Greater Cleveland RTA News & Discussion

[KJP]

Why does RTA need more money? This presentation shows why. Pay special attention to the charts on Page 17.....

 

http://freepdfhosting.com/e79e926f51.pdf

[KJP]

Ironically, the Greater Cleveland Partnership doesn't seem to think that RTA needs more money. They believe that RTA only needs to operate more efficiently. That from the organization who selected one consultant (AECOM) to conduct the GCP's RTA efficiency study, but when AECOM refused to join GCP, the contract award was canceled and given to WSP. So graft apparently matters more than efficiency. 

[jtadams]

As a libertarian I'm usually fairly sympathetic to this line of reasoning.  Public sector agencies often lack sufficient checks and balances against graft, corruption, and inefficiency.  However, I don't think it fits here.  From all appearances, GCRTA operates in a commendable fashion given the resources at its disposal.  It simply needs more resources, for two main reasons that most of us know but most of John Q. Public does not.  (a) To keep the rail system alive, and (b) to offer an acceptable level of service to at least the transit-dependent.  If either of these objectives fail, the blowback hits everyone. 

[MyPhoneDead]

I don’t know if it’s just the operator or something new that RTA is having the operator do but they now are telling you the ETA for the end of line and downtown as well as which buses connect to the stops. Very convenient, the train is filthy though.

[KJP]

54 minutes ago, Terdolph said:

The rail system must be preserved at all costs. 

 

Where is NOACA in all this?

 

Pumping money into the rail system....

 

On 9/13/2019 at 6:24 PM, Boomerang_Brian said:

A positive step towards replacing the Red Line rail cars:

 

https://www.cleveland.com/metro/2019/09/rta-to-receive-96m-from-planning-agency-for-rail-car-replacement.html

 

 The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, a transportation planning agency, on Friday approved $9.6 million toward replacing Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority rail cars.

 

NOACA approved the money as part of its commitment to fund a total of $24 million for new rail cars over the coming decade, according to an RTA spokeswoman.

 

A new fleet of heavy and light rail cars is expected to cost $240 million.

 

[PittsburgoDelendaEst]

New redesign concept aiming for slightly higher frequency with no loss of coverage at https://humantransit.org/2019/10/cleveland-see-where-you-could-go.html

 

Interactive map showing differences buried in that blog post: https://rtanetworkconcepts.com/viewer/

[Dougal]

San Francisco is trying to get BART airport passengers into the TSA Priority Checkin lanes at SFO.  Could the RTA do that for people who take the Rapid to CLE? Sounds like a good idea.

 

https://sfist.com/2019/10/16/riding-bart-to-sfo-would-get-you-in-tsa-priority-lane-under-new-proposal/?amp=1

[MyTwoSense]

8 hours ago, Dougal said:

San Francisco is trying to get BART airport passengers into the TSA Priority Checkin lanes at SFO.  Could the RTA do that for people who take the Rapid to CLE? Sounds like a good idea.

 

https://sfist.com/2019/10/16/riding-bart-to-sfo-would-get-you-in-tsa-priority-lane-under-new-proposal/?amp=1

Do we have a TSA line issue?  Do we have a transportation backup issue at the airport.

 

Granted I have TSA precheck and Clear. So I dont wait.

 

I think RTA, the city, county and Hopkins should do more to market the direct access and frequency of the Cleveland Rapid, between the airport W 108, W 25, Downtown and Univ. Circle.  There are many ways to do this.

[GISguy]

On 10/17/2019 at 10:52 PM, MyTwoSense said:

Do we have a TSA line issue?  Do we have a transportation backup issue at the airport.

 

Granted I have TSA precheck and Clear. So I dont wait.

 

I think RTA, the city, county and Hopkins should do more to market the direct access and frequency of the Cleveland Rapid, between the airport W 108, W 25, Downtown and Univ. Circle.  There are many ways to do this.

My buddy had never been on the rapid before, so we took the line from TC-airport this weekend (there was a bus detour from TC-117, unfortunately so he wasn't able to get the city view coming in from the west or some of the murals going west). It's so obvious to us, but it's such an amazing selling point - how many mid-sized cities can you roll your luggage onto a train downtown, and roll it off at the airport (in about ~30 mins/$2.50 fare), it's truly impressive and an asset that needs to be broadcasted far and wide.

