April 15, 200817 yr There are a lot of rail & transit-friendly voices on this panel. Let's make sure they hear from all of us. And Former Federal Railroad Administration Director (and current ORDC Chair) Jolene Molitoris is overseeing the panel. A few of the people I know to be rail & transit friendly: Chris Vineis Tony Reams (TMACOG) Chester Jourdan (MORPC) Art Arnold (Ohio Railroad Association) Elaine Roberts (As airport director in Providence Rhode island, she was instrumental in getting a Northeast Corridor Armtrak station stop at the TF Greene Airport) I hear that Treasurer Richard Cordray is also very friendly toward passenger rail.
April 15, 200817 yr Given that the way Ohio funds transportation (motor vehicle fuels tax) is archaic (can only be spent on highways) and failing to meet the needs of a rapidly changing society and economy.... this Task Force is no small gesture. This may the best chance in decades to make significant change that will benefit all of us by enabling more and better trnasportation choices.
April 15, 200817 yr And with Columbus losing Skybus and CVG potentially losing Delta, a high quality road system is essential
April 15, 200817 yr A high-quality road system? Oh, you mean the one that we can't afford to maintain because gasoline prices are rising, people are driving less and gasoline tax revenues (as a result) are flat. And meanwhile, the public is left with no options to driving because there is even less money for rail, transit, bikeways, etc. All kidding aside...this task force is about way more than just good roads. Good roads we've got. It's the lack of options that this panel most need to address.
April 15, 200817 yr I agree. We need high quality transit that is not beholden to the failing airline system.
April 15, 200817 yr Art Arnold isn't necessarily passenger rail "unfriendly", but I agree he needs to be watched. Ron Pizzuti is a Columbus developer, but has also developed some downtown properties, including a high-end, high-rise condo. I think he would see the merit in rail-based transportation that encoruages inward urban development. Wasn't Qualls supportive of passenger rail when she was Mayor of Cincy? BTW: The Ohio Contractor's Association is on record with a letter of support from their Executive Director for the Ohio Hub. And Mr. Pepper, from Disney, is the former CEO of Cincy-based Proctor & Gamble.
April 15, 200817 yr Here is an even more detailed list of the 21st century Transportation Task Force.... note that All Aboard Ohio has a representative, as does the Ohio Environmental Council...both strong supporters of the Ohio Hub. Each Steering Committee also has an added "Working Group" and that's where the additional names are to be found. Link to the Task Force Website: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/default.asp Link to the list: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/Members.asp Task Force Members Executive Chairs Ty Marsh, President, Chair Columbus Chamber of Commerce Frank Jackson, Mayor, Vice Chair City of Cleveland Deborah Lieberman, Commissioner, Vice Chair Montgomery County Promoting a Multi Modal Transportation System Steering Committee Art Arnold, President Ohio Rail Road Association Joseph Calabrese, CEO Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Larry Davis, President Ohio Trucking Association Rose Ann DeLeon, Vice President of Strategic Development Cleveland Port Authority Don Mader, Executive Director American Council of Engineering Companies of Ohio Tony Reams, President Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments Elaine Roberts, President Columbus Regional Airport Authority Patrick Sink, Business Manager & General Vice President Int'l Union of Operating Engineers Working Group Members Charles (Arnie) de la Porte, Honorary Consulate The Royal Netherlands Embassy Shivani Edwards, Director of Community Based Programs Buckeye Ranch Jim Ferraro, Executive Director Western Reserve Transit Authority John C. (Jack) Fisher, Executive Vice President Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Doug Hammon, President Ohio Aviation Association Larry Jacobson, Sr. Project Manager URS Corporation Carla Lakatos, Principal Partner Lakatos Group Brian Newbacher, Director of Public Affairs AAA East Central Jack Shaner, Director of Public Affairs Ohio Environmental Council Ken Sislak, Board of Directors Member All Aboard Ohio Generating Economic Development Steering Committee Jane Brautigam, City Manager City of Dublin Dean DePiero, Mayor City of Parma Joe Hamrock, President and COO AEP Ohio Kenny Holland, Secretary-Treasurer Ohio Laborers District Council Ben Houser, Attorney Brown County Bill Lhota, President & CEO Central Ohio Transit Authority John Pepper, Chairman of the Board Walt Disney Company Albert Ratner, Co-Chairman of the Board Forest City Enterprises Kay Townsend, COO/VP United Parcel Service Working Group Members Bill