Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Pittsburgh. One of the pros to moving here was the big push for rapid transit. At some point over the last few years any interest by the city and county administrations has died out. The current trend is all about widening and improving the highway system. More highways only encourages people to move farther out to the suburbs and doesn't promote growth within the city limits. Heck, getting to the airport is even a major hassle and that topic is ignored. At one point, officials were considering BRT since it is a cheaper alternative but those funds have been diverted to other projects. The leadership here is pathetic.
Pittsburgh seemed in my experience to have a very good transit system versus Columbus and Cincinnati.
Columbus did add recently a free bus route downtown.
Pittsburgh. One of the pros to moving here was the big push for rapid transit. At some point over the last few years any interest by the city and county administrations has died out. The current trend is all about widening and improving the highway system. More highways only encourages people to move farther out to the suburbs and doesn't promote growth within the city limits. Heck, getting to the airport is even a major hassle and that topic is ignored. At one point, officials were considering BRT since it is a cheaper alternative but those funds have been diverted to other projects. The leadership here is pathetic.
There are very few areas in the US that don't operate in that manner. Even areas with more of a focus on public transportation still spend much time and money on roadway infrastructure.
To look at the glass as half full, Pittsburgh has a better public transit system than many cities.
And I have also lived in city with one of the largest and best public transportation systems. I don't want to live in a stagnant city. It is not why I moved here.
Yes, we are. It is completely frustrating that my city has completely dropped the ball in regards to public transit. The BEST thing Cleveland could do is to expand and create a huge rapid transit system.
What's really frustrating about Cleveland is, as I've mentioned before, that the voters approved a downtown subway in the 1950s; the city's streetcars were being replaced by buses. The subway was derailed and never built. Cleveland politics.
Then in the 1970s, voters approved the creation of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The RTA was approved and created to provide a regional rail network.
Clevelanders have a history of being pro-transit. Too bad the politicians and ''leaders'' derailed these projects from 60 years ago. Maybe Cleveland would not have declined as steeply as it did and recovered much sooner from its economic malaise.
Cleveland's current light-rail system, the Shaker Rapid, was designed over 100 years ago to serve Shaker Heights residents, not so much Cleveland residents. Why do you think the ridership is so low on Cleveland's light-rail as opposed to newer systems. RTA needs to expand these lines and make them more accessible, convenient and visible. The Red Line, again, not convenient in most places but the direct connection into the airport is great.
Instead, Cleveland got the inefficient Waterfront Line in 1996 and the BRT in 2008. At a minimum, the Waterfront Line needs to loop through downtown along E 9 or E 18th Streets connecting to the RTA tracks at E 9th Street or so.
Extension of the light-rail or a streetcar along Detroit Avenue to 65th, south to Lorain, east on Lorain to E 9th Street. Direct connection to the Red Line at 65/Madison, develop a Red Line station at W 44 or W 41, connection again at W 25th Street. There would be 2 direct stops with with the Red Line and 1 quasi-direct stop in the W 40s. There were plans with the old CTS to develop a rapid station around W 41-W 44th Streets. This is should be considered now as Ohio City develops and would contribute to growth south of Lorain Avenue.
BRT is great, just not for Euclid Avenue, Cleveland's main artery-connection between the downtown and University Circle hubs.
What's really frustrating about Cleveland is, as I've mentioned before, that the voters approved a downtown subway in the 1950s; the city's streetcars were being replaced by buses. The subway was derailed and never built. Cleveland politics.
Then in the 1970s, voters approved the creation of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The RTA was approved and created to provide a regional rail network.
Clevelanders have a history of being pro-transit. Too bad the politicians and ''leaders'' derailed these projects from 60 years ago. Maybe Cleveland would not have declined as steeply as it did and recovered much sooner from its economic malaise.
Cleveland's current light-rail system, the Shaker Rapid, was designed over 100 years ago to serve Shaker Heights residents, not so much Cleveland residents. Why do you think the ridership is so low on Cleveland's light-rail as opposed to newer systems. RTA needs to expand these lines and make them more accessible, convenient and visible. The Red Line, again, not convenient in most places but the direct connection into the airport is great.
Instead, Cleveland got the inefficient Waterfront Line in 1996 and the BRT in 2008. At a minimum, the Waterfront Line needs to loop through downtown along E 9 or E 18th Streets connecting to the RTA tracks at E 9th Street or so.
Extension of the light-rail or a streetcar along Detroit Avenue to 65th, south to Lorain, east on Lorain to E 9th Street. Direct connection to the Red Line at 65/Madison, develop a Red Line station at W 44 or W 41, connection again at W 25th Street. There would be 2 direct stops with with the Red Line and 1 quasi-direct stop in the W 40s. There were plans with the old CTS to develop a rapid station around W 41-W 44th Streets. This is should be considered now as Ohio City develops and would contribute to growth south of Lorain Avenue.
BRT is great, just not for Euclid Avenue, Cleveland's main artery-connection between the downtown and University Circle hubs.
What's really frustrating about Cleveland is, as I've mentioned before, that the voters approved a downtown subway in the 1950s; the city's streetcars were being replaced by buses. The subway was derailed and never built. Cleveland politics.
