How could a rail transit expansion in Cleveland look?

 Cleveland’s rail transit is some of the most underutilized in the country

If you’re not from Cleveland, you may not know that the city has a rail transit system, especially because it is not as large as those of many other cities. However, another reason you may not know is that Cleveland’s “Rapid” has some of the worst ridership numbers among U.S. rail systems. According to the USDOT National Transit Database, the Rapid saw 3,489,539 unlinked passenger trips in 2022. Considering Cleveland’s urbanized area population of 1.7 million, this is pretty dismal. By comparison, a similar-sized city that has much higher rail ridership is Portland, with around 18.7 million unlinked passenger trips in 2022. 

Now, it is true that Portland has a much larger rail network than Cleveland does, which may contribute to higher ridership. However, this points to Cleveland’s failure to make good use of the rail system it has, which has only worsened as a result of the pandemic and the increased prevalence of working from home. This post seeks to demonstrate the current issues holding back ridership on the Rapid, as well as how expanding the system could truly help to boost its utilization. 

The current network has a somewhat limited reach 

The current Rapid network compared to population density across Cuyahoga County. Source: TIGER/Line 

One of the major issues leading to poor ridership numbers on the Rapid is simply the fact that many stations are surrounded by terrible land uses. As can be seen from the map above, while there are many stations located in dense areas of the city, many are located in fairly low-density areas. The following analysis of these numbers comes from 2020 Census data at the block level; the data were part of a GIS file from TIGER/Line, which is operated by the Census Bureau. 

For starters, I wanted to get a sense of how many people live within walking distance of a Rapid station. Using network analysis and the block data, I found that approximately 71,500 people lived within a 10-minute walk of a station; the mean population density within these walksheds was 5,871/sq mile, which is not really enough to support urban rail transit. On one hand, the station with the greatest population around it was Shaker Square, with about 7,100 residents nearby and a density of approximately 8,500/sq mile. On the other hand, the East 79th Station on the Blue and Green lines only had a station-area density of about 1,000/sq mile. 

Part of what hampers these metrics is that many stations are located very poorly in relation to surrounding neighborhoods and roads. For example, the Puritas station on the Red Line is not even located on Puritas Road but is instead tucked away with single-family homes. Thus, it’s really clear that what is needed to improve rail ridership in Cleveland is increased station-area density, which we have seen around select stations in recent years. However, I also believe that expanding the system into new areas with high transit demand would be an extremely wise decision supposing that cost was not an issue. 

Future expansions could be more feasible if using existing rail rights-of-way

In this proposed network, there would be more connectivity to high-density places and improved service along some of today’s busiest corridors. 

Extending the Rapid into Lakewood would be one of the smartest actions we could possibly take. Many people know that Lakewood is the most densely populated city in the Cleveland area; there are already multiple buses that run through it, which are some of the busiest routes across the entire system (including the 26 and 55). Also, there is a very underutilized rail right-of-way running through Lakewood between Detroit and Clifton. This would be a perfect candidate for a rapid transit conversion, and Lakewood’s dense population would certainly support good ridership numbers on this line. 

As you can see, I’m imagining this route being part of a revamped Blue Line, which would also run along the current HealthLine alignment (as an on-street light rail). While light rail may not always be a preferable option, it would be a significant upgrade over the current HealthLine service (which I refuse to call rapid transit anymore). After passing through Public Square, the line would run on the lower deck of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, run along Detroit, then have a transfer point with the Red Line at West Boulevard. 

Under this scheme, I’ve also extended the Green/Waterfront Line along an existing ROW, where it would connect with the Blue Line and terminate at a new Euclid/East 55th station. This would make the Waterfront Line more complete and increase its utility. As for the Red Line, I’ve extended the service one stop to the east, with a new station at Shaw Avenue. Additionally, I’ve created some infill stations on the Red Line at Fulton, East 9th, and Lakeview; some stations have been moved directly onto major roads, such as Puritas; and some stations have been axed entirely, due to being too close to others (Drexmore and Farnsleigh on the Blue Line). 

There would be positive impacts from rail system expansion

By implementing these expansions, the number of people living within a 10-minute walk of a rapid station would increase to about 135,700; the station-area density would also increase to about 6,300/sq mile. Importantly, these expansions would connect the Rapid to very useful destinations, including Cleveland State University, Playhouse Square, Downtown Lakewood, Gordon Square, and the Cleveland Clinic. Also, this expansion would provide more equitable and efficient transit access to those living along the Euclid Avenue corridor in Hough, Fairfax, and Central, by providing much better connections to employment centers than exist today. 

If further proposed expansions were to occur, which may be explored in a future blog post, then priority should be given to projects that serve the densely populated areas around Clark-Fulton, Slavic Village, and Glenville, the first two of which are currently seeing BRT studies in the coming years. Both the West 25th and Broadway corridors are excellent candidates for new rail services. Also, while it would be great to implement commuter rail lines in the Cleveland area, the priority should be increasing equitable access to high-quality service for car-free Clevelanders, rather than funneling suburban workers to Downtown. 

Thank you for reading! I hope this post was enlightening in some ways, especially in regard to the lack of existing population density around our rail stations. Transit will definitely be a recurring theme on this blog. Look out for the next post on 9/1!