Habig, President Raccoon Valley Partners Gene Krebs, Co-Director Greater Ohio Doug Moormann, Vice President of Economic Development Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Joanna Pinkerton, Project Engineer Union County Engineer Mark Policinski, Executive Director OKI Council of State Governments Sharon Reichard, City Administrator City of Grove City David Spinney, Administrator Clermont County Larry Thornhill, President Berger Health Systems Maximizing Public Investment Steering Committee Bob Brown, Treasurer Case Western/TRAC Member Richard Cordray, Treasurer State of Ohio Chester Jourdan, Executive Director Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission Dick Moreno, Political Director Ohio & Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters Ron Pizzuti, Chairman & CEO Pizzuti Companies Roxanne Qualls, Councilwoman City of Cincinnati Chris Runyan, President Ohio Contractors Association Chris Vineis, President Capital Partnerships Working Group Members Chris Abbuhl, Commissioner Tuscarawas County David Beach, Director Center for Regional Sustainability, Cleveland Natural History Museum Heidi Fought, Director of Governmental Affairs Ohio Township Association Marcia Majizadeh Lampman, Vice President Resource International Inc. Larry Long, Executive Director County Commissioners' Association of Ohio George Palko, President/CEO Great Lakes Construction Company Jenny Snapp, Director Logan Union Champaign MPO Keith Thompson, President Ohio Municipal League Board
April 20, 200817 yr http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/NEWS11/804200343 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Article published April 20, 2008 'Other Ohio' falls short on transit panel; 55-member task force has only 2 from Toledo area By IGNAZIO MESSINA BLADE STAFF WRITER Columbus and Cleveland will be well-represented when a new Ohio transportation task force meets next month. Twenty-eight of the task force members live or work in the Columbus area and 12 in the Cleveland area. Five members hail from Cincinnati and two out of the 55 people appointed to the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force are from Toledo. The group was created to find the fairest way to finance transportation systems for the entire state. Ohio Department of Transportation officials, who took the lead in establishing the task force and selecting some of its members, said the group will be a first-of-its-kind "transportation conversation" and includes a diverse mix of industry experts and state leaders. .....
April 20, 200817 yr City Delegates Metro Pop Persons per delegate Columbus 28 1.75 62500 Cleveland 12 2 166667 Cincinnati 5 2.1 420000 CincyOH 5 1.6 320000 Dayton 2 0.8 400000 Toledo 2 0.65 325000 Youngstown 2 0.57 285000 NewPhilly 1 0.09 90000 Circleville 1 0.05 50000 East Liberty 1 0.04 40000 Marysville 1 0.04 40000 Total Delegates: 55 Note: County population was used for the single delegate cities So Dayton actually got screwed the most, then Cincinnati/Toledo are about tied Sorry about the formatting
April 20, 200817 yr And people wonder why Cincinnati and Toledo don't feel a part of 'Ohio'. Dayton just got screwed.
April 20, 200817 yr This kind of parochialism disappoints me. Everyone from Toledo Mayor Finkbeiner on down is ready to say "We're getting screwed." Last time I looked, Toledo has two more Amtrak trains a day than anywhere in Central Ohio, a fairly decent mass transit system, the Ohio Turnpike, an airport (and access to Detroit Metro as a well), good roads and Interstates, bikeways, etc.... So define "screwed". It's fine to look out for one's own interests. But it strikes me as taking self-interest a bit too far when people start slamming the geographic makeup of the Task Force before it even gets started on it's work.
April 20, 200817 yr I'm ok with this. There is no "representation" for Akron or Canton at all. The point of this task force is to get a representation of industries across Ohio and figure out where the needs are. That Platt guy is definitely a squeaky wheel. I hope he's not being listened to. No way anyone can justify another highway going between Columbus and Pittsburgh.
April 20, 200817 yr Let's judge this task force based on its actions, not the mailing addresses of its participants, before we condemn it. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 20, 200817 yr One thing the article glossed over was the fact that at least 14 of the 28 people from Columbus are from organizations and groups which represent ALL Ohians, not just the locals here in C'Bus. Another point I'd make is Toledo's geographic position will ensure that it gets its fair share, so I'd say they don't have much to worry about. This is the reason why they have passenger train service and Columbus does not. As KJP says... Let's judge this task force based on its actions, not the mailing addresses of its participants, before we condemn it.
