole Center, from 4:00pm - 8:00pm. I know I'll be there...

 

In closing, I leave you with a challenge best summed up in one sentence (yes, it's a quote from "The West Wing", one of my favorite TV shows): "Decisons are made by those who show up."

Just an FYI for anyone riding the Rapid during the day next week -- with the nicer weather finally arriving, we have a LOT of track maintenance work scheduled, which means extensive single tracking between the hours of 9:30am and 2:30pm. Please plan accordingly and allow extra time to reach your destination.

 

Full details of the times, dates, and areas affected can be found here: http://www.riderta.com/nu_ridersalerts_list.asp?listingid=1036

For those who may not have seen this announcement (and I hope I'm not stealing Jerry's thunder by discussing this :-) ), RTA CEO and General Manager Joe Calabrese has been named to Ohio's 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force.

 

We're discussing it here:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,4500.0.html

Cross-posted on the Ohio Hub/ORDC thread....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/dick_feagler/index.ssf?/base/opinion-0/1211044559121880.xml&coll=2

 

Past is forgotten; future is stalled on the interstate

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Dick Feagler

Plain Dealer Columnist

 

I used to live in Brecksville, and I always rode the bus to work dur ing rush hour. It was the only sane thing to do. I'd board the bus around Ohio 82, open a book and read it as we motored down to Grant Avenue. There we would stop and inch the rest of our way downtown. That's when I would turn the pages again and read more James Bond. And finally, when I got off the bus, I felt relaxed.

 

......

 

To reach Dick Feagler:

 

[email protected], 216-999-6801

Wow. I actually agree with him for once.

 

I think it would sit easier, though, if he wasn't such an old crotchety fart who complains about everything but does nothing to lift a finger and help.

Overall Feagler's piece is pretty good.  Too bad he's so dense about the Euclid Corridor.  If it was ill-conceived there wouldn't be so much development interest along Euclid Ave now. 

 

I mean, at the end of the day, we'd all love to see a friggin subway line running across Euclid instead of the BRT. But where do you get funding for something like that??

 

Feagler should cough up the money himself if he has such a problem with it.

ECP/BRT is IS better than just the #6 bus and it is spawning development... but no, it's no where close to the subway that should have been built there.  Maybe ECP can someday be converted to light rail that can submerge into a subway at CSU and travel underground to connect with the current Rapid... Maybe.

 

But ECP's what we got and, really, at this point, there's not much sense in continuing to look back...

 

The shout out to RTA:

 

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=64068&sid=89687&bw=

The shout out to RTA:

 

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx?aid=64068&sid=89687&bw=

 

that was pretty cool, although the did mis-identify RTA's Media Relations Manager, Chad Self, as "Alesia", who I believe was the rapid station booth attendant featured earlier in the piece

jetdog, any idea when the freaking up escalator will be fixed at Tower City?  It has been broken since last Wednesday.  That is a long climb up those stairs for asthmatics like me.

jetdog, any idea when the freaking up escalator will be fixed at Tower City?  It has been broken since last Wednesday.  That is a long climb up those stairs for asthmatics like me.

 

I will certainly check on that, but might I also suggest use of the escalator at the south side of the rotunda (just beyond the Customer Service kiosk) or the elevator? Both of those, to the best of my knowledge, are in service.

Feagler has some good points, including about Euclid Corridor.  No matter how we may want it to change the culture in Cleveland, what we are getting is basically a prettier Route 6.  Unfortunately, I am not sure that will amount to much more then a 20% increase in ridership on one route.  (and some of that perhaps at the expense of the Red Line.)

 

Even at $4 a gallon, Cleveland appears to be far from being a public transportation-kind of town like some other cities.  We must like our cars.

jetdog, any idea when the freaking up escalator will be fixed at Tower City?  It has been broken since last Wednesday.  That is a long climb up those stairs for asthmatics like me.

 

I will certainly check on that, but might I also suggest use of the escalator at the south side of the rotunda (just beyond the Customer Service kiosk) or the elevator? Both of those, to the best of my knowledge, are in service.

 

Thanks.  I didn't know there was anything beyond the customer service kiosk and assumed there was a wall there.  I will check it out. 

Cross-posted on the Ohio Hub/ORDC thread....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/dick_feagler/index.ssf?/base/opinion-0/1211044559121880.xml&coll=2

 

Past is forgotten; future is stalled on the interstate

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Dick Feagler

Plain Dealer Columnist

 

I dunno, I found this column kind of annoying. 

"It was the thought that was missing."   or "But when it comes to public works, we have no vision."

 

No, Dick, plenty of people had thoughts and vision, it was a matter of mobilizing resources, political will and public opinion- I don't recall you doing much on these fronts in your crappy column over the years.

Great point. Tell him.

jetdog, any idea when the freaking up escalator will be fixed at Tower City?  It has been broken since last Wednesday.  That is a long climb up those stairs for asthmatics like me.

 

I will certainly check on that, but might I also suggest use of the escalator at the south side of the rotunda (just beyond the Customer Service kiosk) or the elevator? Both of those, to the best of my knowledge, are in service.

 

Thanks.  I didn't know there was anything beyond the customer service kiosk and assumed there was a wall there.  I will check it out. 

 

Thank you. As per response from one of our rail facilities managers, the service provider is expecting parts for the handrail to be delivered this week, so that escalator should be back in service shortly.

jetdog, any idea when the freaking up escalator will be fixed at Tower City?  It has been broken since last Wednesday.  That is a long climb up those stairs for asthmatics like me.

