I love trains. I am a complete sucker for convenient rail travel. When ever anyone asks I feel the urge to gush forward on the amazing journey I had from Akron to Milwaukee back in 2001/2002. The seat was wide and reclined so nicely that catching a train at some ungodly and chilly morning hour didn't bother me so much. I was on a mission, to see the land that Pabst created, it was a holy crusade of sorts and I wasn't going to let something as trivial as a logical or convenient timetable get in my way. Of course my ever trusty VW Polo (called a Fox in these here states) was in a constant state of disrepair as undergraduate school meant funds were allocated towards, lets say social gathering research, rather then personal transportation.
With eager ears I awaited the news of Ohio's 3C corridor "high speed" rail plan. Who wouldn't? I am extremely excited about taking the train to OSU or Cincy to catch some of the amazing architecture lectures available for public attendance at those fine institutions. It isn't that I don't enjoy driving, I just don't like the vast majority of other people on the road. Going slow in the high speed lane, not using blinkers, not letting anyone merge so a complete and utter clusterf@*k occurs slowing EVERYONE down, etc. I would rather sit comfortably in my oversized reclining chair, listening to something drone on the headset and watch the Midwest do what it does best, roll gently by a window. Heck, I could even read a book or trade magazine, perhaps do some writing. At the very least I could be mildly productive which for the 3 hour trip is roughly 1/6 of my waking time that day (one way).
Of course that only makes sense if I can get back at a reasonable hour. The timetables so far suggested infer that if I were to catch a lecture at Knowlton School of Architecture at OSU, which are mostly in the early evening (say 6pm for this example), I would have to catch the 6am train. 3 hours of travel mean I arrive in Columbus fresh and ready to learn by 9am which is perfect if I had a morning meeting, which I probably wouldn't. That would leave roughly 9 hours to explore Columbus, without a car, which would probably be interesting once (not to be cruel but I honestly would spend most of the time fretting about getting to the lecture on time). Somewhere in there I would have to spend more money to get to the lecture. Fine. So say the lecture is amazing and ends at 8pm with a rather invigorating Q&A session. I grab a couple of drinks to digest and start thinking about how to get home.
I have to then wait in Columbus for 19 more hours as the return train to Cleveland doesn't depart until 3pm.
There is the flaw in the plan. The limited schedule makes me question who the target demographic for the system is. I have no problem if my plan is to catch an exhibit at museum or even perhaps a late morning to early afternoon meeting (although giving up my whole day for a single meeting due to train schedule is asking a bit much, it better be an amazing meeting, with doughnuts and really good coffee and boxed lunch) but there is very limited availability to say catch a college football game at OSU (I hear they have a team) or a concert or do any of the other tens of things that tourists want to do. I would argue that the train line is more work/commuter oriented but if that were the case a line from Cleveland to Akron would a tad more sense, running from 7 am and again at 7 pm.
Or course this proposed schedule is just the beginning, proposed schedule, all aspects subject to change, nothing in stone, we don't even know what trains will run on the tracks but I want the system to succeed dammit. I want to be able to take a train to Philly and Toronto and New York. I don't want to depend on my car more than I have to (I still don't even like owning one actually but working in Cleveland, especially when one has to visit job sites makes that extremely difficult). I want to not even have to plan that far in advance. I would love to just realize that it is Saturday morning, grab the MarJ and hop a line to, I don't know, Chicago, for the day. Have our fun and catch a train back, sleeping on the return trip so we can reasonably enjoy the rest of the weekend. I don't even mind if the commute is slightly more time consuming than driving (thinking of the time saved trying to find parking, also being able to converse with someone without having to half wonder if the Chucklehead in the Explorer is meaning to be in your lane or the lane next to you as he wanders about in a self absorbed stupor).
It all seems so very sensible if done correctly. Or half correctly. The one thing we cannot have at this juncture is the possibility of implementing a system that could for all wants and purposes alter our society's way of moving about, paid for with our taxes, designed for users that really don't exist. We need a more cohesive schedule to allow movement back and forth for tourists, sports fans, urban explorers and business people in a timely and realistic manner. If it means that more trains have to added and costs per ride have to increase slightly then be it. I would rather the system be a more expensive realistic option then one that I can't possibly use.
