Yesterday, Ohio Governor Strickland announced that he has directed ODOT to partner in the Clean Fuel Initiative by using CMAQ funding to allow local communities to retrofit older deisel engines with clean diesel technology


Here is a link to the news release

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/news/2007/05-22-2007.htm

CMAQ stands for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality. CMAQ program is intended to realign the focus of transportation planning toward a more inclusive, environmentally-sensitive, and multimodal approach to addressing transportation problems. Transportation projects that improve capacity improve air quality by reducing the time vehicles are idling in congested areas.

In 2005, Congress renewed the CMAQ program in SAFETEA-LU requires States and MPOs to give priority in distributing CMAQ funds to diesel engine retrofits, and other cost-effective emission reduction and congestion mitigation activities that provide air quality benefits. SAFETEA-LU and the CMAQ program are funded by the Federal Gas Tax.

Updating local community fleets is a noble cause that needs to be funded. The use of transportation dollars in this manner at a time when transportation budgets are stressed due to rising fuel costs. Updating transit bus fleets is a sensible use of these dollars. Other government fleets using these dollars amounts to a grab of gas tax dollars intended to fund transportation projects. This is similar to the State Highway Patrol being funded in this manner.

The next time you are sitting in traffic waiting for a long awaited road improvement, remember that your transportation tax dollars are being diverted for non transportation uses.

Bike Paths and City of Toledo

WSPD has been critiquing the spending of this administration in regard to bike paths. This criticism in valid when the entire funding of the paths is with city dollars and the routing has been selected by City staff without public input.

This past week we watched as the first lighting of the VGCS took place. It will truly be a landmark. The bridge will be seen for miles but one of the important aspects of the design of the bridge was to reconnect neighborhoods that were severed by the construction of I-280 back in the 1950s. As the bridge will be built over the neighborhood the opportunity exists to create a place for the neighborhood to use. ODOT, in addition to the $200 million plus spent on the bridge overed $1 million in enhancement dollars to reestablish the neighborhood and make pleasent useable spaces

Several public meetings were held, lead by ODOT and the Maumee River Crossing Task Force (MRCTF) a group selected by TMACOG. One of the important comments that came out of the meetings was that when the Greenbelt Parkway was built it severed Buckeye Street. Buckeye Street was used by people to get to Libbey Glass to work. May of these people used their bikes or walk to get to work and closing the street lead to having to use their car to get to work. Another comment that was getting across the river. The moving of interstate traffic to the new bridge provided an opportunity to dedicated a specific portion of the Craig Bridge for the use of bikes. That will leave only a short distance between Ravine PArk and the Starr Ave trail in Oregon that once implemented would allow for dedicated bike travel from downtown toledo to maumee bay state park

The plan that was developed would connect the existing trail along the Greenbelt Parkway to Ravine PArk in East Toledo and the MArina District along a network of about 2 miles of trails. Several years ago, during the Ford administration, ODOT and MRCTF went to the City staffers that were part of the task force for help in being the sponsoring agency for grants to pay for the path portion to free up the $1 million in ODOT money to plant trees and the like. Three different grants were obtained for paths with the City having to dedicated either 20 or 25 percent as a match.

As the bridge is nearing completion, ODOT and the City of had to prepare for the next construction contract (known as the trench contract) that will fill in I-280 and prepare implement the wants of the public in the neighborhood to have their neighborhood reconnected, establish a bike crossing over the river and be able to enjoy our community landmark in a space that is inviting. That project, totalling over $20million will be sold this year with completion in about two years. Totalled up, the state and federal dollars have come in with well over $220 million and the city is being asked to contribute a few hundred thousand dollars to finish the job. Seems reasonable to me.

These were bike paths done the right way. First with public meetings, then with grant applications and now implementation. This is a project to celebrate