• As it stands, NOACA is the only MPO (metropolitan planning organization) along the 3C corridor in Ohio that has not approved adding the 3C project to this region's transportation improvement plan (TIP). This step is necessary for the project to receive federal funding, and sends a strong message that Northeast Ohio supports passenger rail investment.

  Please consider attending NOACA's Transportation Advisory Committee meeting on Friday, November 20 at 10 am. The public is allowed to sign in before the meeting and provide comments on this project for up to 2 minutes. Please help fill the room with positive comments on how having transportation choices in Northeast Ohio will help you, your family, business, etc. to live and do business in Ohio. And just as important as a statewide train, transit in Ohio's urban areas needs to be strengthened. All Aboard Ohio has started an advocacy campaign to Save Public Transit.

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The city reconvened participants from the Cleveland 2019 Sustainability Summit yesterday to gauge progress and assess the needs of twenty ‘Outcome Groups’ that formed at the summit in August. Three months later, progress ranges widely—from a start-up business being pursued, to groups connecting with existing nonprofits and community development orgs, to pledges and policy recommendations written and submitted to the city to others still searching for guidance.

Around 100 people, most of them co-chairs from the 20 groups, were on hand. With a process as messy as convening 700 people to figure out a new direction for the city and a post-summit structure that is still taking shape, progress could be measured in baby steps. Still, many of the groups are moving ahead, setting goals and meeting regularly to figure out strategies.

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• Cleveland wants to hear from its residents how it should spend tens of millions in federal Community Development Block Grants. Green urbanism advocates can comment here how CDBGs can be used to support, say, the projects envisioned at the 2019 Sustainability Summit or to revive Cleveland’s Safe Routes to School programs, which were not renewed due to lack of funding.
• John McGovern, Clean Fuels Coordinator for Earthday Coalition, blogs about David Pauer, director of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Program and an avid bike commuter who helped establish bike parking in many Clinic parking garages. Pauer has a fascinating presentation on how street design can help you lose weight.

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The city of Cleveland is hosting an important event next Tuesday from 2:30-5 p.m. at Great Lakes Brewing to continue the momentum of the Cleveland Sustainability 2019 Summit. This is a chance for the 20 working groups that formed at the summit to check in and figure out ways to collaborate with each other.

To participate, email the group representatives who will be reporting out at this event your answers to the following questions (and CC mlefkowitz@cmnh.org, info@e4s.org and sharmell_brown@clevelandwater.com):

• What is your outcome group?
• Which projects are moving forward, which are not?
• What have you done?
• What are your immediate 2-3 next steps?
• What do you need to make progress?

Each representative will have 3-4 minutes to share the progress and next steps of their outcome group. No power point presentations please.

All members of work groups (i.e. participants from the 2019 summit) are welcome to attend and participate. The meeting will be facilitated by E4S.

To register, click here.

A standing room only crowd of advocates for sustainable urbanism were witnesses at the Cleveland Planning Commission meeting last week with half of the people there in support of including bike and pedestrian accommodations on the rebuilt Innerbelt Bridge.

After a year of considering a bike lane on the new Innerbelt Bridge and laying out reasons for it, including attracting a younger generation to Cleveland, members of the planning commission appeared to be split on whether the issue was resolved.  Commission chair Tony Coyne pointed out that the city and ODOT would like Abbey Avenue bridge—the connection between Tremont and Ohio City—widened and a 5 ft. bike lane on each side plus two 5 ft. sidewalks added.

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