April 20, 200817 yr The Blade and Finkbeiner have long been the big leaders on the Other Ohio movement. They have a real animus toward the 3C's and the collapse of the Michigan economy increases their level of anxiety. There is lots of parochialism in Ohio, but it is the push factors are generally much stronger than the pull factors. Unfortunately, Ohio has generally been a state in which the regions of the push away from one another and the core (state gov't) plays games in ways that push the regions further away. It is examples like these that whether or not they are entirely accurate, crystalize peoples sense of the distribution of power and resources in the state. Toledo feels dissed by the fact that 23 is a rather inefficient way to get from the fourth biggest city to the core. Then add that nearly all the plans for Toledo focus on its position on the Cleveland-Detroit-Chicago axis rather than connecting it downstate further adds to that sense. No expressway is more painful to drive on than I-75 and yet it is getting less investment than I-71 across its full length. The problem with 75 is that so much of its traffic is from out of state or even country. Considering Toledo's position as a Democratic stronghold, I think they were hoping that the passing of the Taft regime would gain them greater access to state power than has been the case for the better part of the twenty years.
April 21, 200817 yr It seems the state government expenditure rules and legislature favored suburbs and rural areas for the last 40+ years. I believe that is what this commission is trying to reverse. Money should go where it will deliver the biggest bang for the buck. The nice thing is ODOT realizes that they haven't really been doing that. They are hamstrung by the legislative rules that control how they spend money. To me the primary focus of the task force will be freight railroads expansion and potentially building for commuter rail, multimodal centers, and the potential of short sea shipping. You make it sound like this "other Ohio" wants to keep things status quo. Whats wrong with being better connected with Cleveland and Chicago? The new(expensive) bridge over I 75 has helped connecting to Detroit hasn't it? I've driven on I-75 around Dayton and yes its busy. But I never saw it as punishingly busy. More surprisingly busy. Plus the state is building the Fort to Port highway. I think the state is also looking at upgrading 23. If you need to live an easier drive to Columbus, then don't live so far away.. Don't put it on the state gov to build you a straighter new highway.
April 21, 200817 yr I don't think that they have status quo in mind, but Ohio Hub has the rail line from Toledo to Columbus as one of the final parts of the build-out. NW Ohio is investing big time in those components already - see the massive transformation of North Baltimore. In fact, the foundation of Toledo's economy at this point is probably it's fantastic location rather than any of its historic industries, which is why a more balanced set of voices make sense. It is about symbolism rather than reality, but that is politics and why so many plans for the future fail.
April 28, 200817 yr ODOT seeking direction on transportation system Saturday, April 26, 2008 Sarah Hollander Plain Dealer Reporter The average resident considers the Ohio Department of Transportation a department of highways. ODOT, however, says its mission is more holistic. You cant build your way to success through only expanding the highway system, ODOT Assistant Director Jolene Molitoris said. ..... http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/living-0/1209198837136090.xml&coll=2
April 28, 200817 yr First, no new exits on any major highway outside of already urbanized areas. Finish up anything in the pipeline and then freeze at the current levels. Second, choose quality over quantity of roads. I imagine there are ways to force ODOT to account (monetarily) for road costs that would make it a very bad idea to build new roads that are for speculative purposes only.
April 28, 200817 yr But there needs to be a functional transportation network, public or otherwise, at rail stations, Sue Byerly of Silver Lake said. That's funny. I thought everyone in Silver Lake wants to blow up the rail line through their town. Apparently not! Don't laugh -- in the 1990s, a few brave and outspoken rail supporters in Silver Lake were threatened by rabid rail opponents. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 3, 200817 yr Here is a list of the public meetings to be held around Ohio and an opportunity for all of us to push for more and better transportation options like passenger rail, light rail, streetcars, better local bus service, bikeways and walkable neighborhoods. Regional Task Force Meetings: All regional events are from 4 p.m.–8 p.m. More date/locations will follow... southwest Cincinnati/Dayton May 21 Miami Valley Reg. Plan. Comm. 1100 W. Third Street Dayton, OH 45407 southeast Athens June 4 Walter Hall - OU Campus Room 135 Athens, OH 45701 northwest Toledo June 10 Nitschke Hall University of Toledo Toledo, OH 43606-3390 east St. Clairsville June 11 OU Eastern Campus, Shannon Hall, 45425 National Rd., St. Clairsville, OH 43950 central Columbus June 12 Ohio Building at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds 717 E. 17th Ave. Columbus, OH 43211 northeast Akron/Cleveland June 19 Independence Civic Center 6800 Brecksville Rd. Independence, OH 44131
May 3, 200817 yr Hmmmm.... good observation. I have left a comment on that point at the Task Force website.
