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- killing off Dual-Hub subway/surface line btw Tower City & Univ. Circle in the early 1990s. NOTE: Replaced by the innovative but far inferior Health Line BRT which, at least, has stimulated some growth in Midtown.
- Re the Healthline; foolishly not tripping traffic lights to give BRT's priority, which slows the buses way down.
- Botching the POP (proof of payment) system with RTA's Keystone Kops allegedly harassing African American youth and getting a court order halting POP; slowing buses even more.
- City of Cleve and/or RTA screwing up an US FTA plan re the Healthline which, following a lawsuit threat from the Feds, caused the city to reopen Superior through the beautifully re-done Public Square (into a continuous park attracting people/families) so now smelly buses rumble through the center along with ugly Jersey concrete barricades; essentially destroying much of the good the Public Square re-do accomplished.
- (biggie) building the 22-story Stokes Federal Courts building at the western entrance of the train/Rapid Cuyahoga/Flats viaduct effectively blocking, forever, passenger trains from accessing Terminal Tower/Tower City... in the late 1920s, the famed Van Sweringen brothers, in addition to building Shaker Hts, Shaker Square (and surrounding neighborhood), the Rapid, the Eastern Suburbs roadway grid, etc, etc, ... built THE finest railroad/mixed use downtown train station in America, even besting NYC and Chicago; but the feds, then the locals, threw it all away!... In the early 1970s newly-formed, federally-funded Amtrak foolishly moved passenger trains out of TT and put them on the freight-clogged lakefront ROW with a narrow, single platform and ugly temporary looking station. Next to Albert Porter's killing the subway, this is the DUMBEST transportation/transit move Cleveland has ever made.
- RTA's Joe Calabrese nixing the highly popular, highly successful Community Circulator buses: small van-sized buses mostly extending from Rapid stations into many residential and commercial districts in roughly 1-2 mile loops with high frequency. Riders loved them. RTA obviously did not. Dumb!
- RTA's Joe Calabrese dumping a proposal to build a Red Line branch, near the airport, down the middle of I-480 to the heavily populated/trafficked Great Lakes Mall area in North Olmsted.
- Killing off, then not restarting, RTA Waterfront Line's late nigh weekend summer service to handle Flats crowds. The service, which extended to 2a on Fridays and Saturdays, was highly successful and kept a lot of boozy Flats revelers off the roads. But RTA dumped the service when the Flats declined, but now the Flats are back and jam packed more than before... Sorry, the Green Trolleys, which should supplement the trains, don't cut it. Plus the Trolleys stop running at 11p anyway... even the regular Rapid runs until after Midnight.
-- State of Ohio:
- John Kasich's killing the shovel-ready 3-C Amtrak line btw Cle-Col-Cincy. Thousands of jobs, passenger trips and development, esp in downtown Cleveland, went out the door with it (I'll never forgive Kasich for this, no matter how much he bashes Trump)
- Stingy down-state Republicans in the Ohio Legislature withholding all but a trickle to the big cities transit operating funds.
- Stingy down-state Republicans fin the Ohio Legislature foolishly not funding a local match for Amtrak service within the State: Ohio is the only major Midwestern state that doesn't fund -- we're an embarrassment.
Stingy down-state Republicans in the Ohio Legislature refusing to revise the gas tax law allowing for a portion to fund passenger trains or mass transit.
Don't blame the RTA too much on these issues. Nobody really cares much about mass transit unless it flies through the air. It's hard to get the proper funding in a climate like that. So, you get BRT rather than what should have probably been a subway deadheading directly at the Terminal Tower.
Don't blame the RTA too much on these issues. Nobody really cares much about mass transit unless it flies through the air. It's hard to get the proper funding in a climate like that. So, you get BRT rather than what should have probably been a subway deadheading directly at the Terminal Tower.
That's only true for the oft-knuckle-dragging Midwest. The West, Florida and, as always, the East, are investing billions on new transit, new passenger rail and even HSR. Here in Ohio, we can't see past yesterday.
Blaming the victim a bit. White flight and middle class flight over the last 70 years has done more to hurt RTA than any of these things you list. Taking Cleveland's population from 914k in 1950 to under 400k today will do the damage. With essentially the same amount of people in the metro area, it is a lot to expect RTA to run rail lines to Solon, Westlake, Mentor, Strongsville, etc. to go recapture these people. And to what avail? Much of the office jobs from downtown went out to the burbs too.
