There's a New Sheriff at Ohio DOT, and He Likes Asphalt

Here comes the national attention. As to the last comment by ODOT's Townley, my response is available at:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=18957.msg550624#msg550624

 

Thursday, March 24, 2011
There's a New Sheriff at Ohio DOT, and He Likes Asphalt
by Angie Schmitt on March 24, 2011

 

First there was the killing of 3C Rail. Now the Cincinnati streetcar is being led out to pasture. The way transportation projects are unfolding in Ohio, you'd almost think an asphalt industry veteran was heading up the state Department of Transportation.

 

Sadly, you'd be right. ODOT Director Jerry Wray, Ohio's "Asphalt Sheriff," is currently presiding over the committee that will determine the fate of the Cincinnati streetcar. The Transportation Review Advisory Council was established by Wray himself in a previous stint at ODOT in 1997 in order to — this is funny — remove politics from transportation funding decisions. Between sessions at ODOT, Wray kept himself busy working as an asphalt industry lobbyist.

Wray and TRAC members met yesterday to review the state's 2011-2015 major projects list. The meeting resulted in a recommendation of $98 million in cuts, and wouldn't you know it, transit projects bore the brunt of the damage.

...When pressed for more reasons behind cutting streetcar funding for Cincinnati, Townley later replied, "because there is already a bus system in place in Cincinnati that services the same area, we don't see why rail is really necessary."

 

READ MORE AT:
http://streetsblog.net/2011/03/24/theres-a-new-sheriff-at-ohio-dot-and-he-likes-asphalt/

 

________

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

Summary of ODOT's staff recommendations to the TRAC today

Cincinnati City Council may not have the votes to stop the Cincinnati Streetcar project, contrary to what was previously reported.

 

Meanwhile, today's press release at http://allaboardohio.org/2011/03/23/the-future-of-ohios-cities-is-at-stake/ was just updated with some of the following information:

 

Summary of ODOT's staff recommendations to the TRAC today:

 

• $51.8M taken from state's highest-rated project in TRAC's list.
    o The $51.8M represents 100% of the funding originally recommended for the Cincinnati Streetcar by TRAC.
    o Elimination of funding from all other projects included rationale. For the Cincinnati Streetcar the only rationale given was "fiscal balancing."
    o Of TRAC's recommended $98M in cuts, a whopping 53% of those cuts came from one single project – The Cincinnati Streetcar.
    o Of TRAC's Tier 1 Projects (which includes the Cincinnati Streetcar), $42.13M was cut. This means that money was added to other projects at the expense of the Cincinnati Streetcar…thus eliminating the notion of "fiscal balancing."

• Two projects from John Kasich's former Congressional district were added to TRAC's funding list:
    o $5M for an I-71 interchange in Delaware County
    o $2.7M for an "east-west connector" in Pickaway County

 

• Removed the $1M preliminary engineering of rail capacity upgrades to the congested Mill Creek rail corridor and Queensgate Yard. CSX dubiously said the the upgrades would only benefit NS which uses CSX's right of way into Queensgate. Amtrak's Cardinal service also uses this rail corridor.

• Of the total $98M in TRAC cuts, 82% ($80M) came from Cincinnati region.

 

• Of the 26 projects discussed 15 remain. Of those 15 projects, only 26% (in terms of total funding - $18.23M - and number of projects - 4) can be remotely identified as anything other than highway spending.

• Only two transportation projects from Cincinnati region remain:
    o $500,000 for "GE Parkway"
    o $1.7M for "I-275/SR 32 Phase 2" upgrades (aka I-74 extension through Hamilton County)

 

Thanks to Randy Himes, owner & managing editor of UrbanCincy.com for compiling this summary.

 

KJP

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

Atomic bomb to be dropped on Monday

All, Cincinnati Councilman Charlie Winburn will bring up a "Cease and Desist" streetcar motion on Monday during the city council meeting. With the arrival of new Councilman Berding this week, council now has an anti-streetcar majority. And, if accepted without vocal opposition, the motion will be the atomic bomb that kills off the streetcar once and for all.

 

This is just crazy. I don't understand why Ohio hates trains, transit and cities so much. I've never seen such ignorant, vicious hatred in all my life.

