Monday, October 12, 2015 – This weekend, along with my sister and her husband, I dropped off my 23 year old niece from Humboldt, CA at the Amtrak station at 5:15 am to catch the LakeShore Limited headed to New York City. Once again I was just dumfounded at how poor the signage is for a major train station in a large city.
Photo Courtesy of Christopher Ziemnowicz.
I have lived in NE Ohio for 50 years, and I missed it! I’m sure my relatives in the car behind me thought I was crazy when I circled the block for the 2nd time while they were looking out the window at the train on the tracks next to us. Why can’t Amtrak, or even the city of Cleveland, erect a large Amtrak sign with an arrow right at the entrance to the parking lot? And please, don’t rely on GPS, as my WAZE was yelling at me to go in the opposite direction, and we would have missed the train all together. Click here to see proof that others find it as hard to find the parking lot as I do (you’re not crazy if you do).
So here is the easy way to find it, because the trains leave in the middle of the night, and it’s pitch black with no one on the streets to give you directions or advice. Go north on W. 3rd Street (toward the lake/Cleveland Browns Stadium). Just before you reach the street in front of the stadium, turn right following the signs for I-90 East. The street is the one on the right just BEFORE the fencing if you click thru to the Googlemap image on that previous link). There is a long entrance ramp that leads to three places: 1) E. 9th Street; 2) I-90 East; AND 3) on the right, just past the overhead bridges is the small drive that leads to the Amtrak station. Although it looks like you are getting on the freeway, don’t despair, you will see a drive before you hit E. 9th Street. And if you ever want to spot an Amish family without having to drive all the way out to Geauga or Holmes County, there is a 99.9% certainty you will see them at the Amtrak station!