 

I will certainly check on that, but might I also suggest use of the escalator at the south side of the rotunda (just beyond the Customer Service kiosk) or the elevator? Both of those, to the best of my knowledge, are in service.

 

Thanks.  I didn't know there was anything beyond the customer service kiosk and assumed there was a wall there.  I will check it out. 

 

Thank you. As per response from one of our rail facilities managers, the service provider is expecting parts for the handrail to be delivered this week, so that escalator should be back in service shortly.

 

Haha I love how this one escalator is a concern, in the one micropaper here, they run a story every other day about broken down escalators and whiny New Yorkers complaining how they have to take the stairs.

This may be a dumb question, but can't they just reverse the "down" escalator in the meantime?  The up escalator seems to break about every 2-3 months and it seems a long time before it's fixed. 

^R&R- it could be worse- a report came out today that in NYC, 2/3 of all subway elevators had malfunctioned and trapped passengers for some period of time. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/nyregion/19elevators.html?ref=nyregion

 

Still, I hear ya- it always bugs me when the down escalator is working and the up one isn't.

^R&R- it could be worse- a report came out today that in NYC, 2/3 of all subway elevators had malfunctioned and trapped passengers for some period of time. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/nyregion/19elevators.html?ref=nyregion

 

Still, I hear ya- it always bugs me when the down escalator is working and the up one isn't.

 

Hey, things can ALWAYS be worse in some fashion.  It just irks me every day when I come out and the yellow gates are in front of the up escalator AGAIN.  I should just start doing my inhaler on the train as a preventative "in case" I have to take the stairs again.

The escalator at Puritas/150th was not working much of the time I used to use that stop.  Hopefully they rebuild that station some day.  It used to have triple the cars parked there each day.  Perhaps the park-and-ride busses (263/251) took the passengers, but I am sure the condition of the station (except for the new platform) has not helped ridership.  It's a prime spot to gather southwest-siders, especially after the Innerbelt project gets underway.

^ I don't work with RTA, but the Puritas station is definately going to be rebuilt soon: http://www.gcrta.org/majorprojects/puritas.asp

I am glad to see it may be moving forward.  I used that stop regularly in 2000-2001 and RTA discussed something back then too and it never happened.

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:

 

As of this morning the broken glass patches are still there, as well as various bottles/litter.  Note that this is the side of the lot where the buses pull up.  It's really in poor condition between the uneven terrain and the broken glass - the glass is the teeny bits that you see when someone gets their window shattered, and there are several spots like this.

I am back, I reported this again today, thanks.

I would guess broken window glass is a little disconcerting to those that park there everyday.

FWIW, I did see an RTA employee picking up bottles/cans this morning.

I would guess broken window glass is a little disconcerting to those that park there everyday.

 

I don't think I've seen a parking lot that doesn't have car window glass nuggets on its pavement -- including my building's parking lot and parking garage.

Haha I love how this one escalator is a concern, in the one micropaper here, they run a story every other day about broken down escalators and whiny New Yorkers complaining how they have to take the stairs.

 

I take it you haven't been to a station like Clark Street or Court Street in Brooklyn or 175 or 181 in Manhattan.  Walk up/down those stairs and then make fun at those "whining".  Some of those stations are hundreds of feet underground and once you get to the turnstile/pay area you still have to walk damn near 100 yards just to get to an exit.

I would guess broken window glass is a little disconcerting to those that park there everyday.

 

I don't think I've seen a parking lot that doesn't have car window glass nuggets on its pavement -- including my building's parking lot and parking garage.

 

Maybe that's the difference between "urban" and "suburban" :)  I've never had those little bits of shattered window glass in ANY of the apartment building parking lots where I've lived, and I've lived in like 20 apartments.

Maybe that's the difference between "urban" and "suburban"

 

Maybe it's the difference in crime rate.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of shattered car windows in certain suburbs I won't name.

 

In many instances suburbs have traditionally been safer than urban areas, but this is not always the case and is likely to change in the future.  There may currently be correlation but certainly not causation.

I take it you haven't been to a station like Clark Street or Court Street in Brooklyn or 175 or 181 in Manhattan.  Walk up/down those stairs and then make fun at those "whining".  Some of those stations are hundreds of feet underground and once you get to the turnstile/pay area you still have to walk damn near 100 yards just to get to an exit.

 

I used the Lancaster Gate tube station several times last year while in London. It has two large elevators (er, lifts) or the option of taking 78 steps up to street level. I was traveling with my 77-year-old mother who has had both knees replaced.

 

Yep, you guessed it. One time we got to the station and both lifts were broken. We asked mom if she wanted to ride to the next station. She said she'd give the stairs a go. She did it and didn't compain a bit. But she counted every step!

:clap:MORE BUSES: On May 20, RTA Trustees approved the purchase of 20 articulated low-floor buses from New Flyer of America for $13.1 million.

 

The buses, to arrive here in 2009, are 60 feet long, and have a greater capacity than the standard 40-foot vehicles that make up the bulk of the RTA fleet. Three of the vehicles will have five doors each and resemble the Rapid Transit Vehicle (RTV) used on the Euclid Corridor. Those vehicles can operate on the HealthLine, as ridership demand increases.

 

The other 17 vehicles, with three doors each, will operate as needed on heavily-travelled RTA routes. About 76 percent of the purchase came from federal funds. The rest came from state and local funds. The buses will replace current vehicles that have exceeded their useful life.

 

Earlier this year, RTA purchases 21 articulated vehicles, for use on high ridership routes. RTA has an option to buy 30 more such vehicles.