 

KJP

 

Ken Prendergast
Executive Director
All Aboard Ohio
12029 Clifton Blvd., Suite 505
Cleveland, OH 44107
(216) 288-4883
kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org
www.allaboardohio.org

The future of Ohio's cities is at stake

http://allaboardohio.org/2011/03/23/the-future-of-ohios-cities-is-at-stake/

The future of Ohio's cities is at stake
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 23, 2011

Contact:
Ken Prendergast, All Aboard Ohio, kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org (216) 288-4883

Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jerry Wray recommended to the Transportation Review Advisory Council today that the state's top-ranked project should bear the brunt of "fiscal balancing." TRAC will vote on the recommendations April 12.

In addition to removing $35 million in federal construction funds for the Cincinnati Streetcar in 2012, the TRAC committee was urged by Wray's staff to rescind $15 million in federal dollars awarded last year to the streetcar.

Instead, Wray's staff urged TRAC to give $35 million to the $3 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement which is sponsored by Kentucky. Yet Kentucky congresspersons said the funding gap for this project is nearly $1 billion and won't start construction until at least 2014. The Cincinnati Streetcar is due to start construction this year and is projected to create more long-term job growth than the Brent Spence Bridge replacement.

TRAC rated this bridge project a 44 on its scoring criteria that measures a project's potential to promote economic development, more jobs, cost-effectiveness, safety, and environmental stewardship. Meanwhile the streetcar rated an 84.

And, $14 million of the $15 million awarded last year to the streetcar was recommended by Wray's staff to be shifted to the Mahoning Road transit corridor in Canton. That project was rated a more robust 77.5 by TRAC, but still lower than the electric streetcar.

However, several TRAC members said they had concerns about the state's top-ranked transportation project taking the brunt of ODOT's proposed "fiscal balancing" to address reductions in federal funds.

To preserve the integrity of the TRAC scoring process, and to affirm its unanimous December vote in support of the streetcar, All Aboard Ohio urges the TRAC to reject the recommendations by ODOT staff.

"Until leaders in Kentucky, as the lead sponsor of the Brent Spence Bridge, decide they want to seek their fair share for this bridge, there is no reason why Ohio should sacrifice a higher-ranking project for it," said All Aboard Ohio Executive Director Ken Prendergast. "And while the Canton transit project has its merits, it still has a lower ranking than the streetcar. If the TRAC ignores its own scoring process, then I'm not sure why Director Wray urged the TRAC's creation in 1997 as a useful way to limit political influence on selecting transportation projects for funding."

It should be noted that the Cincinnati Streetcar would be powered by electricity and travel on steel rails which require less energy to move on than rubber tires and pavement. By comparison, petroleum-powered vehicles traveling on petroleum-based asphalt is only getting more expensive to maintain by the day. These also make our nation more dependent on imported oil and vulnerable to oil-price spikes. According to the Pentagon's 2010 Joint Operating Environment report, global oil supplies by 2015 will fall short of demand at rates more than double that of the brief geo-political shortage in 1973.

"Ohio should be building electric rail transit in all of Ohio's largest cities to save our economy in the coming years," Prendergast warned. "If the TRAC accepts Wray's recommendation on April 12, Ohio may lose its best chance at building an attractive alternative example to a future of high gas prices, stretched family budgets, and gasoline shortages."

NOTE: also see next press release on the Cincinnati Streetcar.

END

Rail under unprecedented attack in Ohio

http://allaboardohio.org/2011/03/22/rail-is-under-unprecedented-attack-in-ohio-2/

Rail under unprecedented attack in Ohio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — March 22, 2011

Contact:
Ken Prendergast, All Aboard Ohio, kenprendergast@allaboardohio.org (216) 288-4883

The Cincinnati Streetcar, the Ohio Department of Transportation's highest-ranking transportation project pending anywhere in the state, is being singled out by an unprecedented attack by the Ohio General Assembly.

In a proposed amendment to ODOT's biennial budget request, the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee is expected to approve today an omnibus amendment which includes provision SC-0257-1. A summary of that provision says it "prohibits state or federal funds appropriated by the state from being used for the Cincinnati streetcar project."

The proposed amendment will likely be part of the committee's final ODOT budget bill later today. After today, it will go to the full Senate. Then it will go to the House, which could either accept it as-is, or if it finds the bill substantially different from the version it passed last week, it could assign the bill to a conference committee.

