Sold To Lakewood By Our Leaders As A Good Thing, Really?

[Valerie Molinski]

I actually like the new bus shelters...I think they look very nice.

The "Cleveland State Line" motif is good branding.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... y_buy.html

CSU is paying $150,000 a year to put the school's name on the upgraded 55 route, which begins service in November.

The "Cleveland State Line" will feature CSU's logo and colors on the 16 custom-designed articulated buses that will travel on renovated Clifton Boulevard to western cities and back, picking up students and all other riders.

In addition, the logo will be woven into the seat back fabric, CSU identification will be displayed at the 19 new bus stations on Clifton and the school's branding will be featured at 32 stations and 243 bus stops along the route.

[Jim O'Bryan]

http://media.lakewoodobserver.com/images_full_res/3ec5cee8e7cb2a19c757d25120e3ab0b.jpgYou have just touched on a big problem in this city and on this particular website. Revisionist History! When the discussions were occurring, it was all "how dare the city let RTA change Clifton!" Now today it is "why didnt the city fight hard enough to get all of these goodies from RTA?" I digress...

Valerie

You have just hit on another big problem in this city. People think the Deck is a human with a singular
opinion, that acts and moves as one. It is not. The past opinions were all over the place. Some liked
it, some wanted parking 24 hours, some wanted the medians and some different. I have never
understood who were posting negative comments about "this website" couldn't see the truth.

ANYWAY

Could you point out to me where even 1/3 of the population was begging, asking or even approving this?



Perhaps you could go back to your beloved ARB, City Council, Planning Meetings and City Hall to
see where the drawings of this were presented to anyone?



No, in all too many cases the residents are either lied to and bamboozled or, City Hall is inept in
protecting the residents and the community from things that make us unsafe and drive down
property values. They are not mutually exclusive of each other.

ARB is there to protect us. Planning is there to plan. OK who let these through? Who planned it
and who approved it? Or is it all so out of control, we have none?

Just wondering.

My opinion, not the Deck's opinion.

.

[Jim O'Bryan]

PS

This is during a council that said to residents, "1 Garage Sale A Year, and 1 Sign Only 18"x 24"

Yet RTA and Businesses it has become unregulated, cluttered and ugly.

As you point out, the CSU Line is advertising, not allowed in Lakewood Bus stops going back to
Tony Sinagra days, when he literally cleaned up the city.

The RIDE RTA graphics soon to be replaced by more ads, is another violation of trust if nothing else.

But my question would be, with RTA getting $150,000 what is our cut? Or has this City Hall turned
Lakewood into a cheap slut again? "Just tell us you like us, and remember me at election time."

One might ask RTA What have you done for us lately? They didn't want to carry our seniors or
students. Didn't want to carry our drunks. But you like us when you can abuse us and make
money? That is not a healthy relationship in any book.

City Halls should protect residents from this, they are the only ones with the power to do so.

.

[Bill Call]

See this:

http://patch.com/ohio/lakewood-oh/city- ... hancements

Lakewood did not get the extra enhancements on Clifton because the City of Lakewood did not want to pay for them. Cleveland gets all expenses paid by someone else and Lakewood does not. Your real argument is with RTA and the County Government. Lakewood's portion of Clifton did not get new curbs either.

From the article:

"Calabrese said the route could expand even further.

“If we have increased ridership, we can increase the service,” he said. “I think this will generate that demand — like it did on Euclid Avenue. It will also generate additional resident and business occupancies — again, like it did on Euclid Avenue.”

The RTA renovations on Euclid did not lead to additional residents and business. It actually decimated the entire stretch of road. Euclid only has some added vitality because of additional billions of tax dollars spent along Euclid. Don't look for Lakewood to receive 10 cents. It will be interesting to see if someone moves from Avon to Lakewood because we have new bus shelters.

I don't know why we need so many signs on Clifton in Lakewood because they don't have nearly that many in Cleveland.

The AT&T U-verse boxes are brought to you courtesy of the Federal government. Years ago a provision allowing AT&T to override local ordinances was passed by congress.

Anyway, what's worse for the City, a lot of extra signs on Clifton or the closure of Lakewood Hospital?

