cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/305178

We hear the jokes, yes, but

Cleveland:

-Has a metro
-Has a good BRT system
-Has a great history of manufacturing and industry
-Never fully got rid of their streetcars and converted the last two lines to light rail
-Has what looks to be pretty affordable housing
-Has this dope-ass arcade and many other cool architectural features

Cleveland was once a very large industrial powerhouse, and capitalist disinvestment in the city has devastated some parts of it to a huge degree. That cannot be overlooked. But the city has now become a smaller city with big-city features and history. Big shoutout to Cleveland! Go check out https://hexbear.net/c/cleveland@midwest.social for more Cleveland content.

  • jack [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    Disagree. The Healthline is a excellent piece of transit infrastructure that gets more ridership than any other bus line in the state, runs at good frequency 24/7, mostly has dedicated right of way, hits lots of working class areas, and connects the two biggest job hubs in the state (UC/Downtown).

    Red line doesn’t run through rich areas at all and also connects the same two vital points as the HL. It even has two stops in East Cleveland, which is literally the poorest part of the state

    Blue/Green run through poor and working class areas until they split. Only then does the Green run through a rich part of town, and Blue still runs mostly through mixed income and high density neighborhoods. And you can complain about Green serving a rich area, but it was built as the foundation of those neighborhoods that have been rich from day one, so the only way it wouldn’t serve rich people is if you got rid of it entirely and we should obviously be glad that hasn’t happened.

    I’d love to see a lot of rail expansion, though. A fresh streetcar/elevated metro down Saint Clair, eventually connecting with an extended Red that goes all the way to the lake. Blue/Green going west on the lower lever of the DS bridge and then running down Detroit or along the current freight rail all the way to Lakewood or even Rocky River. Something that runs south to hit areas that only have standard bus service currently. I made a big map of proposed transit expansion earlier this year that I should revisit and post here.

    • kroldenEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Good points. The healthline does get a lot of riders that is true but those busses and all the other condensed traffic going through the euclid corridor has been steadily destroying the road and the brick crosswalks are sinking or just completely dissolving. it’s very hard to do any road repairs there since they have to stop all traffic going down euclid for however long it takes to fix it. I really wish they just didn’t allow traffic going down it like they do and ofcourse pedestrian only + light rail is probably never gonna happen, but i can dream heh. even pedestrian only with a bus lane would be great.

      also any time there’s anything going on in the playhouse area it will lead to a ton of cars sitting there with their hazards flashing in the only lane for traffic in many spots which ends up causing a crazy backup to the point where the busses can’t even get through.

      • jack [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        All true, but the Healthline helps alleviate all of those performs by moving so many people without cars. It would be better to be light rail (and better still to be elevated heavy rail), but I think it’s misguided to criticize Euclid in particular when it’s the best designed street in the city.

    • wtypstanaccount04 [he/him]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Are they ever gonna start running the blue/green lines to the waterfront again or is that piece of very useable transit infrastructure just gonna stay dormant?