May 3, 200817 yr Nice of them to pick a transit accessible location here in Cleveland. Hey, at least Rockside road has sidewalks now. (as opposed to 3 years ago).
May 4, 200817 yr Nice of them to pick a transit accessible location here in Cleveland. Hey, at least Rockside road has sidewalks now. (as opposed to 3 years ago). I noticed that too, but I think they wanted to pick a point between Akron and Cleveland so they could combine the meetings. If you ask me, there should have been a separate Akron meeting.
May 4, 200817 yr The location is about a mile south of Rockside Road. It's at the old town square of Independence on Brecksville Road which has the #77 RTA bus (see: http://www.riderta.com/pdf/77.pdf -- the site is just south of location E on the timetable). Example: The southbound bus from downtown Cleveland at 3 p.m. will get you there about 30 minutes early. The next bus, leaving downtown at 3:35 p.m. will get you there a few minutes late. It's a pretty fast bus from downtown since it takes I-77 on the northern half of its route. The #77 RTA bus also connects with Akron Metro RTA's #101 Richfield/Bath bus... To Akron: http://www.akronmetro.org/Schedule%20PDFs/Spring%202008/28161%20101%20Richfld_2.pdf To Brecksville/RTA: http://www.akronmetro.org/Schedule%20PDFs/Spring%202008/28161%20101%20Richfld_1.pdf The 2:45 p.m. bus from downtown Akron will get you to the RTA connection at the Brecksville VA Hospital at 3:35 p.m., just in time to miss an RTA #77 bus by two minutes. So you'll have to wait around for 35 minutes to catch the next #77 at 4:10 p.m., which means you'll miss the first 30 minutes of the ODOT meeting. You'll have about 50 minutes at the meeting before you have to leave at about 5:20 p.m. to get the RTA #77 bus southbound to make the 6 p.m. Akron Metro #101 bus connection at the VA Hospital. Or, you could stay in Independence until just after 10:30 p.m. to catch the last #77 southbound and arrive the VA Hospital at 10:56 p.m. Better hope it's a warm, dry night because the Akron Metro #101 connection doesn't depart until 11:45 p.m. This last bus doesn't go all the way downtown. It ends at 12:01 a.m. at Summit Mall in Ghent and Market streets in suburban Fairlawn. There, patrons must transfer to the #1 West Market bus, which has departures at 12:10 a.m. and 12:38 a.m. to downtown Akron. Either the organizers weren't thinking about including Ohio's low-income, senior, disabled, car-free or urban residents so we could hear their concerns. Or, they were using this location to highlight Ohio's poor transit services! This is particularly true of Akron Metro, which has relied on state funding due to its lack of a dependable local funding source. As we all know, state funding for transit was cut from a paltry $40 million per in 2000 to an embarassing $16 million in 2007. But Cleveland RTA has also been hurt by the state's poor record of funding transit, and the reduced level of serve on the #77 route is but one example of many. I would love to hear ODOT's explanation for choosing this location as the venue for getting the public's input. Which public? Certainly not Ohio's low-income, senior, disabled, car-free or urban residents. And what input? Certainly not anything having to do with non-highway transportation. Low-income groups, urban churches and other benevolent organizations should organize charter buses/vans to get more people to this and other meetings. It's time for Ohio's left-behind people to stop getting left-behind. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 6, 200817 yr Inaugural Task Force Meeting: May 7, 8:30 – 4:00 ODOT Central Office, 1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus AGENDA (48 Kb pdf) http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/05-07-08_Task_Force_Agenda.pdf This event will be available as a live Webcast via the following link: http://webcast.dot.state.oh.us/webcast/viewer/?peid=9e5e9456-2ec8-4c81-925c-528380d0a2fb 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force Meeting Webcast (beginning at 9 a.m. Wed) For more information, see the following page: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 6, 200817 yr The Dayton location is in Wright-Dunbar, which does have bus service, but lots of parking too. I actually might go to that one, just to hear what they have to say. From what I know of RTA (Dayton's transit stystem) they are always being cut and fares are always going up. Actually this might be a chance to speak out on Austin Road (yet again).
