Lorain County, Ohio

Not a fan of the place my family landed in the late 1960s. I didn't have a choice, because I was a youngster and Dad and Mom were looking for a place to settle, after years of the Army life of moving, moving, moving. We had lived in interesting places -- Washington, D.C., Orleans, France. Not that I could take advantage of what those places offered, but my parents could, and did, and did so for us kids, too.

When we did end up in a northeast Ohio auto factory town, I was at the age to go to high school. My peers all had known each other since birth, practically. I was an outsider. That didn't make me special ... anyone could have been an outsider. But me it was, sibs, too. I did not enjoy the experience and, after college and one year back, left with no regrets.

Black River view at Bur Oak in Sheffield Village, Ohio.
August 19, 2018. (Photo by Katy Buchanan)

My family, Mom, Dad and some sibs, stayed and it turns out that this little town, though I will never live in it again, has grown in ways that I care about (I know, why does my opinion matter?). Lorain County, Ohio, has a remarkable parks system. A beautiful marsh at Sandy Ridge, a gorgeous walk at Bur Oak and a deeply satisfying wood experience at French Creek.

Every time I come home, I enjoy these places.

Turns out (Mom tells me) my family almost might have moved to Oregon after Dad retired from the Army in the late 1960s. That might have been great, but the smaller 'green' story of a Lake Erie county in Ohio is pretty cool.

I'm a fan of public transit

Regarding the Station Square derailment on Sunday 8/5/18 in Pittsburgh

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2018/08/05/Freight-Train-derails-Pittsburgh-Station-Square-South-Side/stories/201808050144

There was a recent photo essay in the Guardian, posted on FB by others, about the "melancholy" jobs of Pittsburgh parking lot attendants (Search 'melancholy isolation'). It started with these words: "Given Pittsburgh’s poor public transport, many commuters choose to drive. Tom M Johnson photographs the city’s parking attendants in the confines of their booths." A commenter to that article described the Light Rail system as "going nowhere."

Now we have the reality of an awful lot of nowhere and nobodies being affected for a long time. I did not respond to that comment, but as someone who has used the Pittsurgh transit system consistently since the 1980s, and who recognizes its drawbacks, I really dislike the Guardian article's description of the public transit system as "poor" and of the commenter's description of Light Rail as "going nowhere."

I'm not up on the funding, though I have read that a lawsuit over fees that the PA Turnpike must pay to Port Authority and SEPTA is delaying some revenue, but I can't help but think that anything that gets more cars off the road is worthwhile.

I agree that travel by bus with various transfers is time consuming and draining. (Would I do it to get from South Hills to Oakland? No, not now. On the 44U express, though, I most definitely would have. That route is history, unfortunately, as is the PATrain). But I'd appreciate a discussion of how that is less time-consuming and draining than sitting in endless traffic jams of one car, one person. 


One advantage of the transit system here (and elsewhere) is the East Busway and the Light Rail operate outside of car traffic. There are problems (disoriented driver on the EBA), and near disasters, (like Sunday's on the LRT), but in general, they serve well to keep a few more cars off the road. And I always appreciated the time to read, study or just watch the passing scenery without having to focus on the traffic around me.

 There is a giant rabbit hole of laws passed by Congress adressing transportation funding, starting with Ice Tea, (at least in my memory) but it's hard to figure out what they have to do with double stack trains (fewer trucks on the highway. Sounds good, but what about safety?)

(Written but someone who hates to drive.)