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Post-flood transit, clean up begins

Transit service resumed today after being suspended since Thursday due to the historic flooding that has occurred in Cedar Rapids and the midwest. Since the GTC, about a block from the river, was right in the middle of the flood zone, a temporary on-street transfer site was set up at 4th Avenue and 12th Street SE. No revised maps or schedules have been made available yet, but additional transit staff were available at the transfer point to assist passengers. Only one bus was running on each route so service was hourly all day.

I am working with the Veterans Memorial Commission this summer, which takes care of the Veterans Memorial Building on Mays Island, which houses city hall offices. The basement and mezzanine levels were completely submerged by flood water pushed in from the attached underground parking garage. The first floor also had about two feet of standing water, completely ruining the auditorium floor and numerous artifacts in the Spanish American War Memorial Room that houses the VMC office.

I was back to work Tuesday, mostly picking up sandbags and debris at the police station, library, and public works as we aren’t able to do much work in City Hall until the water goes down. Today the downtown bridges were reopened to traffic and downtown was alive, getting right to work on cleaning up. I’ve heard it could take weeks to get power back to downtown so it will certainly be along time until it is back to normal. My hope is that downtown can comeback bigger and better than it was before. While the flood will inevitable hurt small shops and businesses the most, it appears the extensive damage could expedite some large projects planned for downtown.

According to a June 18, Gazette article, Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley want the federal government to move ahead with construction of the planned new federal courthouse, which has been continuously delayed for the past fifteen years, instead of spending time and money on repairs to the current facility which would be inadequate anyway. This seems like a sensible idea and then the current courthouse could be renovated right away into mixed-use as is planned by the City of Cedar Rapids when it is transferred ownership in exchanged for the land slated for the new courthouse at 8th Ave SE between the river and 2nd Street. The site will of course be elevated so the new courthouse will be above the 500 year flood plane.

Another project that could become even more of a priority is the planned intermodal transportation facility which has been changed a number of times over the past five to ten years of initial planning. Now slated for 3rd Street SE around 9th Ave SE, the facility would include a parking garage to replace the First Street Parkade along the riverfront that has reached the end of its useful lifetime. Small repairs and patches have kept it open in recent years but according to some parking guys I was working with on Tuesday, the flood waters more than likely put it in disrepair. Personally I don’t think downtown needs another parking garage and that there is plenty of parking already, but it’d be good to see this and other projects move forward.

Transit buses used for jail evacuation

June 13, 2008 / Brady Dorman / 3 Comments

Click above for Youtube video of bus evacuation.

As all regular transit service was suspended in Cedar Rapids, city buses were used to transport evacuated inmates from the Linn County Jail to other facilities Thursday morning. According to the Gazette, more than a dozen buses were lined up along 3rd Ave SE between 6th and 8th streets, while at least two buses plowed through the water, 4-5 feet deep in some locations from Mays Island to the transfer site to other buses on 3rd Ave.

Some side panels were removed from the bus to prevent the water pressure from rolling the bus. Some that were not removed were literally falling off afterwords. According to a KCRG.com younewstv report, the buses began to float toward the curb by Smulekoff’s at 3rd Ave and 1st Street, so the doors were opened to let in water and get the buses back down.

Todd from the Gazette has some great images on Flickr (eibbtoddb) and a Youtube video you can link to above. Below are a few of Todd’s photos:

Cedar Rapids bus driving through deep water on 3rd Ave SE transporting inmates from evacuated Linn County Jail.

Staging area on 3rd Ave and 8th Street SE for inmates to transfer to other buses.

Side panels falling off bus after driving through window-deep water.

This flooding is unprecedented for Cedar Rapids, devastated thousands of homes and businesses. Over 400 blocks of the city including nearly every major building in downtown Cedar Rapids is currently under water. The outpouring of support by volunteers and neighbors lending a helping hand is a testament to the great community of Cedar Rapids and all of Iowa. It will be a long summer cleaning up and getting back to normal.

