Board of Directors meeting scheduled for January 23

NOACA's Governance Committee has announced a new schedule for the agency's 2015 Board, committee, subcommittee and council meetings. Board of Directors meetings in 2015 will begin at 9 a.m., with the first meeting scheduled for Friday, January 23, at NOACA's 1299 Superior Avenue office. At this meeting, members will elect officers to serve during calendar year 2015 and confirm the meeting schedule. Board members will also consider approving the following, among other business:

• The Regional Strategic Plan

• Funding for the agency's Provisional Transportation Asset Management Program

• An updated Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan for Northeast Ohio

• Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) policy

In December, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that NOACA, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), will receive a $600,000 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) Demonstration grant to help develop the Transportation Asset Management Program (TAMP).   Federal AID Demonstration grants are designed to accelerate the deployment of innovative projects. NOACA's TAMP focuses on improving the region's roadway infrastructure toward a state of good repair and executing a performance-driven, outcome-based approach for allocating transportation funding.

"This is great news for northeast Ohio," says NOACA Executive Director Grace Gallucci. "Through this grant we will be able to address the region's critical transportation infrastructure needs and expedite implementation of the TAMP. This is another significant step toward NOACA's goal of restoring our aging and disintegrating roads to an acceptable operating condition."

NOACA will host viewings of the 2015 Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) monthly webinar series. The hour-long webinars will cover diverse topics, including pedestrian and bicyclist counting programs, law enforcement strategies to protect bicyclists and pedestrian safety, and streetscape design to improve walking and bicycling. The webinars will be held in NOACA's office on the third Wednesday of the month at 3 p.m. The first webinar in the 2015 series, Level of Service for Pedestrians and Cyclists, will be held January 21.

APBP's monthly webinars offer training credits that may meet professional accreditation requirements. APBP applies to the AICP for Certification Maintenance credits for each webinar. NOACA will provide a certificate of attendance for people who track their professional development hours.

NOACA has updated its Title VI Program. The program is an action plan that describes the procedures NOACA will implement to comply with Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The document addresses compliance with federal regulations, and federal and state nondiscrimination laws in the following areas:

• Communications and Public Involvement
• Planning and Programming
• Consultant Contracts
• NOACA Title VI Administration and Training

NOACA welcomes public review and comment on its draft Title VI Program through Thursday, January 22, 2015. You may submit your comments electronically.

ODOT accepting Safe Routes to Schools applications   

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is now accepting Safe Routes to Schools project applications. The purpose of Safe Routes to Schools is to encourage students from kindergarten to grade 8 to walk or bike to school. ODOT funds projects that promote a safe environment and allow children to walk or bike away from vehicular traffic. Projects can be either for transportation infrastructure (i.e., improved sidewalks, crosswalks, pavement markings) or non-infrastructure (education and program encouragement). Apply through ODOT's website by March 2, 2015.