We definitely want you to find us!  Here's how:
By Car
By Public Transportation
Map & Mapquest Directions

We are located on Cleveland's Near West Side in the historic Ohio City area at the intersection of Franklin Boulevard, Fulton Road, and W. 28th Street

We are nestled between Lutheran Hospital to the east and the Masonic Temple to the west.

To find out more about our incredible city, click on the button below, or go to: http://www.clevelandplus.com

To check on our current weather, click on the button below, or go to: http://wwwa.accuweather.com/index-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&zipcode=44113&u=1

If traveling by car:
FROM DOWNTOWN: Drive across the Detroit/Memorial Bridge and turn left (south) on W. 28th St. three blocks to Franklin Blvd.

FROM I -71 Take the Fulton Road exit and turn north onto Fulton Road. Follow Fulton several miles (it will curve a bit) and just as you cross Lorain Avenue, you will see a sign that says Right Turn Only, [continuing] onto Fulton Road. You will know you are close when you reach the Carnegie West Library which will be on your left just as you pass the curve/right turn only sign. Follow this street, which is Fulton Road, to the church. You will reach the church just before Franklin Blvd. If you get to Franklin Blvd, you have gone past the church, although the church is so beautiful, and historical, you can't miss it.
 

FROM I 90: Take the W 41st/44th Street exit and turn north onto W 41st Street. (ONE WAY NORTH)
Take W 41st Street north past Lorain Ave. to Bridge Ave. Turn right (going east) and go to Fulton Road. (Just past the Carnegie West Library) Turn left (going North) onto Fulton Road and just as you pass through the traffic light at W 30th & Fulton, our church parking lot is on the left hand side, directly behind our church. You have gone a tad too far if you get to the intersection of Franklin Blvd and Fulton Road.

FROM HWY 2/WEST SHORE WAY: Exit at the W 28 St ramp, turn left, (going south). You will follow W 28th to the intersection of W 28th & Franklin Blvd. Franklin Blvd is four blocks south from the shore way exit ramp.

Parking is available in our lot behind the church, off Fulton Road. On street parking is available on the east side of the church. On Sundays you can use the Masonic Lodge parking area should our lot be full.

By Public Transportation:

***Note the December 2007 News Release below!***
You can reach us by public transportation in several ways:

Ask about the $4 All Day Pass!

BY RAPID TRANSIT: Take the red line to the "Ohio City/W 25th St." stop and walk to the north east corner of W 25th and look for the West Side Market. Walk north six blocks on W 25th St. At this point you will have reached Franklin Blvd. Walk one block west on Franklin Blvd. (You may also transfer to a #22 or #20 bus along W 25th St.)
 

Both the bus and rapid transit costs $1.75 and they do take one dollar bills.  Exact change is required, however.  When getting onto either the bus or the rapid you must use an All Day Pass to transfer from one to another without paying additional fare.

BY BUS: Take either the #20A or 20B bus, all will get you where you need to go. You may also take #25B or 25W and get off at W 25th St. and Franklin Blvd. Walk one block west on Franklin Blvd to get to the church. OR take the #26 and get off at W. 28th St. and walk three blocks south.

Buses cost $1.75 also.  They do take one dollar bills, however exact change is required.

 
For help in planning your trip to Franklin Circle Christian Church by either bus or rapid, please either click the logo to the left or go to http://tripplanner.gcrta.or

For a Plain Dealer article on tips in helping you to ride public transportation, click HERE!

RTA NEWS
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007                          
 
Second phase of fare modifications take effect in January

 
CLEVELAND -- New fares for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) take effect Monday, Jan. 7, 2008.
 
This is the second phase of fare modifications approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2006. The first phase took effect July 1, 2006, after an extensive round of public hearings.
 
