August 10, 2007
NOACA Awards Nearly $750,000 in Neighborhood Planning Awards

Cleveland—On Friday, August 10, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) Governing Board awarded nearly $750,000 for 12 neighborhood transportation planning studies in Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Lorain counties. The awards of up to $75,000 each are for planning studies that may eventually result in neighborhood construction projects. To receive funds, the projects must improve the economy and enhance the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

Recipients of the awards include the cities of Broadview Heights, Brooklyn, Chardon, Cleveland, East Cleveland, Mayfield Village, North Olmsted, Shaker Heights and Westlake, as well as the Lorain Port Authority.

“NOACA is funding these planning studies because we believe that planning is the foundation for any successful project,” says NOACA Board President and City of Cleveland Planning Director Robert N. Brown. “When projects are planned well from the start, they’re more likely to be developed and implemented faster and more smoothly. The ultimate goal is to make Northeast Ohio a better place to live and work.”
This is the third year NOACA has offered TLCI awards. NOACA awarded $1 million for 16 studies last year and another $1 million for 20 studies in 2005.

“Some of the first studies from the 2005 awards are being completed now,” says NOACA Executive Director Howard R. Maier. “It’s exciting to see their progress, and we’re looking forward to the day when they move into the development, design and implementation stages.”

A complete list of this year’s selected TLCI projects is available on NOACA’s Web site, www.noaca.org. NOACA staff will be happy to help arrange interviews with the study sponsors. For more information, call Gayle L. Godek, Communications Specialist, at 216-241-2414, ext. 283; Michelle Johnson, TLCI Project Manager, at ext. 281; or Steve Jones, Principal Planner, at ext. 352.