May 6, 200817 yr I will be at tomorrow's opening session. Just a thought to ponder: Let's all keep our eyes on the big picture here: how we will fund and develop non-highway forms of transportation for the future. I know we all have our favorite projects, but the reason most of them are still projects and not a reality is the direct result of the archaic way we fund transportation (gas tax = highways) in Ohio. This is our best chance in decades to change that and create the options that will allow us to park the car, travel by our mode of choice and laugh at the gas pump for a change.
May 7, 200817 yr Well said, Noozer. I hope this doesn't turn into a let's oppose this Inner Belt project in favor of that transit project. If that happens, this will denigrate into trench warfare that will do no one any good. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 8, 200817 yr The story doesn't quite do this meeting justice. Over 250 people attended this meeting. Given that 62 of them are actual members of the Task Force, that's a pretty strong show of interest. BTW: All of the presentations will be posted on the Task Force website (http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/ ) , but the best piece of info is a summary of Ohio's transportation assets that was compiled by ODOT, ODOD and ORDC staff. Transportation-policy group sees trains, bikes, boats in Ohio's future Thursday, May 8, 2008 3:12 AM By James Nash THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Cars still may be king in Ohio, but James Beasley says that needs to change. Beasley, the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation since March 2007, outlined a vision of a less car-centric state at a summit yesterday to plan Ohio's transportation future. Trains could carry more passengers and freight. Rivers aren't used to their potential as conduits of goods. Even bikes ought to be seen as a means to commute rather than simply as recreation. Those points were raised during the first meeting of the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force, a 62-member panel that's supposed to sketch the future of transportation in the state. ..... http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/08/NOROAD.ART_ART_05-08-08_B3_POA53O4.html?sid=101
May 8, 200817 yr Gasoline is taxed by the gallon, not by price. Well why didn't we think of this before -- change the basis for the gas tax to the price rather than the gallon. Then as consumption goes down with price increases, the revenue to fund transit projects has a chance of keeping up.
May 8, 200817 yr Indexing gas taxes to price/inflation has been discussed a lot in recent years, and especially in the past 12 months. Much of the analysis has been done by the National Surface Transportation Revenue and Policy Commission whose work has pretty much wrapped up. See the national transportation policy thread for more info. Yesterday's meeting sounds very promising. I hope the momentum continues! "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 8, 200817 yr Gene Skoropowski of the California Captial Corridors Joint Powers Authority has advocated "indexing" the federal gasoline tax to the price of gasoline. It is an excellent idea for making rail & transit funding more consistent with the demand for new and better services. The Task Force meeting got a pitch along those lines from Wisconsin DOT Secretary Frank Busalacchi, who is Chairman of States for Passenger Rail and also served as the Chair of the Passenger Rail committee on the National Surface Transportation Policy Commission. He talked about the Committee reccomendation to raise the federal fuels tax and index it. He acknowledged that there are critics of this idea, but his response was thus: "Hey, when this Commission started it's work two years ago, oil was $32 a barrell. When we finished the report earlier this year, it was $119 a barrell and gasoline prices went up by $2.00 a gallon. What do we have to show for it? Nothing. There's new golf courses and high rises in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but we have nothing." His point was simply not only do we have a critical need for more transportation options, but we have to ask ourselves what are we prepared to do to meet those challenges? Whether it's raising the federal gasoline tax or coming up with another idea to create a funding pool, the one clear thing is that doing ntohing or doing something half-baked is not an option.
May 9, 200817 yr Indexing gas taxes to price/inflation has been discussed a lot in recent years, and especially in the past 12 months. Still seems to be simpler to make the gas tax like a sales tax -- % of $ rather than "indexed to inflation." Whose measurement of inflation? Surely the gas pumps can be programmed to include a % of the price of gas.