[jtadams]

Agreed.  If all goes well.  And the destination is someplace that can be easily reached from the Red Line.  And there are no retaining walls falling down onto the tracks.  And the S-curve isn't closed for months because of a repair that should have been done 10-20 years previously.  And there isn't a major sporting event downtown that causes 2-3 hour delays.  And if none of the track or the train itself are broken down.  And if you don't have to transfer to/from shuttle buses in rough or at least rough-looking neighborhoods at night.  And if you can figure out which train goes to the airport as opposed to Stokes/Windermere.  And if the Heartless Felon and BBE-900 crews don't decide to take an interest in you or your belongings.  I hate to sound like a cynic, because I really do want GCRTA and in particular the Red Line to succeed.  And I don't think it's GCRTA's fault.  But at current levels of funding I don't know how we offer a system that is particularly welcoming, or even visible, to the average visitor.  Even we Clevelanders have frequent trouble with it.  We could market it a lot better than we do, sure.  But are we ready to do that yet?  Do we want many visitors' first impression of GCRTA to be something that causes them grief, rather than relieving it?  Maybe the better course is to get some new cars, get some new spare parts, make sure the track is in good enough condition that there are no unplanned shutdowns, coordinate HealthLine/trolley service to coincide with rail arrivals and departures, get some uniformed TC police in some of the  stations besides Tower City, and *then* shift focus to marketing, after we have something to market that we're sure will leave a good first impression?

[GISguy]

Fair points @jtadams, I was kind of embarrassed that we had to take a shuttle bus and had to explain the funding issues with the transit system. Thankfully, he's a transit fan and understood the problems and also enjoyed getting some Cleveland bus experience in (he's from PGH, who has their own funding issues). I did see a few confused folks with their bags either getting on or off the bus at TC, and yeah, didn't leave the greatest feeling deep down knowing that was a first impression. 

 

I really hope that the new GM can get some things done before naturally being jaded by the bureaucracy that they're likely to face. Between new ideas, additional funding, and a larger downtown population, I'd like to think we will be going in your idealized direction in the very near future.

 

Who knows though, just like an old car, if you defer routine maintenance, you're going to run into a heck of a lot more issues down the road, and I think that's where we are currently.

[jtadams]

BTW:  I like to visit NYC from time to time, but the well-publicized problems with subway service on weekends, which is when I'm usually there, have been a huge deterrent, especially since I've been affected by them personally.  Last time (2 years ago) I couldn't figure out a simple way to get from Columbus Circle to South Ferry.  Several services normally service that line.  But on this occasion, all the southbound platforms were closed.  Signs indicated we should go north on the 1 to 96th, about 2 miles north, then cross over to go back south.  But it was nearly 100F (at street level), trains were jam-packed, and I had 5 other people with me, 4 of them children and all of us exhausted.   Ended up taking an air-conditioned cab instead.  This was one bad experience, one time (well, two, if you could that an A train at Howard Beach/JFK decided not to show earlier that morning, leaving us stranded there for 40 minutes).  But that plus the news reports have kept my tourist money and business away from NYC.  Little by little, they are making improvements.  Because they have the money to do so, though not nearly as much as they'd like.  So I'll probably be back.  Eventually.  But meanwhile, here in Cleveland, we MUST figure out a way to do the same.  NYC's transportation system, even just considering the subways alone, is resilient enough to survive hiccups like this, or even Hurricane Sandy, which was devastating to several of the East River tunnels amongst many other things.  Ours is not.  If we lose any part of our rail system, we probably have lost it for good.

[KJP]

7 hours ago, GISguy said:

My buddy had never been on the rapid before, so we took the line from TC-airport this weekend (there was a bus detour from TC-117, unfortunately so he wasn't able to get the city view coming in from the west or some of the murals going west). It's so obvious to us, but it's such an amazing selling point - how many mid-sized cities can you roll your luggage onto a train downtown, and roll it off at the airport (in about ~30 mins/$2.50 fare), it's truly impressive and an asset that needs to be broadcasted far and wide.

 

I hadn't heard about a rail shutdown this past weekend. Curious why it was needed...