The Cincinnati Streetcar was ranked as the state's top transportation project based on economic development, cost-effectiveness and environmental impact criteria by the Transportation Review Advisory Council, a non-political review board established by state law in 1997. The TRAC was created, urged in part by then-ODOT Director Jerry Wray, to remove politics from the state's transportation project selection process. Wray returned as Gov. John Kasich's ODOT director this year.

"So if you suddenly don't like the process established by law and that has worked well for 14 years under Democrats and Republicans, you change the process," said Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio. "This is like saying we didn't like who won the Super Bowl, so we're going to re-write the record books."

The Cincinnati Streetcar is seeking $36.8 million in federal transportation funds administered by the TRAC, which had already recommended by an 8-0 vote in support of that funding in December. These are not state funds, but state-administered transportation funds. If they don't go to the streetcar, they will go to a lower-ranking road project.

"If state officials really want to save taxpayers' money, they should cut from the bottom-ranked projects, not from the top," Prendergast added. "I've been involved in transportation advocacy for nearly 30 years, and I've never seen such a blatant attempt to discriminate against rail projects like this."

Furthermore, affected voters don't want rail projects singled out by laws either. By a margin of 55% to 45%, Cincinnati voters in November 2009 turned down an opposition proposal to require passenger rail projects seeking city funding to be uniquely subjected to a public vote. Meanwhile, low-ranking taxpayer-funded road projects like State Route 32 in Cincinnati's Eastern Corridor are left unscathed.

By comparison, two studies by the internationally reputable firm HDR estimate that the streetcar will stimulate new Downtown/Over-The-Rhine development worth $1.5 billion, or roughly 15 times the cost of the streetcar.

"As young Ohioans flee to vibrant cities that offer transportation choices, as Baby Boomers face a future of house arrest without options to cars, and as all Ohioans face immobility from worsening global petroleum constraints, this amendment by the Ohio General Assembly to punish a very specific transportation project is worse than counter-intuitive. It's downright mean."

END

Rec Sports Member Update - Monday, March 21, 2011

Member Update

Monday, March 21, 2011

1.      Rec Sports Hours for Spring Break

2.      WITS Personal Training Certification Course for Spring, Summer

3.      Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Wexner Center

4.            Kenny Road and Lane Avenue Traffic Impacted

5.            Summer Camp Slots Filling Up Quickly!

6.            Small Group Personal Training Classes for Spring

7.            Take Sport Classes this Spring!

8.            Blaze the Trail 5K and Family Fun Run 2K

To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please send an e-mail to recsportsmembers-unsubscribe@lists.studentaffairs.ohio-state.edu from the e-mail account to which you are subscribed for this listserv.

 

Rec Sports Hours for Spring Break
Hours for your favorite Rec Sports facilities, as well as for Courtside Café and Juice 2, may have changed for spring break. View the hours for facilities at http://go.osu.edu/wifinals and Courtside Café and Juice 2 at http://recsports.osu.edu/articles/courtside-cafe-and-juice-2-hours-for-finals-week-spring-break/

 

WITS Personal Training Certification Class for Spring, Summer
Want to become a personal trainer? Now you have two chances. The World Instructors Training Schools (WITS) Personal Training Certification class for spring begins Saturday, March 26, at 9 a.m. in the RPAC. Registration is nearly full—so register before March 19! The summer course, beginning Saturday, June 18, at 9 a.m. in the RPAC, opens for registration on Monday, April 18. The cost for this course is $489 for all Recreational Sports members and $539 for non-members. For more details on the course, go to: http://recsports.osu.edu/health-wellness/personal-training/personal-training-news.  To register, call (614) 292-7671, then dial 0 to register.

 

Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Wexner Center
Each year, the Banff Mountain Film Festival presents the most creative and inspiring examples of outdoor adventure filmmaking from around the world. This year, the festival, co-sponsored by the Department of Recreational Sports Outdoor Adventure Center, will be no different! Make sure to visit the festival on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at 7 p.m. at the Wexner Center for the Arts. The complete festival lineup will be posted at: http://www.wexarts.org/fv/index.php?eventid=5469

Kenny Road and Lane Avenue Traffic Impacted
The AEP Transmission Line project will reduce Kenny Road (north of Lane Avenue) southbound traffic to one lane through March 28. After that date, traffic along Lane Avenue (between Kenny Road and Carmack) will be reduced to one lane both eastbound and westbound, diverted to the north side of Lane.