May 15, 200817 yr Please note that the Cleveland/Akron meeting in Independence has been cancelled and replaced with separate meetings in central Cleveland and central Akron. I, for one, complained to task force members that the Independence location was too isolated for the transit-dependent to easily reach it, thus effectively limiting their input. I know others felt the same and complained, too. Sometimes people listen. So here's the new locations/dates (all meetings are held from 4 p.m.–8 p.m.): Cleveland June 17 Joseph E. Cole Center Cleveland State University 3100 Chester Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115 Akron June 23 John S. Knight Center 77 East Mill Street Akron, OH 44308 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 15, 200817 yr This just in from my contact at ODOT: News Release OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS - 1980 W. Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43223 http://www.dot.state.oh.us Ohio’s Transportation Conversation targets State’s Diverse Regional Needs Opinions also reveal Ohio motorists and businesses changing moods and modes, blaming record-high gas prices for switch to alternative transportation (COLUMBUS) May 15, 2008 – As more Ohioans join the state’s “Transportation Conversation” by saying record-high gas prices have changed their moods about alternative modes of transportation, the conversation over Ohio’s future is set to grow even louder in the coming weeks at a series of regional meetings of the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force. Over the past several weeks, hundreds of Ohioans have submitted ideas and opinions to the task force online at TransportationForTomorrow.ohio.gov. A popular topic has been the impact of recent prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. Adding to those public comments are reports into the Ohio Department of Transportation revealing more Ohio motorists are choosing to leave their cars at home. Transit agencies in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati have reported increases in ridership rates (the Central Ohio Transit Authority reported a 17.5 percent increase in April over the previous year). Businesses are also choosing alternative options for moving freight. According to the Association of American Railroads, freight traffic on U.S. railroads was the second highest on record last year. ODOT traffic counts on Ohio’s urban and rural roadways also show a decline over the past year. Overall average daily traffic dropped 1.1 percent in 2007 compared to the previous year – the first time ODOT has recorded overall decreased traffic counts on interstate, freeway and arterial roadways across the state. Launched last month, the Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force has been charged with envisioning Ohio’s future transportation system - determining how the state can best balance the movement of people and freight, create jobs and generate economic development, and link all modes of transportation by connecting highways to rail, aviation, water ports, transit, bike paths and walkways. The task force, comprised of experts from both private and governmental sectors, is also examining the fairest ways to finance Ohio’s future transportation system. To gather more public input and information about Ohio’s diverse regional needs, the task force will host a series of open meetings across the state. In additional to learning more about the task force, Ohioans will be able to share their vision of the type of transportation system they believe Ohio needs for the 21st Century. Details about all meetings, including times, locations and directions, can be found at: www.TransportationForTomorrow.ohio.gov. Statewide Regional Meetings: All regional events are from 4 pm – 8 pm southwest Cincinnati/Dayton May 22 Miami Valley Reg. Plan. Comm. 1100 W. Third Street Dayton, OH 45407 southeast Athens June 4 Ohio University Campus Walter Hall (Room 135) Athens, OH 45701 northwest Toledo June 10 University of Toledo Nitschke Hall Toledo, OH 43606 east St. Clairsville June 11 Ohio Univ.-Eastern Campus Shannon Hall St. Clairsville, OH 43950 central Columbus June 12 Ohio Expo Center/State Fairgrounds Ohio Building Columbus, OH 43211 north Cleveland June 17 Cleveland State University Joseph Cole Center Cleveland, OH 44115 northeast Akron June 23 John S. Knight Center 77 East Mill St. Akron, OH 44308 ### For more information contact Scott Varner, ODOT Central Office Communications, at 614-644-8640 Additional information can also be found at http://TransportationForTomorrow.ohio.gov Please note: the website does not contain the typical www prior to the address
May 16, 200817 yr Note (^in the previous post) that the Cincinnati/Dayton meeting date has been changed and that the original Cleveland are meeting has been split into two meetings to accomodate both Cleveland and Akron area residents.[/b] I attended yesterday's Multi-Modal Committee meetings and most of the time was devoted to discussing passenger & freight rail and the role they should play in whatever recommendations the Task Force makes. The Committee Chair (Tony Reams of the Toledo Metro Area Council of Governments / TMACOG) has asked for an even more in depth presentation on both the Ohio Hub and the Governor's request for "start-up" Amtrak service in the 3-C Corridor. Interestingly, there has been a noticeable showing of people (other than Committee members) who are interested, so that tells me that public interest is very high. A number of those also mentioned passenger rail & transit as important to them. But it's worth repeating that if you want to see a strong rail and transit element to the Task Force reccommendations, you should make plans to either attend the public meetings or e-mail comments via the Task Force website. Take nothing for granted. If we do the right things now, think of how Ohio will look 20 years from now.