[roman totale XVII]

^ ‘Several projects’ apparently. 

 

 

[mrclifton88]

This is so frustrating. It’s too bad but I live downtown, and some months fly every week. I have never taken the red line simply because I can drive there so much faster and don’t have to worry if there will be service when I get back. If things were fast and reliable I would definitely prefer not to drive. 

[Cleburger]

7 hours ago, mrclifton88 said:

This is so frustrating. It’s too bad but I live downtown, and some months fly every week. I have never taken the red line simply because I can drive there so much faster and don’t have to worry if there will be service when I get back. If things were fast and reliable I would definitely prefer not to drive. 

I'm with you.  It's a roll of the dice every time I try to use the Redline these days. 

 

With the retaining wall project I understood the shutdown, which came with a great deal of notice. But with these other small projects and not insanely tight frequency, I don't understand why RTA can't single track sections to get the work done?   We have technology now to prevent collisions.  

[KJP]

They do single-track to work on some sections. You will often see the single-tracking work done between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays, and mentioned on GCRTA's Twitter.

 

Back in the day, RTA used to do track, signal, electrical, etc. work at night. But since the unions have such control over RTA, they probably refused to work at night.

[jtadams]

Do I dare point out, then, that the unions may have a role in keeping GCRTA alive?  That they might find it in their own interest to compromise on things of this nature, seeing that the alternative might be the last nail in the coffin of rail transit in northeast Ohio?

[KJP]

38 minutes ago, jtadams said:

Do I dare point out, then, that the unions may have a role in keeping GCRTA alive?  That they might find it in their own interest to compromise on things of this nature, seeing that the alternative might be the last nail in the coffin of rail transit in northeast Ohio?

 

Not always. The International United Steelworkers Union refused to support their locals in Youngstown in seeking lower-pay contracts in order to invest in modernizing the mills and keep the steel mills open. The international said the industry needed to shrink (they're probably right, but it also needed to be more globally competitive) and it also wanted to keep wages high. So it was willing to sacrifice the Youngstown District. Then it had to sacrifice Cleveland, and Birmingham, then East Chicago and Pittsburgh....

 

Sometimes unions see the big picture. Sometimes they don't. I can only hope the Amalgamated Transit Union does -- as well as GCRTA management. Which, BTW, the Greater Cleveland Partnership made a presentation today at the GCRTA board meeting on how GCRTA can be more efficient. One option was to reduce GCRTA management costs, which GCP says are $13 million per year out of line vs peer agencies....

 

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by KJP

[KJP]

Also.....

 

 

[KJP]

 But wait, there's more......

 

 

 

[KJP]

Copy of the report 

 

[KJP]

8 hours ago, Terdolph said:

Where is the new GM?!

 

Gathering information from multiple initiatives that got underway before she was hired.

[MyTwoSense]

On 10/21/2019 at 2:14 PM, jtadams said:

BTW:  I like to visit NYC from time to time, but the well-publicized problems with subway service on weekends, which is when I'm usually there, have been a huge deterrent, especially since I've been affected by them personally.  Last time (2 years ago) I couldn't figure out a simple way to get from Columbus Circle to South Ferry.  Several services normally service that line.  But on this occasion, all the southbound platforms were closed.  Signs indicated we should go north on the 1 to 96th, about 2 miles north, then cross over to go back south.  But it was nearly 100F (at street level), trains were jam-packed, and I had 5 other people with me, 4 of them children and all of us exhausted.   Ended up taking an air-conditioned cab instead.  This was one bad experience, one time (well, two, if you could that an A train at Howard Beach/JFK decided not to show earlier that morning, leaving us stranded there for 40 minutes).  But that plus the news reports have kept my tourist money and business away from NYC.  Little by little, they are making improvements.  Because they have the money to do so, though not nearly as much as they'd like.  So I'll probably be back.  Eventually.  But meanwhile, here in Cleveland, we MUST figure out a way to do the same.  NYC's transportation system, even just considering the subways alone, is resilient enough to survive hiccups like this, or even Hurricane Sandy, which was devastating to several of the East River tunnels amongst many other things.  Ours is not.  If we lose any part of our rail system, we probably have lost it for good.

