News From NOACA

If you are considering attending NOACA's annual Summit on June 8, you can still register through Monday, June 4. The Summit theme is Moving to a New Era, and presentations will include changes in NOACA leadership, new realities in transportation funding and an update from the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium. The keynote speech, presented by Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, will take a look at the "New, Improved Cuyahoga County." NOACA will also present the 9th annual Walter F. Ehrnfelt Award for Outstanding Regional Contribution to the 2012 recipient.

With all of the construction going on in downtown Cleveland, consider taking RTA to the Summit! Several bus routes stop at the Stephanie Tubbs-Jones Transit Center, directly across the street from the Wolstein Center. Taking the bus is convenient, and if it is raining on June 8, you can wait inside the transit center for your bus to arrive.

Summer Brings Air Quality Concerns

Did you enjoy the heat on Memorial Day? NOACA air quality staff predicts summer 2012 to be a hot and steamy one. NOACA has already issued

Downtown Cleveland on a hazy, smoggy day, from the HazeCam.

three ozone/fine particle air quality advisories this month: May 19 & 20; May 23 & 24; and May 27 & 28. On the days when ozone and/or fine particle pollution builds beyond healthy levels, you can help reduce pollution by taking transit or biking to work, delaying refueling your vehicle until after 7:00 p.m., or other voluntary actions. Do you or your kids have asthma or other respiratory problems? Sign up for NOACA air quality advisories and you will know immediately when there are air quality concerns for the day.

Sign Up for Commuter Challenge!

Take the Commuter Challenge this July!

It's not too early to start thinking about participating in Commuter Challenge! Commuter Challenge is a clean air campaign, scheduled for July 15-30, that focuses on alternatives to driving alone to work. Take the bus, carpool, bike, walk or telecommute to spare our air from excess ozone or fine particle pollution. Challenge your co-workers, friends and family to take one of these sustainable modes of transportation. NOACA has a Web page with more information and registration.

Bike, then Ride on RTA

Cleveland's Bike to Work Day - Friday, May 18 - proved to be very successful. RTA reports that about 150 people took advantage of a free ride, bringing their bikes aboard rapid transit trains or on buses and enjoying public transportation as part of their work trip. The number of RTA customers using the bike racks on buses continues to grow. In April, 3,450 bikes were boarded on RTA buses and trains, a 40 percent increase over April 2011. RTA anticipates accommodating more cyclists now that summer has arrived. Will you be counted among these participants? The next bike and ride day will be Sunday, June 24 in conjunction with United Way's RideUNITED event. Participants in this event will be able to ride RTA rail trains and buses for free.

NOACA Board Adopts FY 2013 Overall Work Program

At its May meeting, the NOACA Governing Board approved the Fiscal Year 2013 Overall Work Program (OWP). The OWP summarizes NOACA's annual transportation and environmental activities, studies and programs that will be completed during the upcoming fiscal year - July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. Staff also produced a summary of the OWP that highlights the work NOACA intends to accomplish over the next fiscal year.

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is a regional organization of local officials responsible for carrying out transportation and environmental planning under the local direction and in accordance with state and federal mandates. The NOACA area encompasses the Cleveland/Lorain-Elyria metropolitan region, which includes Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.

Howard R. Maier
Executive Director

NOACA