Post-waste society is the social, political, and economic form demanded of a world that would mimic the biosphere rather than destroying it. I believe that we are on the brink of having to develop a post-waste world, since our wasteful one is destroying the conditions of life. A post-waste society is the perfect, poetically just task for Cleveland.
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Issues of vacancy, abandonment and foreclosure have had a profound effect on the well-being of the nation's neighborhoods and residents. These negative forces have mobilized community development professionals and policymakers in Cleveland to develop innovative efforts to turn the tide and fight for our neighborhoods.
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GreenCityBlueLake is the online home for the exciting people, projects, and ideas creating a more sustainable future in Northeast Ohio. Find out how you can make a donation or become a sponsor of the site.
New funding streams for sustainability
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A new year brings a fresh supply of major funding opportunities for sustainability. The Ohio Department of Development has compiled a list of state and federal grants for advanced energy research and development, for transit (circulators and light rail), biofuels, for a $30 mil climate change center, training centers for home weatherization, fellowships for advanced degrees in transportation, even an environmental video contest. See the list here. - Heather Bowden was hired as the newest Bike and Pedestrian Planner at the Ohio Department of Transportation at the end of 2009. In a recent email with cycling and walking advocates, Bowden suggests that Cleveland and other Ohio cities might fund new bike and pedestrian projects by “thinking more creatively on how to achieve your project goal. For example, if you can prove that there is enough of a potential demand for shifting mode share to bikes in a bigger city, then your area could receive CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation Air Quality) money to install bike racks.
- MMPI and Cuyahoga County have struck a tentative deal on the Medical Mart which includes a purchase and possible use of eminent domain to take private property on St. Clair Avenue. It raises a series of questions, starting with, How will the county use eminent domain to take property after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that private property cannot be taken with eminent domain solely for private development? (In a bitter twist of irony, the case that led to the Ohio High Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London—the company that New London took Ms. Kelo and her neighbors' property for, Pfizer, decided to pull the plug on the re-development last November.) Johnston also recounts the city's anger when MMPI dropped their committment to refurbishing the existing Cleveland Convention Center and Public Auditorium due to cost. How does this deal address the city's concerns for green building and historic preservation?
- “We're finally beginning to understand the depth of how nature works—how it creates not only beauty, but does so with efficiency and a lack of waste," Cuyahoga County Planning Director Paul Alsenas describes to the Plain Dealer the new ‘biomimicry’ initiative which led to pilot green bulkheads in the Flats. The PD and the Cuyahoga Valley Initiative celebrate the coming together of CIA industrial designers with this vision for greening the rust belt.
- The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District voted in favor of new fees for impervious surfaces today. We suggest, instead of viewing this as 'just another fee' that we see this as the dawning of a new age for clean water in Northeast Ohio and the creation of a green infrastructure agency. We expect innovation and cooperation between the Sewer District and the Cuyahoga County Land Bank will lead to catalytic re-greening projects in Cleveland and the suburbs. We fully expect this agency to take the lead on restoring wetlands and urban streams and creating sustainable solutions to our flooding and water quality issues.
“Another example I have seen is in the City of Logan,” she continues. “One year they decided instead of using their allocated CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) monies for storm/sewer projects, which is the typical use for the funds, they upgraded all of their curb ramps in their historic downtown central business district to meet ADA compliance."
Northeast Ohio’s transportation agency (NOACA) has a poor track record of tapping CMAQ funds, which total roughly $10 million a year, for bicycling and pedestrian projects. Nonetheless, Bowden is right to suggest that cities that want attractive streetscapes and healthy mobility options tap the following resources at the state: Clean Ohio Funds (ODNR and MPOs), State and Capital Improvements Program (OPWC), Recreational Trails Program (ODNR) and Community Development Block Grant (Entitlement City/County Admin).
Bowden has broken down the funding source by eligible project type here.
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NOACA and CMAQ
Jonathan at NOACA Says:Just to clarify the record, we recently conducted an analysis of NOACA’s Congestion Mitigation/ Air Quality (CMAQ) expenditures from 2005-09. During that time, the NOACA Board gave 76 percent of all CMAQ funds to transit agencies in the region. Given the budgetary challenges facing transit, and the number of commuters who rely on transit, we believe this is an important use of CMAQ funds.
During that time, NOACA spent approximately $5.3 million on bike and pedestrian projects. NOACA has never, to my knowledge, denied funding to any proposed bike or pedestrian project.
Just last month the NOACA Board approved over $20 million in federal funds for the completion of the Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga County and $5.2 million for Black River trail projects in Lorain County. In that single resolution, NOACA dedicated more than two years' worth of its CMAQ money to bike and pedestrian projects.
NOACA is committed to multi-modal transportation, and that certainly includes bike and pedestrian transportation. We look forward to working with GCBL and the cycling community to continually improve the bike and pedestrian network in Northeast Ohio.
Jonathan Giblin, NOACA
NOACA needs an Ombudsman
Marc Lefkowitz Says:Jonathan,
Aside from the one-time use of $10 million in CMAQ funds last year to keep RTA solvent, and investment in a (albeit important) recreation (Towpath) trail, what percentage of CMAQ funds over the last decade has NOACA dedicated to bike and pedestrian facilities (not transit)? The majority of CMAQ funds have been spent on traffic signalization projects. Meanwhile other regions like Chicago have innovated and used CMAQ funds for many bike related projects. My read from Ms. Bowden's comments are transportation agencies cannot affort to put blinders on; that general transportation dollars can be used to invest in cycling and walking as transportation. One suggestion I would make is NOACA agrees to an independent investigation to look at the process by which projects that request bike and pedestrian accommodation are evaluated. The consultant could act as an ombudsman to ensure that when a project requests bike/ped facilities, NOACA has systems in place to act in an expeditous way to implement them. Clearly the system NOACA has in place now is broken (this isn't just my opinion - a recent review of Ohio transportation
agencies conducted by The Federal Highway Administration found that they aren’t adequately putting cyclists and pedestrians on a level playing field with cars. FHWA found a lack of communication between MPOs—like our Northeast Areawide Coordinating Agency—and ODOT,
and recommend how Ohio can turn around its “minimal coordination and guidance on bicycle and pedestrian planning and safety.” Read the report here). Cleveland has only one bike lane and the suburbs have none, and sources tell us that cities have inquired about including bike lanes and routes but for whatever reason they never make it into the final plans at NOACA. Other regions, including Columbus, are pulling ahead of Cleveland when it comes to their ambitions and their follow through on nonmotorized transportation alternatives. We cannot affort to continue paying lip service - it's time for reform. GCBL and other sustainable transportation advocates are here to help if help is being asked for.