The West and South are in the midst of a long term growth spurt - and they're investing in transit/rail in several cities. So they're forward thinking and visionary - or they just have a lot of money to spend and rail transit is one piece in an overall huge transit budget. I'm not convinced it is a wise investment. What is a "no brainer" in NYC or Philly, is very much debatable in Dallas and Houston. Particularly in light of new technology and the new normal of COVID.
That's only true for the oft-knuckle-dragging Midwest. The West, Florida and, as always, the East, are investing billions on new transit, new passenger rail and even HSR. Here in Ohio, we can't see past yesterday.
Nah, that's pretty much the sentiment in most places. Florida's mass transit is a joke for the amount of population it has. The west, outside of a handful of cities like Seattle, Portland and SF, doesn't do a whole lot either. The highest concentration in the country is easily the northeast and that's mostly because of what was done 50+ years ago. A country as rich and powerful as the US should have had 10 far reaching bullet trains by 2020. We don't even have one. The US has 362 km of high speed passenger service in the entire f'n country. China has over 35,000 km. We simply, as a whole, do not care about it.
Nah, that's pretty much the sentiment in most places. Florida's mass transit is a joke for the amount of population it has. The west, outside of a handful of cities like Seattle, Portland and SF, doesn't do a whole lot either. The highest concentration in the country is easily the northeast and that's mostly because of what was done 50+ years ago. A country as rich and powerful as the US should have had 10 far reaching bullet trains by 2020. We don't even have one. The US has 362 km of high speed passenger service in the entire f'n country. China has over 35,000 km. We simply, as a whole, do not care about it.
Ah, no... Not in real world at least. Aside from the fact that every major city on the West Coast has built or expanded transit in the past 10-20 years, you conveniently ignore such places as Denver, Dallas, Salt Lake City (small metro with extensive LRT and commuter rail), Phoenix, Houston, Austin (DMU commuter rail, just approved a multi-billion LRT with a downtown subway), Twin Cities, Charlotte, St. Louis, and more... California is moving forward with construction on its billion-dollar HSR btw SF and LA. Meanwhile Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Rail enterprise is advancing on an LA-to-Vegas HSR line. Private financieers are doing the same in Texas on a HSR project btw Dallas and Houston. And even the small cities of Alberquerqe and Santa Fe have built a 60-mile luxury passenger rail line (the Road Runner) connecting those 2 cities...
... and here in stupid, densley-populated Ohio, we can't even connect our 3 2M+ population metro areas with any kind of rail; Columbus, which likes to beat its chest as Ohio's biggest, fastest growing city, infamously is the largest city in the industrialized nations of the planet to have zero passenger rail of any kind... Maybe for you, that's something to be proud of.
Saying Florida's transit system is a "joke" is patenly ridiculous. Miami already has HRT, Tri-Rail (commuter rail) and the free, extensive downtown People Mover. It just opened the first section of the Brightline/Virgin Florida higher speed rail line, ultimately, extending to Orlando airport which will also expand Miami commuter rail. It may be a "joke" to you, but at least smart people are trying to do the right thing and are moving forward. They're not hampred by a large mass of backwards Republican only seem interested in the status quo, Trump and, well, influence peddling with major energy companies to the tune of tens of millions ($60M to be exact).
Please, don't extrapolate your backward views on transit onto everybody else, because it simply flies in the face of actual fact.
Ah, no... Not in real world at least. Aside from the fact that every major city on the West Coast has built or expanded transit in the past 10-20 years, you conveniently ignore such places as Denver, Dallas, Salt Lake City (small metro with extensive LRT and commuter rail), Phoenix, Houston, Austin (DMU commuter rail, just approved a multi-billion LRT with a downtown subway), Twin Cities, Charlotte, St. Louis, and more... California is moving forward with construction on its billion-dollar HSR btw SF and LA. Meanwhile Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Rail enterprise is advancing on an LA-to-Vegas HSR line. Private financieers are doing the same in Texas on a HSR project btw Dallas and Houston. And even the small cities of Alberquerqe and Santa Fe have built a 60-mile luxury passenger rail line (the Road Runner) connecting those 2 cities...
... and here in stupid, densley-populated Ohio, we can't even connect our 3 2M+ population metro areas with any kind of rail; Columbus, which likes to beat its chest as Ohio's biggest, fastest growing city, infamously is the largest city in the industrialized nations of the planet to have zero passenger rail of any kind... Maybe for you, that's something to be proud of.
