Given that the Cleveland light rail runs entirely on reserve, with no stops in the street environment, and even shares tracks with a subway, one might wonder why it doesn't have high platform loading. It may be a legacy systems, but so is the Pittsburgh light rail, which has converted to mostly high platform loading, and this conversion started before the Americans with disabilities act required level boarding.
Was such a conversion ever considered in Cleveland?
Level boarding to high floor vehicles, if possible in all locations, can put high floor vehicles at the same advantage in terms of accessibility as low floor vehicles have on a street based system, but high floor vehicles have greater capacity relative to vehicle length and width than equivalent low floor vehicles, and can use simpler bogie design and can have electrical control equipment under the floor.
Was such a conversion ever considered in Cleveland?
Level boarding to high floor vehicles, if possible in all locations, can put high floor vehicles at the same advantage in terms of accessibility as low floor vehicles have on a street based system, but high floor vehicles have greater capacity relative to vehicle length and width than equivalent low floor vehicles, and can use simpler bogie design and can have electrical control equipment under the floor.