After the hearings, the Board agreed to split the increase into two parts, to lessen the impact on customers. The action was RTA’s first across-the-board increase in 13 years, and can largely be attributed to the rising cost of fuel.  
All-Day Pass, unlimited rides

Individual, $4.00
Senior/disabled/child, $1.75  
Bus/Rapid

Cash, $ 1.75
5-trip farecard, $8.75
7-Day Pass, $17.50
Monthly Pass, $63.00  
Trolley/Loop/Circulator

Cash $1.00 (trolleys free because of sponsorship)
5-trip farecard, $5.00  
Park-N-Ride bus

Cash, $2.00
5-trip farecard, $10.00
7-Day Pass, $ 20.00
Monthly Pass, $70.00  
Senior/disabled

Cash, $0.75
5-trip farecard, $3.75
7-Day Pass, $ 7.50
Monthly Pass, $29.00  
Student

5-trip farecard, $7.50  
Other cash fares

Paratransit  $1.75
Out-of-county $3.00 

Things you need to know about riding RTA
Monday, June 23, 2008
John Campanelli
Plain Dealer Reporter

[To read this online, go to: http://www.cleveland.com/pdq/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/121422210840960.xml&coll=2 ]

With all the other stuff going on in the world, you might have missed the news.

Gasoline prices are up a bit.

Fuel on the wrong side of $4 a gallon is enough to make the struggling commuter consider car-pooling, riding a bike to work, or even -- believe it or not -- taking the bus.

For those of us who haven't been on a bus that wasn't yellow, riding RTA can be intimidating. Some might view it as a loss of freedom or a sign of defeat.

They're wrong.

Riding the bus is a victory, for you, for the community and for the environment. And with the cash and aggravation you save, you'll feel liberated.

But how, exactly, does one ride the bus?

It's not as simple as get on, ride and get off. There are details, unwritten rules and tips. Earlier this month, PDQ rode around town on buses, talking with riders. Here, then, is how to ride the bus.

Before you get on

Figure out where you're going and when. Bus and rapid-transit schedules are available on buses and trains, at Tower City's RTA Service Center and on RTA's helpful Web site, RideRTA.com. You can also call the RTAnswerline, at 216-621-9500.

Show up at your stop at least five minutes before your bus or train is scheduled to leave.

You might want to bring something to occupy your time, like a book, newspaper or iPod. Otherwise, you can engage in typical public-transportation behavior: sleeping, gazing out the window or talking to yourself.

Paying your fare

A typical bus or rapid ride is $1.75. If you're a senior, it's 75 cents. All-day, seven-day and monthly passes are available, too, and you can buy them online or at locations around town (listed on RideRTA.com).

"Iron your dollar bills," advised Selina Hill of Cleveland as she waited for her bus at the Windermere rapid station in East Cleveland last week. "The newer fare machines will spit [wrinkled bills] out."

If you're using cash, have the exact amount ready (drivers don't make change) before you climb aboard. You'll make no friends if you're pulling pennies and lint from your pockets while a bus full of late commuters stares at you with wishes of a painful death.

Front? Back? Window? Aisle?

Congratulations, you're on board and ready to take full advantage of public transportation. Now . . . where to sit . . .

Hill, who likes to put safety first, suggests finding a seat near the front, close enough that you can see the driver (and he or she can see you) in the rear-view mirror.

Jerome Turner of Cleveland, who takes the bus from his job at the Cleveland Clinic to the gym where he trains as a heavyweight boxer, takes a more tactical approach.

"Sit toward the back," he advised while sitting in the last row on an eastbound No. 6. "You don't want any crazies behind you."

Regardless, avoid the seats at the very front. They are reserved for seniors and riders with disabilities. Signs are posted.

Aisle seat or window seat? An unwritten rule says to fill empty benches before sitting next to someone. Once you sit, move over to the window, so that if the bus fills, a fellow rider will be able to sit next to you.

You don't want to sit in the aisle anyway, said Turner.

"Always get a window seat, next to a window you can open" he advised. "Someone is going to smell bad."

Interaction

Interacting with other riders isn't easy. Even getting someone else to make eye contact with you can be a challenge (try it, it's more fun than that license-plate game you played as a kid).