And yes this is all about me. I want this project to succeed more than anything in the region right now. I think this could make Cleveland a much more fantastic city then developing the waterfront or putting in a med mart or redesigning public square or even connecting the East and West side with bike access to a major bridge project (although, that one should be a gimme), as it would connect this city to the rest of the nation in a cheap and effective manner. I cannot, however, understand the logic behind the current planning/schedule and that annoys the heck out of me.
resources:
WCPN 2010.02.02 Sound of Ideas
Access for All music video
With eager ears I awaited the news of Ohio's 3C corridor "high speed" rail plan. Who wouldn't? I am extremely excited about taking the train to OSU or Cincy to catch some of the amazing architecture lectures available for public attendance at those fine institutions. It isn't that I don't enjoy driving, I just don't like the vast majority of other people on the road. Going slow in the high speed lane, not using blinkers, not letting anyone merge so a complete and utter clusterf@*k occurs slowing EVERYONE down, etc. I would rather sit comfortably in my oversized reclining chair, listening to something drone on the headset and watch the Midwest do what it does best, roll gently by a window. Heck, I could even read a book or trade magazine, perhaps do some writing. At the very least I could be mildly productive which for the 3 hour trip is roughly 1/6 of my waking time that day (one way).
Of course that only makes sense if I can get back at a reasonable hour. The timetables so far suggested infer that if I were to catch a lecture at Knowlton School of Architecture at OSU, which are mostly in the early evening (say 6pm for this example), I would have to catch the 6am train. 3 hours of travel mean I arrive in Columbus fresh and ready to learn by 9am which is perfect if I had a morning meeting, which I probably wouldn't. That would leave roughly 9 hours to explore Columbus, without a car, which would probably be interesting once (not to be cruel but I honestly would spend most of the time fretting about getting to the lecture on time). Somewhere in there I would have to spend more money to get to the lecture. Fine. So say the lecture is amazing and ends at 8pm with a rather invigorating Q&A session. I grab a couple of drinks to digest and start thinking about how to get home.
I have to then wait in Columbus for 19 more hours as the return train to Cleveland doesn't depart until 3pm.
There is the flaw in the plan. The limited schedule makes me question who the target demographic for the system is. I have no problem if my plan is to catch an exhibit at museum or even perhaps a late morning to early afternoon meeting (although giving up my whole day for a single meeting due to train schedule is asking a bit much, it better be an amazing meeting, with doughnuts and really good coffee and boxed lunch) but there is very limited availability to say catch a college football game at OSU (I hear they have a team) or a concert or do any of the other tens of things that tourists want to do. I would argue that the train line is more work/commuter oriented but if that were the case a line from Cleveland to Akron would a tad more sense, running from 7 am and again at 7 pm.
Or course this proposed schedule is just the beginning, proposed schedule, all aspects subject to change, nothing in stone, we don't even know what trains will run on the tracks but I want the system to succeed dammit. I want to be able to take a train to Philly and Toronto and New York. I don't want to depend on my car more than I have to (I still don't even like owning one actually but working in Cleveland, especially when one has to visit job sites makes that extremely difficult). I want to not even have to plan that far in advance. I would love to just realize that it is Saturday morning, grab the MarJ and hop a line to, I don't know, Chicago, for the day. Have our fun and catch a train back, sleeping on the return trip so we can reasonably enjoy the rest of the weekend. I don't even mind if the commute is slightly more time consuming than driving (thinking of the time saved trying to find parking, also being able to converse with someone without having to half wonder if the Chucklehead in the Explorer is meaning to be in your lane or the lane next to you as he wanders about in a self absorbed stupor).
It all seems so very sensible if done correctly. Or half correctly. The one thing we cannot have at this juncture is the possibility of implementing a system that could for all wants and purposes alter our society's way of moving about, paid for with our taxes, designed for users that really don't exist. We need a more cohesive schedule to allow movement back and forth for tourists, sports fans, urban explorers and business people in a timely and realistic manner. If it means that more trains have to added and costs per ride have to increase slightly then be it. I would rather the system be a more expensive realistic option then one that I can't possibly use.
And yes this is all about me. I want this project to succeed more than anything in the region right now. I think this could make Cleveland a much more fantastic city then developing the waterfront or putting in a med mart or redesigning public square or even connecting the East and West side with bike access to a major bridge project (although, that one should be a gimme), as it would connect this city to the rest of the nation in a cheap and effective manner. I cannot, however, understand the logic behind the current planning/schedule and that annoys the heck out of me.
resources:
WCPN 2010.02.02 Sound of Ideas
Access for All music video
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