Governing Board Action: October 14, 2005

At the October Governing Board meeting, NOACA staff announced that application packets would soon be mailed to communities and eligible organizations for the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI). The TLCI provides funding and technical assistance to communities and public agencies to plan transportation improvements that strengthen community livability. In the program's inaugural year, NOACA awarded grants totaling $1 million to 20 projects throughout the region. NOACA encourages communities to apply for these planning grants, and will sponsor workshops to review the application process and outline this year's schedule on November 1 and 2, 2005.

In other business, NOACA staff updated members on the following transportation and environmental issues:

• The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 - a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and Its Impact on Northeast Ohio. SAFETEA-LU, the new six-year, $286 billion surface transportation bill, was signed into law by President George W. Bush this past August. The law adds a new core program - the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) - to the existing five core programs, and authorizes a 38 percent increase in core program funding. The HSIP requires states to develop and implement a highway safety plan that will identify the most hazardous locations. SAFETEA-LU supports projects that promote safe transport to schools and real-time monitoring of the region's traffic. The new law also identifies 66 roadway and seven transit projects earmarked for federal funding assistance. The complete list of earmark projects and highlights of SAFETEA-LU are available.
  
  
• Air Quality Update - The NOACA five-county region, plus Ashtabula, Portage and Summit counties, do not meet clear air standards for ozone and fine particulate matter. NOACA and its partners are assisting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in developing a plan that will identify actions for bringing the region into attainment for both of these pollutants. NOACA has organized an Air Quality Public Advisory Task Force to advise the Board and recommend solutions for reducing ozone and fine particulate pollution.
  
  
• NOACA Certification - Frank Burkett, from the Columbus office of the Federal Highway Administration, announced that NOACA has been re-certified as Northeast Ohio's transportation planning agency. Burkett distributed a document summarizing the review process, commendatioons and recommendations. He congratulated the NOACA Board and staff for their planning efforts. Every four years, transportation officials review NOACA's planning work to ensure that federal requirements ar being met.