Reclaiming Rail: A Proxy for Reclaiming a City
We the people can demand a return of the jobs. Not as luddites, but as people who are tired of corporations poisoning our air. The beauty of electrification is that it allows us to concentrate the pollution away from our urban centers.
How do we take action to move towards a return of inter-urbans and light rail solutions instead of busses? We have a significant amount of rail infrastructure already available in North East Ohio, yet, we are unable to utilize much of them for the local population. We have a couple options that would benefit the citizens the most.
One big opportunity: The Environmental and Personal Health Route via Banning Diesel Traffic within city limits. Any west bound traffic through Cleveland must come through the CSX Terminal near E. 152nd St.
The West side sees a few options to re-diesel for the post Cleveland route, one at the Norfolk Southern yard just north of the airport and another across from the airport.
The space across from the airport to the east is just south of the Ford Motor plant that has been rumored to be the next home of the Cleveland Browns. These efforts could work in tandem to bring jobs to the area that will (allegedly) see the benefits of a stadium village with residential to support commercial uses.
Federal Agencies preempt any local and state jurisdiction over rail right of ways because of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. Why are we allowing a law written from the literal time of robber-barons owning the railroads prevent material changes to our city?
Cleveland had smoke abatement laws in the first half of the 20th century that lead to electrification for 17 miles between Colinwood and Linndale. There was even a Roundtable for swapping engines all through the 70s.
We the people can demand a return of the jobs. Not as luddites, but as people who are tired of corporations poisoning our air. The beauty of electrification is that it allows us to concentrate the pollution away from our urban centers. There is opportunity for the mayor advise a closing of Cleveland rail traffic and station the local police to stop trains for redirection until our needs are met. Now is an unfortunately opportune time, as the federal agencies are concerned with layoffs due to current administration policy. It is a time to win major concessions from companies still benefiting from gilded age wealth.
These changes are what I would recommend for any grassroots org that wants to materially improve life in the city.
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