[Stan Austin]

I betcha there's some "fancy" men's clubs in the flats the would just love to advertise at those bus stops!

[Dan Alaimo]

How about this: put up signs telling about the fines for not picking up after dogs. They have room for them right where they took the trash cans away.

[Stan Austin]

Another point on the "Special Bus Lanes"----

What commuter voluntarily of his own volition elects to follow a friggin bus in the right lane? And if the car is in front of the bus, will that car really slow down the bus?
Who is doing the thinking here?

[Jim O'Bryan]

For the record...

Traveling at 35 mph, you are expected to read 3 signs a second.

Some as high as 35' some as low as 6'.

While watching traffic, pedestrians, and traffic lights which were not counted.

Of course this is based on averages, in some places are 12 signs in less than a second.

RTA give us our street back.

Where is Keep Lakewood Beautiful on this?

.

[Bill Call]

RTA has announced a December 8th start date for its Cleveland State Line. The students of CSU will be charged $150,000 per year to pay RTA for the naming rights.

RTA management says the $20,000,000 investment will lead to commercial and residential growth like the Health Line did on Euclid.

I hope they don't actually believe that nonsense. Hope is the enemy of reason.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... lifto.html

[Jim O'Bryan]

RTA has announced a December 8th start date for its Cleveland State Line. The students of CSU will be charged $150,000 per year to pay RTA for the naming rights.

RTA management says the $20,000,000 investment will lead to commercial and residential growth like the Health Line did on Euclid.

Bill

Euclid is a joke, nothing but non-profits from Public Square to University Circle.

Hard to believe the entire project was planned by a non-profit, that also just secured naming rights
to Public Square. Hell they even own their own media outlet, that floods the circuit with BS propaganda,

Just sick.

.

[Paul Schrimpf]

[quote]The students of CSU will be charged $150,000 per year to pay RTA for the naming rights.[/quote]

For the record, CSU students that use RTA pay nothing... you get a sticker on your id that allows you to ride anywhere, anytime for free. Students who drive ... that's something different.

[Grace O'Malley]

The RTA sticker is not free. Every student is assessed a $25 fee each semester for the pass. There is no opting out. Whether you use it or not, you pay.

That said, it's an awesome deal. It can be used 24/7 and you can go anywhere you like. It's an important benefit for many students.

The $150,000 is what CSU is paying yearly for naming rights. Ultimately, the students ARE paying for that because it will be reflected eventually in tuition costs.

[Paul Schrimpf]

Yes, Grace, that's true. Sorry about that... I spent four and a half miserable years commuting by bus to CSU from Parma ... would have loved to have this sort of a deal!

150K to own Clifton seems pretty cheap. That's barely one student's loan burden over 4 years...

[Grace O'Malley]

Paul - Funny thing is a lot of the commuters to CSU insist on driving and resent paying the RTA fee. A few years back there was even a vote or some sort of issue over it but the fee and the pass system was kept intact. I personally think its a wonderful perk and it really helps the disadvantaged student who needs the transportation and does not have extra money.

However, using university funds to "buy" naming rights is problematic to me. I prefer the focus be on keeping education affordable and having sufficient aid for students so they can attend and not go into debt.

[Bill Call]

Bill

Euclid is a joke, nothing but non-profits from Public Square to University Circle.

Hard to believe the entire project was planned by a non-profit, that also just secured naming rights to Public Square. Hell they even own their own media outlet, that floods the circuit with BS propaganda.

You have to read the Plain Dealer between the lines. Whenever they report the newest downtown development the article contains lines like the new ( ) will be built"in an abandoned building", "in an empty office building" or in a desolate section of Euclid Avenue".

A while back the PD reported that the only way to get new retail downtown is to offer tax payer subsidies. The article was quickly disappeared. To many people were posting versions of "If downtown is doing so well why do the taxpayers need to subsidize the drug store?"

Downtown and Euclid Avenue not only benefit from open taxpayer subsidizes but also from secret or hidden subsidies. The new County administration building was built to hide subsides for the construction of luxury apartment building, The Nine, and the luxury hotel, The Cosmopolitan.

Lakewood is not going to get ten cents in subsidies and so will not get any real benefit from the new bus stops.