Dear Mr. Kramer, We're broke. Sincerely Mr. Callentine

[Bret Callentine]

In response to Mr. Kramer's letter...

1. thank you for correcting me, I did, in fact, not properly define the situation. This project (3C Rail) is not a new idea. The proposal has been around for decades, sitting in a drawer, propably filed away under the header "not enough demand to justify spending". It's the support for this project that's "all of the sudden"

2. my position is not to spend even more money for a more high tech or high speed rail line. It's to spend NO money on a rail line from Cincinnati to Cleveland. We're running trillion dollar deficits, we're taxing everything that's moving, and unemployment and personal debt are huge problems. We're broke. Period. Proposing this project now is like shopping for a new big screen tv while they're reposessing your house.

3. It is my belief that this a WANT, not a NEED. If you're concerned about the elderly, or those that cannot afford a car, then why not focus on the local RTA? I don't know about you, but I would much rather take care of a persons NEED to get to work in a timely and affordable fashion than their WANT to get away to Columbus for a weekend. You put a passenger rail through Lakewood that connects to the Red Line Rapid and you'll see a higher level of ridership in one week than you would get all year on a train from Cleveland to Cincinnatti.

[Jerry Ritcey]

You put a passenger rail through Lakewood that connects to the Red Line Rapid and you'll see a higher level of ridership in one week than you would get all year on a train from Cleveland to Cincinnatti.

This is exactly the kind of sensible idea the RTA is sure to not have. But an empty train from Tower City to the Waterfront all day long? No problem.