May 20, 200817 yr BTW: here's a link to a video that was produced for the 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/21ctptf/TranspPrior.wmv
May 20, 200817 yr C'mon Cincinnatians and Daytonians and Southwest Ohioans... You've only got two days to come up with something to say at your public meeting on Thursday! Remember, don't ask for specific projects. Ask for policies that create more balance in the state's transportation spending practices. Anything is better than 97 percent spending for highways! But don't settle for reducing that to just 90 percent. And if ODOT officials tell you they're limited by the state's constitutional restriction on the spending of state gas taxes solely on roads and highways, don't buy it. Gov. Strickland's own transition team (prior to him being sworn in as guv) found out that 77 percent of ODOT's budget is flexible for use in non-highway spending. Some ODOT planners are also predicting more highway use by single-occupant cars and SUVs and the continued explosive growth in trucking. Thus state funding must continue to be focused on those modes, not transit, railroads, biking or pedestrian-friendly land use. All of ODOT's predictions are based on a false assumption of low gas prices. Their data is old. As we have seen in recent years, people are driving less (1.1 percent less in Ohio in 2007 compared to 2006) while transit use is up on all of Ohio's systems, with the Central Ohio Transit Authority leading the way with a 17.5 percent gain in April 2008 compared to April 2007. I'll find some more specific language all of you can use to make your case. Pick and choose wording and data, and please add your own personal stories to show this isn't some statistical game. This is about improving the lives of Ohioans. Show them how maintaining Ohio's roadway system and expanding the availability of alternatives to driving will improve yours. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
May 23, 200817 yr Task force to study transit priorities Skyrocketing fuel prices affect bus ridership, road construction. By Steve Bennish Dayton Daily News Staff Writer Friday, May 23, 2008 DAYTON The reality of a world where oil costs more than $100 a barrel is hitting a new state task force with the power of a big rig flying along the interstate. The Ohio 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force met here Thursday, May 22, its first regional meeting to plan the future of the state's transportation networks in the face of record high oil prices. Hosted by the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, many voices were heard. But no matter what they were talking about, they seemed to be talking about the super spike in fuel prices at least indirectly. ..... Find this article at: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/05/22/ddn052308taskforce.html
May 23, 200817 yr I will have some posts to share with next week. Joe Calabrese, OPTA President and a member of the Task Force, also asked ODOT to move the meeting site to one that is served by transit. We are making a push here to get large numbers of people at the meeting and have them give quality testimony. Your support is greatly appreciated. FYI, the original date was right in the middle of OPTA's annual meeting, which is being held in Cleveland this year.
May 24, 200817 yr A message from an attendee at the ODOT Task Force public meeting on Thursday, May 22. This is not good. Rail and transit advocates have to do better at the next meetings or we have no one to blame but OURSELVES: "I attended the first regional meeting in Dayton yesterday. The room was full of Task Force members (wearing red carnations) and ODOT staff (wearing yellow carnations). The rest of the audience consisted of appointed public officials and others. very few regular citizens, despite the late afternoon time frame. No one spoke from the audience on behalf of rail. The speakers who were invited to speak simply re-stated their long held view that all they needed in Southwest Ohio was the widening of I-75 and a new bridge over the Ohio River into Kentucky. No vision, no recognition of today's emergent problem and denial of future problems, although they paid lip service to global warming and our carbon foot print. The director of OKI complained about the $7 billion Ohio Hub Plan. He was the invited speaker. If this is a model for the rest of the regional meetings, we have a lot of work to do."
May 24, 200817 yr I'd be interested in what OKI Director Mark Policinski had to say about the Ohio Hub.... though I'm not surprised at the lack of talk about intercity passenger rail from some local officials in the Dayton area....just not a top of mind issue with them. But that's why the general public needs to step up and talk about creating more options to the highway. Their elected officials have equated transportation with highways-only for decades. I'm tellin' ya..... it's time to speak up now or nothing changes.
May 27, 200817 yr I've heard from a credible source that both the OKI and Dayton area MPO directors essentially told the Task Force that all of their transportation problems could be solved by just widening I-75. I also confirmed that OKI's Policinski was critical of anything that involves passenger rail. I think our Dayton & CIncy area U-Oer's need to start making some noise with both OKI and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission in their own transportation forums, as well as speaking up by e-mailing comments to the 21st Century Transportation Priorities Task Force.
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