Public Transportation from Westlake to Downtown? (Cleveland, Lorain: crime, how much, houses)

[BradyH]

I have accepted the position in Cleveland and we are thinking of moving to WestLake area.

Question is, Does Westlake has any public transportation to Downtown? How is the frequency of the service and how much it costs?

I will be working in Downtown in East 9th Street

[twange]

Originally Posted by BradyH

I have accepted the position in Cleveland and we are thinking of moving to WestLake area.

Question is, Does Westlake has any public transportation to Downtown? How is the frequency of the service and how much it costs?

I will be working in Downtown in East 9th Street

Public Transportation from Westlake to Downtown is not very good. The RAPID(lightrail) is not available there, so you will need to find a bus route, which may or may not be very convenient. But there is a park and ride in Westlake that might work for you. Check out RTA's website for more info:

Park-N-Ride Locations - Popular Destinations | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

[TheProf]

^Actually, it's not horrible (just not great), but public transit to Westlake can be decent. In addition to the aforementioned Crocker Park, the faux "Main Street" mixed use "village" created, has freeway bus service into the Triskett station of the Red Line Rapid transit (btw, the Red Line is heavy rail, not light rail -- the Blue, Green and Waterfront lines on the East Side are light rail).

Also, recently an ad hoc pro transit group, along with various west suburban mayors and some Cleveland council persons, have recently secured federal funding for an environmental/alternative analysis study for a commuter rail line from Cleveland to Lorain along a partially abandoned freight rail corridor, which would have a stop (or stops) along Westlake's northern border, which is shared with Bay Village. Obviously this would greatly enhance transit in Westlake.

[twange]

Originally Posted by TheProf

^Actually, it's not horrible (just not great), but public transit to Westlake can be decent. In addition to the aforementioned Crocker Park, the faux "Main Street" mixed use "village" created, has freeway bus service into the Triskett station of the Red Line Rapid transit (btw, the Red Line is heavy rail, not light rail -- the Blue, Green and Waterfront lines on the East Side are light rail).

Also, recently an ad hoc pro transit group, along with various west suburban mayors and some Cleveland council persons, have recently secured federal funding for an environmental/alternative analysis study for a commuter rail line from Cleveland to Lorain along a partially abandoned freight rail corridor, which would have a stop (or stops) along Westlake's northern border, which is shared with Bay Village. Obviously this would greatly enhance transit in Westlake.

I've heard plenty about that commuter rail. I think that proposal would be great, but as usual, I'm hearing a lot of bitching about how it will bring an "element" through the west suburbs. But it would be an excellent transit option for the West side, since the Redline veers too far south towards the airport to be of any real use to folks in Avon, Westlake, Rocky River, Lakewood etc...In fact the RAPID has 0 stops in Lakewood, RR, Westake...only near it This is supremely ignorant as those are the dense west side towns and would stand to benefit most from local stops. The 117th and Triskett stations are OK if you live on the East side of Lakewood, but if not, you need to drive, bike, walk etc...If you live on the far West of Lakewood...

I hope the commuter plan gets through.

[TheProf]

^Who you are hearing this "bitching" about an "element" from? From what I know, most suburban mayors have been enthusiastic supporters and on the same page (often rare in Cleveland esp re rail transit expansion)... Also, you could consider W.117 on the Lakewood border.

btw, I-90 west was built with a rail right of way down the middle from around Triskett to Clauge Rd. But when the road was rebuilt in the early 90s, this was eliminated.

[twange]

Originally Posted by TheProf

^Who you are hearing this "bitching" about an "element" from? From what I know, most suburban mayors have been enthusiastic supporters and on the same page (often rare in Cleveland esp re rail transit expansion)... Also, you could consider W.117 on the Lakewood border.

btw, I-90 west was built with a rail right of way down the middle from around Triskett to Clauge Rd. But when the road was rebuilt in the early 90s, this was eliminated.

Lots of old timers in Lakewood(my father-in-law included). It always gets my blood boiling. They don't want people "milling about" near their houses.

The 117th stop is OK if you live in the Eastern portion of Lakewood. Same thing with the Triskett station. The real crime here is that Cleveland ripped out all of those awesome streetcars back in the 50s. Oops Lakewood had a bunch of them. Imagine if Cleveland would have kept that system going...we wouldn't be having this same discussion.