Record flooding in Cedar Rapids

June 11, 2008 / Brady Dorman / Comments Off

The Cedar River has reached record levels in the city. I am working with the Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial / City Hall maintenance department for the summer and got some photos of the flooding today downtown. Several streets around the river and near downtown were under water today with more expected by tomorrow. As of this evening all downtown bridges were closed, leaving Interstate 380 as the only river crossing in the city.

A number of bus routes had to be rerouted in response to street and bridge closures today. From what I heard there were no official detour routes and drivers were simply going where ever to try to maintain service. Towards the afternoon, west side routes had to use I-380 to cross the Cedar River to the GTC as 1st Avenue West was underwater due to the storm sewer backing up. It has been announced that transit service will be suspended through at least Saturday. Some buses will be used to assist transporting volunteers and evacuees.

Farmers market a boon for downtown

June 10, 2008 / Brady Dorman / Comments Off

I went downtown Saturday morning for the first downtown farmers market of the summer. It was my first time attending the downtown market, or any local farmers market for that matter. Appearing busier than during the week, it was great to see so many people and downtown so vibrant, no matter how temporary. According to the Gazette attendance was over 10,000. I imagined the crowd and activity was not too unlike the hustle and bustle of a Saturday morning 40 or so years ago when downtown was still the prime retail center of town with all the major department stores.

Since 2006, the farmers market has been held on downtown streets on select Saturdays throughout the summer season. Before that the market was held at the Riverside Roundhouse by Czech Village, about ten blocks away from the downtown core and across the river. In 2006 the Downtown District group proposed moving the market to the streets of downtown for the benefit of businesses and to get more people downtown. Not surprisingly the majority of Czech Village business owners strongly objected to this idea. A handful of vocal market-goers made shortsighted arguments that the move to downtown would fail and prevent some elderly regulars from shopping because they couldn’t park as close and would, God forbid, have to walk a couple of blocks. Nevertheless the downtown market was given a try the first Saturday of each month in summer ’06. Though I did not attend any, they were reported successes and drew many first time shoppers. This downtown market was clearly something to consider.

In 2007, the regular Riverside Roundhouse market officially ended its 40+ year run as the market was permanently moved to a parking lot at 8th Avenue and 2nd Street on the southern edge of downtown, about midway between Czech Village and the core of downtown. Business owners in Czech Village were understandably displeased as many depended on the Roundhouse market to bring in customers during the summer months. I don’t remember hearing a whole lot about this move but I imagine it was done to increase visibility at the busy street corner and capacity, after the previous summer’s trial market downtown had generated greater public interest. At least at this location the naysayers could not complain about a lack of convenient parking. However a market in a big parking lot with few trees in the hot summer sun can get pretty uncomfortable. In that regard both the downtown location, partially or entirely shaded by buildings and street trees, and the indoors Roundhouse location would be better.

This summer the farmers market will be held downtown twice in June and August, and again on the first Saturday of July, September and October. This year it has expanded on to the otherwise underutilized May’s Island in addition to two blocks of 2nd Avenue SE, two blocks of 2nd Street SE and two blocks of 1st Street SE. Clearly the partial move to downtown has done wonders for the farmers market, yielding increased popularity, attracting many new vendors and customers. My hope is that the farmers market will be permanently moved to the streets of downtown in the coming seasons. It is truly a delightful experience in downtown and fosters community interaction while growing into one of the midwest’s largest open air markets.

For more information visit the CR Recreation Department’s Farmers Market website.

CR buses getting bike racks

May 21, 2008 / Brady Dorman / 3 Comments

According to the city’s Status & Information Report for the week of May 19, Cedar Rapids Transit plans to add bike racks to the front of 21 buses. They will be installed on all 16 of the Thomas SLF low floor buses and five of the 1990 RTS buses. The racks that hold two bikes each are to be standard on all new bus purchases in the future.

Fresh paint on Bruegger’s

January 12, 2008 / Brady Dorman / Comments Off

I noticed the other day while downtown that the small Bruegger’s Bagels building on 3rd. Avenue has gotten a facelift. The front facade is now colorful with warm green and yellow tones and a new striped canopy. The previous exterior was quite drab and, by comparison, not very inviting. According to the Cedar Rapids Assessor, the building was built in 1890, and the second level is currently occupied by a dance studio. The minor improvements were definitely worthwhile, brightening up the entire block.

