Transportation in Cleveland

In 2011, Walk Score ranked Cleveland the seventeenth most walkable of the fifty largest cities in the United States.[1] As of 2014, Walk Score increased Cleveland's rank to being the sixteenth most walkable US city, with a Walk Score of 57, a Transit Score of 47, and a Bike Score of 51. Cleveland's most walkable and transient areas can be found in the Downtown, Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway, University Circle, and Buckeye-Shaker Square neighborhoods.[2]

An RTA train arrives at the Shaker Square station.

Streets of Cleveland.

One of the "Guardians of Traffic" at the Hope Memorial Bridge.

Cleveland has a bus and rail mass transit system operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The rail portion is officially called the RTA Rapid Transit, but local residents refer to it as The Rapid. It consists of three light rail lines, known as the Blue, Green, and Waterfront Lines, and a heavy rail line, the Red Line. In 2008, RTA completed the HealthLine, a bus rapid transit line, for which naming rights were purchased by the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. It runs along Euclid Avenue from downtown through University Circle, ending at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland.[3] In 1968, Cleveland became the first city in the nation to have a direct rail transit connection linking the city's downtown to its major airport.[3] In 2007, the American Public Transportation Association named Cleveland's mass transit system the best in North America.[4] Cleveland is the only metropolitan area in the Western Hemisphere with its rail rapid transit system having only one center-city area rapid transit station (Tower City-Public Square).

The city of Cleveland has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2016, 23.7 percent of Cleveland households lacked a car, while the national average was 8.7 percent. Cleveland averaged 1.19 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.[5]

Cleveland's road system consists of numbered streets running roughly north–south, and named avenues, which run roughly east–west. The numbered streets are designated "east" or "west", depending where they lie in relation to Ontario Street, which bisects Public Square.[6] The numbered street system extends beyond the city limits into some suburbs on both the West and East Sides. The named avenues that lie both on the east side of the Cuyahoga River and west of Ontario Street receive a "west" designation on street signage. The two downtown avenues which span the Cuyahoga change names on the west side of the river. Superior Avenue becomes Detroit Avenue on the West Side, and Carnegie Avenue becomes Lorain Avenue. The bridges that make these connections are often called the Detroit–Superior Bridge and the Lorain–Carnegie Bridge.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is the city's major airport and an international airport that once served as a main hub for United Airlines and Continental Airlines. It holds the distinction of having the first airport-to-downtown rapid transit connection in North America, established in 1968. In 1930, the airport was the site of the first airfield lighting system and the first air traffic control tower. Originally known as Cleveland Municipal Airport, it was the first municipally owned airport in the country. Cleveland Hopkins is a significant regional air freight hub hosting FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, United States Postal Service, and major commercial freight carriers. In addition to Hopkins, Cleveland is served by Burke Lakefront Airport, on the north shore of downtown between Lake Erie and the Shoreway. Burke is primarily a commuter and business airport.[9]

1992 aerial view of the Cleveland harbor, with the mouth of the Cuyahoga River in the foreground (view towards the east)

The Port of Cleveland, at the Cuyahoga River's mouth, is a major bulk freight terminal on Lake Erie, receiving much of the raw materials used by the region's manufacturing industries.[10] In addition to freight, the Port of Cleveland also welcomes regional and international tourists who pass through the city on Great Lakes cruises. Currently docking at Dock 28, just west of First Energy Stadium. The cruises currently run from mid-May through mid-October.

Cleveland has a long rich history as a major railroad hub in the United States. Today, Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Cleveland, via the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited routes, which stop at Cleveland Lakefront Station. Additionally, Cleveland hosts several inter-modal freight railroad terminals, for Norfolk Southern, CSX and several smaller companies.[11][12] There have been several proposals for commuter rail in Cleveland, including a study into a Sandusky–Cleveland line.[13][14] Cleveland was also identified as a hub for the now-suspended Ohio Hub project, which would bring high-speed rail to Ohio.[15]

National intercity bus service is provided at a Greyhound station, just behind the Playhouse Square theater district. Megabus provides service to Cleveland and has a stop at the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Transit Center on the east side of downtown.[16] Akron Metro, Brunswick Transit Alternative, Laketran, Lorain County Transit, and Medina County Transit provide connecting bus service to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. Geauga County Transit and Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) also offer connecting bus service in their neighboring areas.[17]

On February 15, 2018, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies announced that it had signed an agreement with the North Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and the Illinois Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study for a planned Great Lakes Hyperloop system connecting Cleveland to Chicago in a half hour.[18][19][20] In June 2019, Congress approved $5 million to the U.S. Department of Transportation to explore safety standards for this project.[21]