NOACA awards Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative grants

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency has approved more than $5 million in projects aimed at “improving livability and enhancing the lives of seniors and those with disabilities.”

The agency’s Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative provides federal funding assistance to communities and public agencies for the planning of transportation improvements, according to a NOACA news release.

NOACA is a transportation and environmental planning agency that represents state, county, city, village and township officials in Greater Cleveland.

NOACA addresses the transportation, air quality and water quality needs of Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties.

According to NOACA’s website, Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative grants, which have been awarded since 2006, help advance the agency’s Regional Strategic Plan by:

• Developing transportation projects that provide more travel options

• Promoting reinvestment in underutilized or vacant/abandoned properties

• Supporting economic development

• Ensuring that the benefits of growth and change are available to all members of a community

• Enhancing regional cohesion

• Providing people with safe and reliable transportation choices

TLCI grants are given out for planning and implementation.

Planning grants “help fund planning studies that can lead to improvements to transportation systems and the neighborhoods they support.”

Implementation grants “help communities move forward with the development and installation of infrastructure from past completed livability studies.”

This year, $344,000 worth of TLCI planning grants were awarded to:

• The City of Cleveland and Midtown Cleveland’s Carnegie Avenue Master Plan

• Fairview Park’s Lorain Road Corridor Study

• Grafton’s Envision Grafton: Smart Growth Through Transportation Study

• Lakewood’s Lake Avenue Bicycle Infrastructure Plan

• Mayfield Heights’ Mayfield Corridor Masterplan

• The MetroHealth System’s MetroHealth Connector “Devonshire Spine”

This year $1,738,569 worth of TLCI implementation grants were awarded to:

• Broadview Heights’ Signal Warrant & Operational Analysis of Broadview Road at Oakes Road and Akins Road

• The City of Cleveland/ Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc.’s Kinsman Road Corridor Multi-Modal Study

• The City of Cleveland/ Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s Step Up Downtown Plan: Main Avenue Bridge Underpass Improvement Project

• The City of Cleveland/ University Circle Inc.’s Uptown Transportation & Mobility Study

• Elyria’s Transportation and Business District Redevelopment Plan

• The Geauga County Engineer’s Amish Safety Strategic Plan

• North Royalton’s Alternative Transportation Plan

• Olmsted Township’s Complete Streets Plan

• Strongsville’s Town Center District Redevelopment Plan