[TheProf]

^No offense to your father-in-law, but I think that ridiculous thinking is more geared toward Rapid transit than commuter rail; esp the planned one which will (as the plan is, initially) only operate during rush hour. So if some "undesirable wants to pay the higher fare to come hang around or rob someone, he'll have to wait till morning to catch a train back to the city...

... I understand what you're saying about the Red Line and Lakewood. Unfortunately, the CTS transit planners then thought there would be greater benefit toward serving the booming SW side of the city and, eventually, Hopkins airport than Lakewood. Keep in mind, too, there really is no good right of way through Lakewood. The planned commuter rail goes along a railroad that rides on the surface and has a bunch of grade crossings in crowded neighborhoods... No rapid transit system is perfect. Chicago's el misses a bunch of neighborhoods and even NYC's great subway fails to serve the Meadowlands sports complex or any of its 3 airports (in that sense, Cleveland's is better!)... For a medium-sized city, esp in the Midwest, and even more esp in Ohio! Cleveland is way ahead of the pack... I'll settle for what we've got here.

[twange]

Originally Posted by TheProf

even NYC's great subway fails to serve the Meadowlands sports complex or any of its 3 airports (in that sense, Cleveland's is better!)... For a medium-sized city, esp in the Midwest, and even more esp in Ohio! Cleveland is way ahead of the pack... I'll settle for what we've got here.

Remember that the Meadowlands is in Jersey. Which doesn't make ANY sense

Two reason why the subways don't go to the airport:
1.)They were built in 1904...no planes
2.)That would cut into the obscene profit margin that cabbies and other transport reap from weary, annoyed travelers who don't want to take a bus all the way into Manhattan

Streetcars are the way to go. Check out Portland, Oregon and Toronto.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by twange

Remember that the Meadowlands is in Jersey. Which doesn't make ANY sense

Two reason why the subways don't go to the airport:
1.)They were built in 1904...no planes
2.)That would cut into the obscene profit margin that cabbies and other transport reap from weary, annoyed travelers who don't want to take a bus all the way into Manhattan

Streetcars are the way to go. Check out Portland, Oregon and Toronto.

Your history is a tad off. Wright Bros. 1st flew in 1902. Besides that, your analysis doesn't quite fly. New York had elevated trains since about 1870. Also, Chicago's L was founded in 1892 and it serves both airports. It was extended. Cleveland's Rapid, by that definition, was founded in 1913, the year of it's 1st section... There are political reasons beyond me why NYC hasn't expanded rail to its airports (aside from the new-ish NJTransit commuter rail station near Newark International.

Also, there's no excusing no rail to the Meadowlands just cause it's in Jersey. PATH is an interstate subway system. Why couldn't a branch of it go there? Cleveland just happens to be more aggressive extending rail to its sports complexes and airport than New York.

[twange]

Originally Posted by TheProf

Your history is a tad off. Wright Bros. 1st flew in 1902. Besides that, your analysis doesn't quite fly. New York had elevated trains since about 1870. Also, Chicago's L was founded in 1892 and it serves both airports. It was extended. Cleveland's Rapid, by that definition, was founded in 1913, the year of it's 1st section... There are political reasons beyond me why NYC hasn't expanded rail to its airports (aside from the new-ish NJTransit commuter rail station near Newark International.

Also, there's no excusing no rail to the Meadowlands just cause it's in Jersey. PATH is an interstate subway system. Why couldn't a branch of it go there? Cleveland just happens to be more aggressive extending rail to its sports complexes and airport than New York.

I stand corrected. I suppose my response was more suggested sarcasm, as in political reasons why the subways don't service the airports. If you're willing to do it, there is a bus that services LaGuardia, but I think it takes about an hour and has limited destinations(Upper East side I think). The Jersy swipe was pure sarcasm. I've ridden the PATH and thought it was a pretty well designed line.

While Cleveland's rail does service the sports complexes, RTAs inability to create a south suburb serving line is really remiss. Twinsburg, Macedonia, Solon, Aurora, Northfield etc... have seen HUGE growth in the last 15 years. I'm sure there are political reasons for this but I'm not sure they are valid. Any info on this? It seems like that would have been a better use of funds then the corridor project(which I do think will look beautiful).

I remember seeing a proposed plan for a commuter rail service shaped like a half wagon wheel. It would have serviced almost ALL of Northeast Ohio from Lake County to Lorain and down to Summit. It never seemed to have received much support

Then again, something like that would cost a lot of money that Ohio simply does not have.