 

Summer Camp Slots Filling Up Quickly!

Camp Recky spaces are filling up faster than ever! Discovery Camp (ages 5-8) is over 50 percent full, while Adventure Camp (ages 9-12) is about 90 percent full. Camps that are at capacity include: Kids in the Kitchen, flag football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, baseball/softball, and tennis. Spots are still available for Magic School Bucks for children ages three and four. Parents are encouraged to register online to check capacity. Please call (614) 688-8787 if you have additional questions.  Register now at http://recsports.osu.edu/community-programs/register-for-community-programs

 

Small Group Personal Training Classes for Spring
It's time to get in shape for summer! Spring small group personal training classes are now open for registration. Registration costs $50 for the entire spring quarter for Free Motion 30-minute circuit or women's only resistance training class. Classes are held twice per week. Contact John Katsares at (614) 292-5153 or at katsares.1@osu.edu for more details.

Take Sport Classes this Spring!
Swimming, scuba, golf, soccer, adapted swimming, and more! These are just some of the great classes available for children and adults this spring. Register now at http://recsports.osu.edu/community-programs/register-for-community-programs, mail, or fax your form to (614) 292-0540. A list of the available classes can be found at http://recsports.osu.edu/community-programs/youth-family-programs

 

Blaze the Trail 5K and Family Fun Run 2K
Blaze the Trail on Sunday, April 10, and support The Ohio State University’s Burn Center, which provides education about fire safety, prevention, and arson awareness on campus and assists with care and recovery for victims of fire. This 5K race and Family Fun Run 2K starts at The Ohio State University’s Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) at 9 a.m. Registration fees are: $10 for Ohio State students; $20 for adults; $5 for children until April 3; rates increase after this date.  Registration includes a T-shirt and post race refreshments. For more information, visit http://go.osu.edu/blaze

 

*************** IMPORTANT CONTACTS ****************

RPAC Welcome Center – 292-7671

ARC Front Desk – 247-8686

Comments to the Interim Director – Kurt Carmen, carmen.7@osu.edu, 688-3587

Adapted Recreational Sports – Lindsay Meyer, meyer.454@osu.edu, 688-3693

Adventure Recreation Center & Jesse Owens Centers – Diane Jensen, jensen.8@osu.edu, 688-3988

Aquatic Center – Christine Thompson, thompson.1363@osu.edu, 247-7370

Community Programs – Marci Hasty, hasty.11@osu.edu, 292-5328

Facility/Meeting Room Scheduling - Andrea Hall, hall.794@osu.edu, 292-6481

Group Fitness Classes and Massage – Scott Holmes, holmes.508@osu.edu, 292-8755

Intramural Sports - Ken Hill, hill.521@osu.edu, 292-5292

Lockers, Sport Shop, and Welcome Center Operations - Rob Jech, jech.2@osu.edu, 688-8788

Marketing - Emily Howard, howard.778@osu.edu, 688-4185

Membership - Kris Myers, myers.785@osu.edu, 688-8461

Ohio State Swim Club – Kyle Goodrich, goodrich.89@osu.edu, 292-1303

Outdoor Adventure Center - Steve Hawkins, hawkins.264@osu.edu, 247-8063

Personal Training - John Katsares, katsares.1@osu.edu, 292-5153

Racquetball and Squash Reservations - 292-8590

Recreational Sports Learning – Brendan Greisberger, greisberger.5@osu.edu, 688-3297

RPAC Operations – Dave DeAngelo, deangelo.1@osu.edu, 247-6009

Special Assistant to the Director – Marci Harrington, harrington.69@osu.edu, 688-3983

Sponsorship – Kristin Smith, smith.1424@osu.edu, 688-4619

Sport Clubs – Charles Anderson, anderson.1859@osu.edu, 688-3879

Web Site – Katie Thomas, thomas.2407@osu.edu, 292-5287

***************************************************

 

Rec Sports Member Update - Monday, March 21, 2011

Member Update

Monday, March 21, 2011

1.       Rec Sports Hours for Spring Break

2.       WITS Personal Training Certification Course for Spring, Summer

3.       Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Wexner Center

4.      Kenny Road and Lane Avenue Traffic Impacted

5.      Summer Camp Slots Filling Up Quickly!

6.      Small Group Personal Training Classes for Spring

7.      Take Sport Classes this Spring!

8.      Blaze the Trail 5K and Family Fun Run 2K

To unsubscribe from this mailing list, please send an e-mail to recsportsmembers-unsubscribe@lists.studentaffairs.ohio-state.edu from the e-mail account to which you are subscribed for this listserv.