Often, friendliness is met with wariness, a greeting is met with distrust and warmth gets cool silence.

But that doesn't mean you can't try. A nod, a friendly hello and perhaps a compliment on a pair of shoes and you may soon find yourself in a fascinating give-and-take. (You may also find yourself getting a hard sell for a new religion.)

Hill loves a good conversation on the bus. "It makes the bus ride a little faster," she said. Even so, she, like all riders, keeps her guard up.

"I try not to make eye contact," she said. "Some people are having a bad day and they will flip out on you."

When someone starts a conversation with Turner, he gives them a chance.

"If they make sense, I'll have a conversation," he said. "Just remember that if they start talking, they may talk to you the whole ride."

If you somehow find yourself in a conversation with someone better off chatting with a shrink, take Robert Delk's advice.

"Just agree with everything they say," said Delk, who just graduated from John Hay High School. "And eventually they'll stop."

Behavior

Follow the golden rule and your ride will go flawlessly. That might seem kind of obvious -- obvious unless you've been on a bus and seen some of the strange things people do.

Be polite, considerate and helpful and everything will be a breeze.

Some do's and don'ts:

Don't sing. If you had talent, you'd be on a tour bus.

Do wear headphones.

Don't crank the volume up in those headphones.

Don't have loud cell-phone conversations.

Don't have personal cell-phone conversations (unless it's real juicy stuff; then make sure it is loud, so the rest of us don't have to strain to hear it).

Don't bring tons of stuff with you. Taking up three seats with your bags is bad form.

Don't rest your feet in the aisles.

Do carry a cell phone.

Don't trust your "sea legs." If you have to stand, hold on to the pole.

Do not fight the urge to wave at the guy in the next lane in the Hummer whose trip downtown is costing him $12 in gas.

Do make sure you're clean (or at least not ripe).

Sleep?

Most bus rides go by in silence, with the soothing drone of the engine creating a sort of lullaby. The temptation, especially in the morning, will be to close your eyes an catch a wink.

By all means, go for it. Just remember to keep your belongings close. Realize, too, that snoring and drooling are possible.

Oh yeah, and remember something else, said Delk.

"People might not wake you up for your stop."

Asked if such a disaster has happened to him, Delk just smiled.

Exiting

As your stop approaches, press the stop button or pull the cord to signal the driver that you want to exit.

You can then exit the bus and laugh at the fools who are still stuck on I-480.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jcampanelli@plaind.com, 216-999-4694



© 2008 The Plain Dealer
© 2008 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.
 

There's a great news article about how, as our nation grows in population, we are going to have to be more creative in the way we live.  You can get to the article at the link below, but here's a short selection from it:

•Rail lines and transit villages. Cities that had let public transit wither are revitalizing it and encouraging development around transit stops. Metro areas better known for sprawl are hopping aboard the rail mania, including Dallas, Albuquerque, Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Charlotte.

Twenty-seven metropolitan areas have transit systems, and 15 are planning new ones, according to Reconnecting America, a non-profit group that encourages development near or along transit lines.

"As these cities grew, they realized that relying on the automobile was not enough," says William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, a trade group that represents public transit providers. "New systems are virtually without exception meeting and exceeding ridership targets, and you're seeing land values (along transit lines) go up."

Once all the transit systems on the books are built by 2030, there will be 4,000 to 4,500 transit stations nationwide. There were 735 planned and proposed stations as of December 2005.

"Right now, there are about 6 million households that live within half a mile of stations," says Shelley Poticha, president of Reconnecting America. "The demand for housing near transit is going to grow to over 16 million. That's a big number."

To read the full story, go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-10-26-100-million_x.htm

Map

Franklin Circle Christian Church

1688 Fulton Rd.

Cleveland, OH 44113-3096

Click here for driving directions from MapQuest

Franklin Circle Christian Church ~ 1688 Fulton Rd. ~ Cleveland, OH 44113