[PRCo] Re: Cleveland Sidaway bridge

[Fred Schneider]

I drove out Kinsman about twenty years ago and was impressed about  
how "rough" Kinsman Avenue was compared to Shaker Heights just to its  
north.   Of course the south fringe of the City of Shaker Heights was  
rapidly changing too.  A lot had changed on the east side compared to  
my first solo visit to Cleveland in 1959.

Of course a lot changed in Pittsburgh's north side since the days  
when I used to walk from my Grandma's all the way down Perrysville  
Avenue and Federal Street to downtown.

And a lot changed on the west side of Philadelphia since my youth.

And there are neighborhoods right here in tiny Lancaster that I would  
go into after the drug dealers wake up after lunch because the drive  
by shootings begin about 2 PM.

Sad commentary isn't it.   And a friend of mine was just talking  
about how you can get your pocket picked in Europe.   Yes, I've had  
that happen to me a few times.   You just don't carry more than you  
want to give away while you're distracted taking a picture ... the  
rest goes into a money belt or a money harness.   But they don't kill  
for your money over there.

On Apr 26, 2007, at 1:29 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:

> The bridge is still standing, or was the last time I worked the 14- 
> KINSMAN line. It (the bridge) is located just off Kinsman Avenue  
> about 650-feet east of the overpass which carries Kinsman Avenue  
> over the railroad tracks and the RTA rapid tracks and Central Rail  
> Shops.
>
>   I would not advise anyone to jump on a 14-Kinsman bus and ride  
> out to the bridge unless you have armed guards with you. It is a  
> VERY, VERY rough neighborhood. The Garden Valley projects (they  
> always give those "airy" type names to hard-core slums) are right  
> there near Sidaway Avenue and the bridge. I feel certain that any  
> 'railfan' type looking at the bridge would become cannon fodder for  
> the local hoods. I don't have any fear when driving the bus because  
> I have the combined forces of the Cleveland Police Dept., Cuyahoga  
> Metro Housing Authority Police, RTA Transit Police, Cuyahoga County  
> Sheriffs Dept., and one or two other agencies protecting me and RTA  
> property. People think twice before doing "things" on RTA because  
> they will be arrested and jailed.
>
>   But yes, the bridge is there and looks like a model of the  
> "Golden Gate" bridge.
> Bob Rathke <bobrathke at comcast.net> wrote:
>   I lived in Cleveland (Lakewood), Ohio in the 1960's and early  
> 70's, and I
> never knew about the Sidaway Bridge.
> I am familiar with the SHRT, but I don't think that the structure  
> was ever
> perceived as a "bridge."
>
> Also see the following message from railfan friend Dick Bloss who  
> has lived
> in Cleveland Hts.since 1963:
>
> I have never heard of this bridge. Not in 44 years here.
>
> Bob 4/25/07
>
>
>
>
>
> Herb Brannon
>
>