 

This doesn't sound right at all.  I don't think you're remembering the closing properly.  Considering multiple train line run downtown/lower Manhattan.

 

Cleveland does need better federal funding for rail and rail expansion.  Until RTA/Cleveland/Cuyahoga county make/convince residents and passengers understand that public transportation is woven into every day lives of it's citizens while simultaneously providing top notch service all is lost.

[MyTwoSense]

On 10/21/2019 at 2:03 PM, jtadams said:

Agreed.  If all goes well.  And the destination is someplace that can be easily reached from the Red Line.  And there are no retaining walls falling down onto the tracks.  And the S-curve isn't closed for months because of a repair that should have been done 10-20 years previously.  And there isn't a major sporting event downtown that causes 2-3 hour delays.  And if none of the track or the train itself are broken down.  And if you don't have to transfer to/from shuttle buses in rough or at least rough-looking neighborhoods at night.  And if you can figure out which train goes to the airport as opposed to Stokes/Windermere.  And if the Heartless Felon and BBE-900 crews don't decide to take an interest in you or your belongings.  I hate to sound like a cynic, because I really do want GCRTA and in particular the Red Line to succeed.  And I don't think it's GCRTA's fault.  But at current levels of funding I don't know how we offer a system that is particularly welcoming, or even visible, to the average visitor.  Even we Clevelanders have frequent trouble with it.  We could market it a lot better than we do, sure.  But are we ready to do that yet?  Do we want many visitors' first impression of GCRTA to be something that causes them grief, rather than relieving it?  Maybe the better course is to get some new cars, get some new spare parts, make sure the track is in good enough condition that there are no unplanned shutdowns, coordinate HealthLine/trolley service to coincide with rail arrivals and departures, get some uniformed TC police in some of the  stations besides Tower City, and *then* shift focus to marketing, after we have something to market that we're sure will leave a good first impression?

 

This IMO is over dramatic. The Cleveland Rapid is not that bad. I take it religiously to and from Shaker Square.

[jtadams]

8 hours ago, MyTwoSense said:

 

This doesn't sound right at all.  I don't think you're remembering the closing properly.  Considering multiple train line run downtown/lower Manhattan.

 

Cleveland does need better federal funding for rail and rail expansion.  Until RTA/Cleveland/Cuyahoga county make/convince residents and passengers understand that public transportation is woven into every day lives of it's citizens while simultaneously providing top notch service all is lost.

 

Umm . . I may be aging, and my short-term memory may be crap, but this was a fairly unforgettable experience, and I was there.      I know several services share the line between 59th/Columbus Cir. and lower Manhattan.  But the southbound platforms were closed.  Trains were running southbound but could not stop and pick people up.  They had to skip the station, making it fairly useless to anyone wanting to use it to travel south.  This did look like a planned thing, judging by the fairly nicely printed signs.  It's common in NYC on weekends, because they do a lot of their maintenance and trackwork then.  It's apparently the least bad among several bad options given that the subways are open, running, and well-used 24/7/365.  I mentioned this in relation to how even a minor, planned hiccup in services can cause great inconvenience to visitors and tourists and such, never mind those who depend on the train or bus for their living.  That will be a way bigger problem for the traveler here than in NYC, because, ordinarily, there are (and were, even for us, however inconvenient) alternatives to any disrupted service there; here, if you're lucky, there might be replacement bus, eventually.

 

To weave public transportation into the everyday life of our city, never mind our region, is a great goal.  That's something that's taken for granted in much of the world, but is rare in the US outside of maybe NYC, Chicago, and (arguably?) DC.  A great thing to shoot for.  But it's a lofty one given the current situation, and right now I would settle for even baby steps, provided they are in the right direction, and are sufficient to at least preserve the possibility of rebuilding in the future when the economic and political situation with respect to transit has improved. 

 

[mack34]

On 10/22/2019 at 6:33 AM, Cleburger said:

I'm with you.  It's a roll of the dice every time I try to use the Redline these days. 

 

With the retaining wall project I understood the shutdown, which came with a great deal of notice. But with these other small projects and not insanely tight frequency, I don't understand why RTA can't single track sections to get the work done?   We have technology now to prevent collisions.  

