The RTA Waterfront Line Loop: savior or fool's gold? (Cleveland: hotel, transfer)

[Unicorn hunter]

Originally Posted by TheProf

This is a way over-broad blanket statement. The Rapid is quite convenient for a lot of people to a lot of events. Its 15-minute base frequency is pretty standard for all but high-density rail lines as in New York or Chicago or DC. And no, the Rapid does not end service any earlier than most cities -- 12:15a Blue/Green (LRT), between 12:30-1a, Red Line (HRT).

Parking may be cheap in some cases, but why drive through the hassle of crowds and dense traffic, esp when there's a pro sporting event downtown (sometimes 2 at one time given the season) or a weekend night in the Flats. Then there's the gas. ... and btw, while a $10 parking fee won't break the bank down in the Flats on weekends, why have to deal with it as well as deal with going from lot to lot searching after being confronted with numerous 'lot is full' signs? And, btw, these lot owners are robber barons who often jack up their rates to as high as $50-60 on Browns Sundays.

You may be cool with forking over that kind of money just to store your tin Lizzie, but I'm sure not; to each his/her own.

Thank you for spelling this out so clearly! Fifteen minutes between trains is certainly not a long wait! Driving/parking during any event just seems like a hassle to me and I do all I can to avoid it!

[bjimmy24]

The red line also starts up again around 3 or 4 in the morning somewhere. I have used it on some particularly late nights with friends in Little Italy after waiting out a long night of drinking. Uber/Lyft are also very expensive nowadays, not even close to the deal it was back in the first few years of their existence. Rapid/bus definitely preferable.

The problem is off-peak frequency. It's not hard to plan around a schedule really, but sometimes when you look and you see you just missed the bus and the next one isn't coming for 30 or 60 minutes, well, I'd rather just drive and be there in 20 instead of an hour and 20.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Unicorn hunter

Thank you for spelling this out so clearly! Fifteen minutes between trains is certainly not a long wait! Driving/parking during any event just seems like a hassle to me and I do all I can to avoid it!

You mentioned parking at Green Road, which actually only has 30 minute service via the Green Line. That's not terrible, but it's just long enough to impact planning.

Shaker Square is served by both the Blue and Green lines, which would give you 15 minute frequency, at the expense of less easy parking and maybe being further from your house (or wherever you depart from initially).

[Unicorn hunter]

Thanks for this info....obviously, I would need to get schedules down before doing anything! It's a 20 minute or so drive from my place to the Green Road station as it is.....I could drive downtown just as quickly, but the idea of parking and navigating traffic just does not appeal to me. As for parking in Shaker Square...that would lengthen the drive to about 30 minutes and other than parking behind the CVS, not sure where else one could park....and it seems a bit iffy for me if arriving back in the middle of the night. As someone else mentioned, a regular, reasonably fast bus from Euclid to downtown would solve a lot of problems....at least for me and that other poster!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Unicorn hunter

Thanks for this info....obviously, I would need to get schedules down before doing anything! It's a 20 minute or so drive from my place to the Green Road station as it is.....I could drive downtown just as quickly, but the idea of parking and navigating traffic just does not appeal to me. As for parking in Shaker Square...that would lengthen the drive to about 30 minutes and other than parking behind the CVS, not sure where else one could park....and it seems a bit iffy for me if arriving back in the middle of the night. As someone else mentioned, a regular, reasonably fast bus from Euclid to downtown would solve a lot of problems....at least for me and that other poster!

Sounds like we live closeby! Unfortunately for whatever reason, it is not deemed important for people over here to ever go downtown. The only other option you really have is parking at Windermere station. Being on the red line imo is preferable give the hours and frequency is better than the Green line/blue line and it's closer to Euclid. But that being said, "closer" still isn't actually "close" - it's about a 15 minute drive from me. And East Cleveland is certainly different than parking in Beachwood. I'm only really hesitant about being there at night but I don't know, I'm also slightly paranoid of carjacking. Unlikely, but it's just always in the back of my mind when I'm getting in and out of vehicles in such areas.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Sounds like we live closeby! Unfortunately for whatever reason, it is not deemed important for people over here to ever go downtown. The only other option you really have is parking at Windermere station. Being on the red line imo is preferable give the hours and frequency is better than the Green line/blue line and it's closer to Euclid. But that being said, "closer" still isn't actually "close" - it's about a 15 minute drive from me. And East Cleveland is certainly different than parking in Beachwood. I'm only really hesitant about being there at night but I don't know, I'm also slightly paranoid of carjacking. Unlikely, but it's just always in the back of my mind when I'm getting in and out of vehicles in such areas.

Where we now stay in the Eastern suburbs when we are in town, either the Blue or Green lines are available, but we tend to park the outdoor lot adjacent to the new Van Aken District's Marketplace. For one thing, the lot is pretty secure from any theft or other criminal nonsense because the area is both busy from all kinds of foot and auto traffic and the Shaker cops keep a watchful eye on the area given that the VAD is Shaker's new crown jewel whereby a positive image must be kept.

The 30-minute frequency on the individual Blue and Green lines can be a hassle, but is survivable given the accessibility of one or the other rail lines -- they are never farther than 1 mile apart so folks in between, as we once were, could walk to one or another depending upon the time and schedule. And even if you live near one or the other, driving to the opposite line is relatively easy... No way would I drive all the way to Stokes-Windermere just for greater Red Line frequency. While the Windermere station's high-ceiling modern aspect is pretty busy, safe and secure, I cannot vouch for the parking lot.. You'd think things would be rock solid safe with EC's main police station being across the street from the Red Line terminal... but that's not the case in totally broke, dysfunctional East Cleveland.

[bjimmy24]

^ I'm just saying that coming from Euclid, it might be more beneficial to go to Windermere and not all the way to the green line/blue line. It's closer and on top of that the frequency and hours are better. Of course if you live in the Heights somewhere then the green and blue is much more logical. It takes about 30 minutes to get from here over to the green and blue rapid. So to go downtown from here doing that would be 30 minutes there, 30 minutes on the train and then the same thing back. That's two hours at very least for what is a 40 minute round trip driving.

[TheProf]

Oh yeah, coming from Euclid, Stokes-Windermere is your best bet.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by TheProf

Oh yeah, coming from Euclid, Stokes-Windermere is your best bet.

Driving in East Cleveland at night is a crapshoot, and not just from a personal safety concern. The potholes and streets there have to be the worst in Greater Cleveland. I remember a very different East Cleveland, and it's just sad, largely because the Republicans in state government crushed the local government fund and defunded East Cleveland

When I last used the Windermere station, in daylight, transit police were chatting it up in their office inside the station while aggressive panhandlers were hitting anybody using the parking lot.

[Unicorn hunter]

Seriously! I drove down Euclid Ave through East Cleveland once during the daytime, and no way I would want to be driving through or hanging out in that area after dark! No thanks!