As a city on the rise, Cleveland should have a top-notch transportation system
To the Editor,
Here in Cleveland, we need more and better public transportation to accommodate the influx of people moving here.
Being born in Cuyahoga County myself, I know that Cleveland no longer deserves the “Rust Belt” city label that people have attached to it during the past few decades. Cleveland today finds itself attracting young, college-educated people to its downtown area in droves. We can see its attraction and subsequent growth in the Warehouse District, where old factory buildings are constantly being renovated into apartments. Another good example is the construction of the Flats East Bank project, which looks to add even more apartment space by June 2015.
In a growing city, especially one which is attracting young people, public transportation is essential. Young people have made it clear that the age of the automobile-oriented city must pass. Issues such as pollution and climate change are being taken more seriously amongst younger people today than in the past, yet in Ohio, the 2014 highway expansion budget ($2.5 billion) drastically dwarfs the public transit budget ($10.1 million.) We need to set our priorities straight now so that we may benefit from an improved public transportation fleet as well as to set an example to other cities in America and around the globe.
Decreasing the amount of traffic in Cleveland will lessen the occurrences of auto accidents, cut carbon emissions and provide an overall safer and healthier environment for pedestrians. The Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is one of the best in the country and, in 2007, was named the Best (Large) Public Transit System in North America by the American Public Transportation Association. I can recall many times taking the RTA rapid service from the suburbs to get to downtown and marveling at what a wonderful service it is and how fortunate Cleveland is to have it.
The time has come to act and set an example by improving the public transportation budget and upgrading RTA services to further cut down on automobile use and to prepare for future residents who will be attracted to move here by Cleveland’s prosperity. We need help to alert and inform our elected representatives that the people are in favor of a modern, clean transportation network. A transit system of this caliber will strengthen and continue to build upon promoting a healthy society in Cleveland from which the Cleveland Clinic has already started.
Avi Epstein is a senior studying environmental geography at Ohio University