Same,  4 times in the past 2 months I had to drive instead of rail because of shutdown.

[Robuu]

Last year, I stayed in an airbnb by Shaker Square, intending to use the Rapid to get around for the most part. Really regretted the location choice, as a shutdown that weekend meant I just ended up driving everywhere.

[Foraker]

4 hours ago, jtadams said:

To weave public transportation into the everyday life of our city, never mind our region, is a great goal.  That's something that's taken for granted in much of the world, but is rare in the US outside of maybe NYC, Chicago, and (arguably?) DC.  A great thing to shoot for.  But it's a lofty one given the current situation, and right now I would settle for even baby steps, provided they are in the right direction, and are sufficient to at least preserve the possibility of rebuilding in the future when the economic and political situation with respect to transit has improved. 

 

 

With the increase in downtown population, I hope that one of those baby steps is extending the Waterfront Line to loop around downtown!

[jtadams]

This would of course be great.  Problem is, we can't even afford to keep existing rail service running.  We're not making the necessary capital expenditures, so, if nothing changes (for the better!), we won't have a Waterfront or any other rail line for more than about the next 5 to 10 years.  There won't be enough rolling stock to maintain useful service.  The "baby steps" I was referring to were just in terms of finding funding to keep the lights on at this point, with the next priorities, in my thinking at least, being modest improvements in reliability, then frequency of service, then making viable plans to replace the fleet at least as rapidly as necessary, and then, only after all of the previous, improving scope of service (possibly including providing rail coverage to more of downtown in some capacity). 

[TBideon]

38 minutes ago, Foraker said:

 

With the increase in downtown population, I hope that one of those baby steps is extending the Waterfront Line to loop around downtown!

At $100-$200 million dollars per mile of additional track, that would be a pretty large baby step. 

[Foraker]

8 minutes ago, TBideon said:

At $100-$200 million dollars per mile of additional track, that would be a pretty large baby step. 

 

No doubt, without additional funding there will be no RTA in time. And many of Ohio's bridges will collapse.  Both are the result of state transportation funding priorities. 

 

I would encourage our state to rethink its priorities -- maybe revisit what transportation assets should be maintained, put money into such maintenance, and increase funding to projects that benefit the most people (many of those projects should include support for public transportation, which is much more efficient for moving people within cities).

 

I would also increase fees for users who put the most strain our our transportation assets -- particularly heavy trucks.  Ideally we should apply tolls to our interstates based on weight (and thereby capture service fees from those heavy battery-powered vehicles as well) -- and shift the gas tax funds to air quality and gas station environmental cleanup efforts. 

 

That seems unlikely unless we ask for it.  But it's not impossible.

 

[Foraker]

53 minutes ago, jtadams said:

This would of course be great.  Problem is, we can't even afford to keep existing rail service running.  We're not making the necessary capital expenditures, so, if nothing changes (for the better!), we won't have a Waterfront or any other rail line for more than about the next 5 to 10 years.  There won't be enough rolling stock to maintain useful service.  The "baby steps" I was referring to were just in terms of finding funding to keep the lights on at this point, with the next priorities, in my thinking at least, being modest improvements in reliability, then frequency of service, then making viable plans to replace the fleet at least as rapidly as necessary, and then, only after all of the previous, improving scope of service (possibly including providing rail coverage to more of downtown in some capacity). 

 

Is any of this even possible without a significant increase in funding?  How can we possible improve reliability, frequency, or scope of service without a significant funding increase?  

 

I fear that we are on a trajectory toward inevitable collapse, but I hope I am wrong.

[KJP]

17 minutes ago, TBideon said:

At $100-$200 million dollars per mile of additional track, that would be a pretty large baby step. 

 

Adjusted for inflation, the year 2000 construction cost of $120 million for completing a loop of downtown would be about $210 million if built six years from now. The operating cost would be about $2 million per year.