Green letters gone from CR skyline

January 8, 2008 / Brady Dorman / Comments Off

The APAC Building in downtown Cedar Rapids is now Plaza 425. Referring to the building’s address, the new name replaces APAC after the tenant lost naming rights by dropping below minimum occupancy requirements. New signs have been installed at ground level, but the top of the tower remains bare after the distinctive illuminated green “APAC” letters were removed from all four sides this past summer. Adjacent to the Ground Transportation Center and intercity bus terminal, the 16 story office tower opened in 1983, and at 207 feet, is one of the tallest buildings in downtown. It is too bad there is no longer a vivid, illuminated sign at the top to make it stand out even more.

New branding, buses for Cedar Rapids Transit

January 5, 2008 / Brady Dorman / 3 Comments

Cedar Rapids’ bus system has dropped the EAGL moniker and the department name Five Seasons Transportation Parking, as transit and parking are now separated under new city organization. The EAGL name, an acronym for “Environmental Alternative for a Greater Lifestyle” was introduced back in 1993, replacing the previous nickname, “Easyrider” and design scheme consisting of white buses with a simple red stripe down the sides.

After city reorganizing, the new separate transit department is now officially known as Cedar Rapids Transit, but system re-branding has not yet taken place. Currently the buses retain the same teal color scheme on the old buses and wavy green scheme on the new buses, but some of the EAGL and FST&P labels have been removed.

New buses are also in store for Cedar Rapids. I contacted transit manager Brad DeBrower who told me there is funding for three new buses is programmed into the proposed budget but it will be at least a year before they are delivered and hit the streets. He said he expects a new Cedar Rapids Transit color and design scheme for the buses will come at that time.

I am pleased with the new name and re-branding to come. EAGL was never a very strong identification as most residents simply referred to it as “the bus.” A striking branding and catchy name can really help increase community awareness of transit, as evident with CyRide in Ames, Cambus in Iowa City, and Des Moines MTA’s recent re-branding as DART. FST&P had long strove to serve the needs of the elderly and disabled in the community, which is good, but severely lacked in public image and identity. Hopefully the re-branding will increase visibility of public transit in Cedar Rapids and encourage more able-bodied, financially-stable riders.

Cedar Rapids Bus Photos

August 16, 2007 / Brady Dorman / Comments Off

I’ve posted photos of EAGL transit buses in Cedar Rapids from this summer. The majority of the fleet is made up of older GMC RTS transit buses, but in the past year or so has expanded with new low floor Thomas Dennis SLF200 buses. Above is a view of the Ground Transportation Center downtown along 1st. Street SE. The GTC was built in the early 80’s with a federal transportation grant. As you can see, pedestrian access to the bus station is far from optimal. There are no direct pedestrian pathways in or out of the bus station without walking across the bus driveway. The City Council is currently debating moving the GTC to a new intermodal transportation facility to be built about two blocks south of the current site, and redeveloping the current station for other uses. However, since the current GTC was built with federal funding, there is uncertainty whether or not the building can abandon its intended use.

See all my EAGL photos here.

Helpful service from EAGL

June 11, 2007 / Brady Dorman / 1 Comment

I was able to get my 31 Day bus pass back today from Five Seasons Transportation. I was talking to a operations manager Brad DeBrower and asked him how often riders put their passes into the dollar bill spot on accident. He told me more often than you’d think and took me back to the office to show me a fare box they had set up. I told him that I’m a driver for CyRide during the school year and turns out he graduated from Iowa State in Community and Regional Planning. He complimented CyRide’s great system, and said he’d like to make a lot of improvements at Five Seasons to become more like it. At any rate, I was glad to talk with him and now know there’s at least one good guy at Five Seasons Transportation. Even though I still believe it a very lacking transit service, my impression of the Five Seasons staff has fortunately improved. I now, once again look forward to being a regular transit rider in Cedar Rapids.

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