Cleveland City Council Supports Rail Plan

There are plans in the works to bolster our area's economy through commuter rail. One plan is the Cleveland Hub Initiative . On a smaller scale, the West Shore Corridor commuter rail plan is also proposed. This would develop a system that runs from Lorain to Cleveland. All Aboard Ohio(AAO ) is the website to track for all Ohio rail plans. The big news this month is City of Cleveland support for it. Last week, Cleveland City Council passed a resolution asking our Congressional Delegation to support funding for analysis over the next two years. You can read the press release here. I was happy to see my Councilman (and Council President) Martin Sweeney listed as a supporter on this resolution.

The West Shore Corridor was listed as 'potentially feasible' with the possibility of providing local and regional benefits to the economy. This comes from a ten county NEOrail study done in 2001. There are commuters from places like Lorain, Avon, Westlake and Rocky River who would benefit from this commuter rail. There are also a slew of Clevelanders who could accept jobs in the western suburbs if commuter rail existed. One area to continue in this analysis is that of 'Quiet Zones' that have to do with, among other things, noise levels at train crossings. Transit Oriented Development(TOD's) has been really successful in areas with Quiet Zones.

This Rail System would be run with (theoretically) a three car 450 passenger train. The cars are available very inexpensively from other cities already relying on commuter train systems. The kind of RR Tracks needed are pretty much already existing on this corridor. Environmentally, 450 commuters on a train use less fuel than 450 cars (duh!) and they estimate 2.5 acres of Downtown Cleveland parking lots could be put to good use as mixed use development, shops, etc., adding to the vibrancy of Downtown. For a clear analysis, Ken Prendergast, spokesperson for All Aboard Ohio has written a post on Green City Blue Lake.

Enjoy today's music video Runaway Train. :-) Peace Out - 3C

Steelyard Commons: Tax Money Trouble In Paradise?

While everyone basks in the glow of the new Steelyard Commons, a glitch has been discovered. Susan Vinella reports in the Plain Dealer this morning that the tax monies Cleveland was expecting from Steelyard Commons may not be there after all, at least for the next ten years. When you participate in Brownfield Remediation of a site, the State of Ohio allows you to receive a tax break for doing so. It's not that this is a bad thing, but my immediate reaction is, how could our City Government not know this ahead of time when they are formalizing agreements to plan development projects? According to the PD article, Mitchell Schneider, the projects developer is working with the City to try to get some of the tax monies to the City. But many of the stores (Target, Walmart) are already on board with the abatement available to them. By the way, this money was earmarked for continued improvements to the Towpath and Bike Paths, among other things.

I guess this adds to the discussion about the value of tax abatement to cities like Cleveland. In this case, brownfield remediation would be a smart reason to allow them. It amazes me that Cleveland could be blindsided in this way. I'm a layperson and if I am aware of tax abatement available for remediation then why would those hired to work on City Planning not be more aware? Shouldn't this have been part of the negotiations up front? Again according to the Vinella article, Cleveland claims to have discovered the loopholes/ramifications of this issue 'late last year.' That means just a few months before Steelyard Commons is ready for business?

Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland City Council to Consider Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving

This article on male infertility because of cell phone use aside, I think most of us consider our cell phones a way of life. As a Realtor® I cannot imagine not having one. I know that Brooklyn, Walton Hills and North Olmsted don't allow me to use it while I'm speeding, er, driving down the road - may as well stay within the letter of the law! Of course common sense has to come into play even when I'm in a community that DOES allow it. I know the State of New York passed a ban; I wonder how that is working there?
Why am I bringing this up now? Well, Councilman Dolan (Ward 21) has introduced legislation to ban cell phone use while driving, in the City of Cleveland. You could spend a couple of months in jail (probably unlikely) or many hundreds of dollars in fines (much more likely). My opinion? There are people who pay too little attention to their driving, be they on the cell phone, applying makeup, fishing for some mysterious file under the seat (is it not amazing how frequently we see that?). Banning cell phone use still does not preclude someone from being stupidly distracted in a different way. I would have loved to link to the City Council page here but their site is still not working (I will add it if that changes anytime soon). OK good news, the City Council Website is now up and running.

My last bit about cell phones is a shout out to Michele Connors post on Active Rain today regarding the Do Not Call Registry. You can get all the details from her post, but the synopsis is this. You may like telemarketer calls, but if you don't, or don't want to pay for cell phone minutes while listening to a telemarketer, you can call the Do Not Call Registry at: 888-382-1222.

In less than two weeks, telemarketers will legally be allowed to solicit on cell phones and that is a big change in policy. So this is a heads up. When you call the number above, make sure you are calling from the phone you want to register. The registration is good for five years. The website has complaint forms you can use when telemarketers call you (once you are on the Registry List of course). If you would like information on the general Do Not Call Registry for land line phones check the FTC site here.

A little music to lighten things up, thanks to Travis Tritt.

Peace Out - 3C