[GISguy]

Was anyone here on the 'Heal the Healthline' ride? Great to see at least two council people on board..ha ha

[KJP]

 

 

[jtadams]

I have some suggestions, though a lot of folks won't like them.  Start to actually police the troubled neighborhoods that surround many RTA stations.  Focus on both the reality, and the perception, of violent crime.  Try to push drug dealing and prostitution indoors.  Try to push the gangs someplace else altogether.  Make it safe, both in perception and in reality, for people of all classes and races to live and work and raise families in places near good transit, including but not limited to every single Red Line station.  Buy up parcels of formerly industrial and now-empty land near stations, and build nice, but affordable, housing near every station possible.  I'm aware of at least some of the challenges behind each and every one of these proposals.  But I'm also aware that if they don't happen, we won't get the density, or economic development, necessary in order to support good transit without excessive subsidies from the general public.

[NorthShore647]

Cleveland RTA gets $15.3 million from state transportation budget

Link: https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/10/cleveland-rta-gets-153-million-from-state-transportation-budget.html

• $6 million on preventive maintenance for buses and trains. This money will free up a federal grant that will be used to rehabilitate tracks.
• $5 million for rail car replacement
• $3.67 million to buy eight buses
• $660,000 to buy property along the Red Line’s East 79th Street station as part of a planned expansion project

[KJP]

3 minutes ago, NorthShore647 said:

Cleveland RTA gets $15.3 million from state transportation budget

Link: https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/10/cleveland-rta-gets-153-million-from-state-transportation-budget.html

• $6 million on preventive maintenance for buses and trains. This money will free up a federal grant that will be used to rehabilitate tracks.
• $5 million for rail car replacement
• $3.67 million to buy eight buses
• $660,000 to buy property along the Red Line’s East 79th Street station as part of a planned expansion project

 

That $5 million for rail cars needs to be $50 million. :,(

[NorthShore647]

2 minutes ago, KJP said:

That $5 million for rail cars needs to be $50 million. :,(

 

Ya its not too great. Optimistically ~1.5 heavy rail cars it seems. "...estimated by an RTA consultant to cost $240 million, or $3 million to $4 million per car."

[jtadams]

It's a baby step, but, still, $15 million and change we were not at all certain to get, from a state that is historically very reluctant to fund transit.  It's a start.  I can't help thinking (and lamenting) that railcar replacement simply is not going to happen, at least not soon enough, without some sort of federal assistance.  Ideologically I'm quite opposed to that.  But I'm also opposed to seeing our rail system fall apart - and us having to repay a bunch of federal moneys already received and spent - if we don't find some way to replace our fleet before it's too late.

Edited October 28, 2019 by jtadams
I tpyo'd.

[Foraker]

19 hours ago, jtadams said:

It's a baby step, but, still, $15 million and change we were not at all certain to get, from a state that is historically very reluctant to fund transit.  It's a start.  I can't help thinking (and lamenting) that railcar replacement simply is not going to happen, at least not soon enough, without some sort of federal assistance.  Ideologically I'm quite opposed to that.  But I'm also opposed to seeing our rail system fall apart - and us having to repay a bunch of federal moneys already received and spent - if we don't find some way to replace our fleet before it's too late.

 

Just as a reminder, the state transportation budget is around $3.6B, so that $70M the State of Ohio provides for transit is less than 2% of the transportation budget.

https://budget.ohio.gov/Budget/operating/doc/fy-20-21/FY20-21 Highlights Book-Final.pdf  (see p. 14)

 

How does that compare to our neighbors, Indiana/Michigan/Kentucky, WV, Pennsylvania?

 

[Boomerang_Brian]

Kerry Freaking McCormack Prepping Legislation to Decriminalize RTA Fare Evasion

 

https://m.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2019/10/25/kerry-freaking-mccormack-prepping-legislation-to-decriminalize-rta-fare-evasion

 

I don’t understand the inclusion of “Freaking” in the headline, but everything else about the proposal looks good.

 

i do wish the article would have explicitly clarified how much speeding up the route decreases overall operating expenses per passenger. People can’t see the big picture if the big picture isn’t painted. 

 

[viscomi]

I'm not sure but wasn't "Kerry Freaking McCormack" used in an overheard phone convo by the developer proposing the casino skywalk in reference to McCormack's nay vote. Weird headline nevertheless. 

[Boomerang_Brian]

1 hour ago, viscomi said:

I'm not sure but wasn't "Kerry Freaking McCormack" used in an overheard phone convo by the developer proposing the casino skywalk in reference to McCormack's nay vote. Weird headline nevertheless. 