Saying Florida's transit system is a "joke" is patenly ridiculous. Miami already has HRT, Tri-Rail (commuter rail) and the free, extensive downtown People Mover. It just opened the first section of the Brightline/Virgin Florida higher speed rail line, ultimately, extending to Orlando airport which will also expand Miami commuter rail. It may be a "joke" to you, but at least smart people are trying to do the right thing and are moving forward. They're not hampred by a large mass of backwards Republican only seem interested in the status quo, Trump and, well, influence peddling with major energy companies to the tune of tens of millions ($60M to be exact).
Please, don't extrapolate your backward views on transit onto everybody else, because it simply flies in the face of actual fact.
I'm not "conveniently" ignoring anything. I never said there wasn't some development. I'm saying its paltry. I'm also highlighting how fragmented our national approach to modern mass transit outside of aircraft really is and, ironically and clearly without intention, so are you. Your own diatribe is a tacit admission as you're only able to name a handful of cities with anything resembling decent rail systems. The cities with irons in the fire are wonderful concepts, but they are still largely on paper and likely to dry up with the current economic downturn - e.g., most of the above California HSR citation has already been shelved.
Florida is a huge state with about a dozen major cities and 20+ million people. The Miami-Dade metrorail is the ONLY one of its kind in Florida and is SHORTER than the combined RTA lines by 13 miles and has 28 fewer stops. The only other city in Florida with a fairly decent system is Orlando. So, yes, Florida's system (if you can even call it that) is a relative joke.
You have somehow taken to the notion that I think this is a good thing -- how, I have no idea. I think its a travesty. I'm simply pointing out the reality that the US in general doesn't give a crap about terrestrial mass transit. It's not just Ohio and/or the midwest. If you want to see a country that does, take a trip to China. Every city in the modern, industrialized area of the country has an extensive metro system, many of which are linked by inter-city HSR. We have absolutely nothing like it outside of the coastal portion of the northeast.
I'm not "conveniently" ignoring anything. I never said there wasn't some development. I'm saying its paltry. I'm also highlighting how fragmented our national approach to modern mass transit outside of aircraft really is and, ironically and clearly without intention, so are you. Your own diatribe is a tacit admission as you're only able to name a handful of cities with anything resembling decent rail systems. The cities with irons in the fire are wonderful concepts, but they are still largely on paper and likely to dry up with the current economic downturn - e.g., most of the above California HSR citation has already been shelved.
Florida is a huge state with about a dozen major cities and 20+ million people. The Miami-Dade metrorail is the ONLY one of its kind in Florida and is SHORTER than the combined RTA lines by 13 miles and has 28 fewer stops. The only other city in Florida with a fairly decent system is Orlando. So, yes, Florida's system (if you can even call it that) is a relative joke.
You have somehow taken to the notion that I think this is a good thing -- how, I have no idea. I think its a travesty. I'm simply pointing out the reality that the US in general doesn't give a crap about terrestrial mass transit. It's not just Ohio and/or the midwest. If you want to see a country that does, take a trip to China. Every city in the modern, industrialized area of the country has an extensive metro system, many of which are linked by inter-city HSR. We have absolutely nothing like it outside of the coastal portion of the northeast.
It's true, as much as it would help things environmentally for people to utilize mass-transit, it's just not a part of our culture unless done out of necessity. The Northeast, DC, Bay Area and Chicago are dense enough that it is more convenient to use public transportation because driving there is often more trouble than it's worth. When we have relatively smooth driving access and parking options that aren't a complete headache, the majority of us are going to choose to drive our own vehicles for speed and convenience, especially those of us with families (high prevalence in the Midwest and South vs the coasts).
It's true, as much as it would help things environmentally for people to utilize mass-transit, it's just not a part of our culture unless done out of necessity. The Northeast, DC, Bay Area and Chicago are dense enough that it is more convenient to use public transportation because driving there is often more trouble than it's worth. When we have relatively smooth driving access and parking options that aren't a complete headache, the majority of us are going to choose to drive our own vehicles for speed and convenience, especially those of us with families (high prevalence in the Midwest and South vs the coasts).
What you're saying is unfortunately true for too many Americans. We're a reactionary country rather than one that seriously plans for the future. We are perpetually guided solely by economic interests along with a fierce, wrong-headed libertarian individualism. These factors are all at play currently with our devastatingly poor handling of COVID-19.
Those who run transit systems don't often ride their own transit systems. If they did, they'd know what to fix, when to fix, how to fix, and how much needed to fix.
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