Then in the 1970s, voters approved the creation of the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The RTA was approved and created to provide a regional rail network.
Clevelanders have a history of being pro-transit. Too bad the politicians and ''leaders'' derailed these projects from 60 years ago. Maybe Cleveland would not have declined as steeply as it did and recovered much sooner from its economic malaise.
Cleveland's current light-rail system, the Shaker Rapid, was designed over 100 years ago to serve Shaker Heights residents, not so much Cleveland residents. Why do you think the ridership is so low on Cleveland's light-rail as opposed to newer systems. RTA needs to expand these lines and make them more accessible, convenient and visible. The Red Line, again, not convenient in most places but the direct connection into the airport is great.
Instead, Cleveland got the inefficient Waterfront Line in 1996 and the BRT in 2008. At a minimum, the Waterfront Line needs to loop through downtown along E 9 or E 18th Streets connecting to the RTA tracks at E 9th Street or so.
Extension of the light-rail or a streetcar along Detroit Avenue to 65th, south to Lorain, east on Lorain to E 9th Street. Direct connection to the Red Line at 65/Madison, develop a Red Line station at W 44 or W 41, connection again at W 25th Street. There would be 2 direct stops with with the Red Line and 1 quasi-direct stop in the W 40s. There were plans with the old CTS to develop a rapid station around W 41-W 44th Streets. This is should be considered now as Ohio City develops and would contribute to growth south of Lorain Avenue.
BRT is great, just not for Euclid Avenue, Cleveland's main artery-connection between the downtown and University Circle hubs.
What's even more frustrating is the unused Rapid Transit facilities. There's a 2-track grade separated subway stub branching off under Huron due east of Ontario. This could be used to loop Waterfront Line trains back into Tower City. Because of the massive nuCLEus complex planned for E.4th & Prospect, the prospects (no pun intended) of surface LRT in this congested/soon to be more congested area is unattractive. Building a short tunnel to connect with this subway/Rapid connection at TC makes more sense.
Also of course, there's the unused subway deck under the Detroit-Superior bridge. It would be relatively easy to branch tracks off from the Red Line at Tower City and divert them to the lower D-S subway deck heading out Detroit, where tracks could surface in Detroit's (or the Shoreway's) median heading west.
I think the Waterfront Line will get stronger when development is completed in Flats East Bank and, hopefully, Old River Road nearby will spring back to life. Also, there's the planned apartment/office/retail complex that's supposed to start building within a year around/north of the the Rock Hall and Browns Stadium. That too should help the Waterfront Line.
Because of the massive nuCLEus complex planned for E.4th & Prospect, the prospects (no pun intended) of surface LRT in this congested/soon to be more congested area is unattractive. Building a short tunnel to connect with this subway/Rapid connection at TC makes more sense.
What's even more frustrating is the unused Rapid Transit facilities. There's a 2-track grade separated subway stub branching off under Huron due east of Ontario. This could be used to loop Waterfront Line trains back into Tower City. Because of the massive nuCLEus complex planned for E.4th & Prospect, the prospects (no pun intended) of surface LRT in this congested/soon to be more congested area is unattractive. Building a short tunnel to connect with this subway/Rapid connection at TC makes more sense.
Also of course, there's the unused subway deck under the Detroit-Superior bridge. It would be relatively easy to branch tracks off from the Red Line at Tower City and divert them to the lower D-S subway deck heading out Detroit, where tracks could surface in Detroit's (or the Shoreway's) median heading west.
I think the Waterfront Line will get stronger when development is completed in Flats East Bank and, hopefully, Old River Road nearby will spring back to life. Also, there's the planned apartment/office/retail complex that's supposed to start building within a year around/north of the the Rock Hall and Browns Stadium. That too should help the Waterfront Line.
Pretty much anything that brings rail directly into downtown, with key stations, is an improvement. The Waterfront Line would be great for East Bank visitors and residents that want to take it to Playhouse Square for example or a minium E 9th/Euclid. The ''dead-end'' at the Muni Lot is not helping its ridership.
My idea for a streetcar or light-rail out to W 65th could start, running in both directions, starting for example at E 9th Carnegie, north to Lakeside (stop for Convention Center/Mall/ped bridge to lakefront), west to W 3rd, cut south on W 3rd, west again on Superior (Public Square access), under the Detroit-Superior Bridge out to W 65th, heading south to Lorain Avenue, eastbound back to E 9th/Carnegie. Another loop east to CSU and Playhouse Square would work as well or somehow route the whole system to integrate these major transit-user destinations.
Cleveland is fortunate to have any rail but it needs to expand and make it a modern system. Residential and retail developments at the some of the west side station parking lots, especially West Park or Triskett, with a professional crowd, is what Cleveland needs to keep attracting and developing its employment base.
Having modern transit which, with some tweaking, Cleveland could have and use it to compete with the ''destination'' cities. The Greenway along the current Red Line would be spectacular and an example of integrating the Red Line into the city instead of current isolation. Many people, especially visitors would never know Cleveland had a rail system.
Cleveland is still far ahead other cities transit wise; it just needs some oomph to get it up to date.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