Ah, yes, thanks. Still makes absolutely no sense in this context. But that does seem like the most likely explanation. 

[MyTwoSense]

On 10/24/2019 at 7:04 AM, jtadams said:

 

Umm . . I may be aging, and my short-term memory may be crap, but this was a fairly unforgettable experience, and I was there.      I know several services share the line between 59th/Columbus Cir. and lower Manhattan.  But the southbound platforms were closed.  Trains were running southbound but could not stop and pick people up.  They had to skip the station, making it fairly useless to anyone wanting to use it to travel south.  This did look like a planned thing, judging by the fairly nicely printed signs.  It's common in NYC on weekends, because they do a lot of their maintenance and trackwork then.  It's apparently the least bad among several bad options given that the subways are open, running, and well-used 24/7/365.  I mentioned this in relation to how even a minor, planned hiccup in services can cause great inconvenience to visitors and tourists and such, never mind those who depend on the train or bus for their living.  That will be a way bigger problem for the traveler here than in NYC, because, ordinarily, there are (and were, even for us, however inconvenient) alternatives to any disrupted service there; here, if you're lucky, there might be replacement bus, eventually.

 

To weave public transportation into the everyday life of our city, never mind our region, is a great goal.  That's something that's taken for granted in much of the world, but is rare in the US outside of maybe NYC, Chicago, and (arguably?) DC.  A great thing to shoot for.  But it's a lofty one given the current situation, and right now I would settle for even baby steps, provided they are in the right direction, and are sufficient to at least preserve the possibility of rebuilding in the future when the economic and political situation with respect to transit has improved. 

 

The 1 (local service) and 2/3 (express) wouldn't make you go more than one express stop to transfer.  So going from 59 street, would only make you go north to 72 or south to 42 for service.

 

I take the 2/3 and 1 every day.

[jtadams]

I didn't quite understand the reason either, and maybe the signs were wrong, but I definitely remember that they said go to 96th.  72nd would have been close enough to walk and I'd have gladly done that rather than pay $40-50 for a cab.  96th, not so much; not with little kids in tow.  I wonder if they were doing work on multiple local platforms.  And it was all the services, not just the 1.  We needed to get to South Ferry, but the 2/3 go to Fulton St. which isn't too far of a walk, so that would have been just fine.  But, details aside, the point is that people who don't use a transit system regularly will often be deterred by changes, even if planned and announced ahead of time.  I maybe should have checked the MTA website, but my phone was almost dead and I didn't want to use it unless truly necessary.  Now, given that we don't have great alternatives to our Red Line here when it shuts down, for whatever reason, I think it's pretty important to keep those shutdowns to a minimum.  And that segues back into the main topic that we've been discussing here now for years.  We need to invest some capital in order for this to be a realistic possibility.

[MyTwoSense]

On 10/31/2019 at 1:20 PM, jtadams said:

 Now, given that we don't have great alternatives to our Red Line here when it shuts down, for whatever reason, I think it's pretty important to keep those shutdowns to a minimum.  And that segues back into the main topic that we've been discussing here now for years.  We need to invest some capital in order for this to be a realistic possibility.

 

Agreed.  

[andrew0816]

I have not yet listened to the Sound of Ideas interview with India Birdsong myself, but if Matt Rolf's overview is any indication it looks like new leadership at GCRTA will not lead to positive change, for now:

 

I am quite disappointed with this. Utilizing P.O.P. on the Healthline (and other bus lines) is one of the key components of improving bus service (as well as all door boarding, signal prioritization, and dedicated bus lanes). And not seeking new funding sources at this time would be understandable if changes were first going to be made that decreased waste/misappropriation of funds, but we clearly need more funding to solve our larger issues (rail car replacement, maintenance, etc.). Beyond that, I find it even more discouraging that the rail line is looked at as "dressing on the salad" and not as a major asset to our transit system. Not to mention this reliance on the failing Uber/Lyft just confounds me; it has been proven that they do more to hurt transit ridership and I don't see them operating in the same capacity for much longer as they will have to turn a profit at some point and they won't be able to do so in their current form.

[X]

I didn't hear the whole segment with her, but nothing that she said made me feel any better about the future of transit in Cleveland.