 

Rec Sports Hours for Spring Break
Hours for your favorite Rec Sports facilities, as well as for Courtside Café and Juice 2, may have changed for spring break. View the hours for facilities at http://go.osu.edu/wifinals and Courtside Café and Juice 2 at http://recsports.osu.edu/articles/courtside-cafe-and-juice-2-hours-for-finals-week-spring-break/

 

WITS Personal Training Certification Class for Spring, Summer
Want to become a personal trainer? Now you have two chances. The World Instructors Training Schools (WITS) Personal Training Certification class for spring begins Saturday, March 26, at 9 a.m. in the RPAC. Registration is nearly full—so register before March 19! The summer course, beginning Saturday, June 18, at 9 a.m. in the RPAC, opens for registration on Monday, April 18. The cost for this course is $489 for all Recreational Sports members and $539 for non-members. For more details on the course, go to: http://recsports.osu.edu/health-wellness/personal-training/personal-training-news.  To register, call (614) 292-7671, then dial 0 to register.

 

Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Wexner Center
Each year, the Banff Mountain Film Festival presents the most creative and inspiring examples of outdoor adventure filmmaking from around the world. This year, the festival, co-sponsored by the Department of Recreational Sports Outdoor Adventure Center, will be no different! Make sure to visit the festival on Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at 7 p.m. at the Wexner Center for the Arts. The complete festival lineup will be posted at: http://www.wexarts.org/fv/index.php?eventid=5469

Kenny Road and Lane Avenue Traffic Impacted
The AEP Transmission Line project will reduce Kenny Road (north of Lane Avenue) southbound traffic to one lane through March 28. After that date, traffic along Lane Avenue (between Kenny Road and Carmack) will be reduced to one lane both eastbound and westbound, diverted to the north side of Lane.

 

Summer Camp Slots Filling Up Quickly!

Camp Recky spaces are filling up faster than ever! Discovery Camp (ages 5-8) is over 50 percent full, while Adventure Camp (ages 9-12) is about 90 percent full. Camps that are at capacity include: Kids in the Kitchen, flag football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse, baseball/softball, and tennis. Spots are still available for Magic School Bucks for children ages three and four. Parents are encouraged to register online to check capacity. Please call (614) 688-8787 if you have additional questions.  Register now at http://recsports.osu.edu/community-programs/register-for-community-programs

 

Small Group Personal Training Classes for Spring
It's time to get in shape for summer! Spring small group personal training classes are now open for registration. Registration costs $50 for the entire spring quarter for Free Motion 30-minute circuit or women's only resistance training class. Classes are held twice per week. Contact John Katsares at (614) 292-5153 or at katsares.1@osu.edu for more details.

Take Sport Classes this Spring!
Swimming, scuba, golf, soccer, adapted swimming, and more! These are just some of the great classes available for children and adults this spring. Register now at http://recsports.osu.edu/community-programs/register-for-community-programs, mail, or fax your form to (614) 292-0540. A list of the available classes can be found at http://recsports.osu.edu/community-programs/youth-family-programs

 

Blaze the Trail 5K and Family Fun Run 2K
Blaze the Trail on Sunday, April 10, and support The Ohio State University’s Burn Center, which provides education about fire safety, prevention, and arson awareness on campus and assists with care and recovery for victims of fire. This 5K race and Family Fun Run 2K starts at The Ohio State University’s Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC) at 9 a.m. Registration fees are: $10 for Ohio State students; $20 for adults; $5 for children until April 3; rates increase after this date.  Registration includes a T-shirt and post race refreshments. For more information, visit http://go.osu.edu/blaze

 

*************** IMPORTANT CONTACTS ****************

RPAC Welcome Center – 292-7671

ARC Front Desk – 247-8686

Comments to the Interim Director – Kurt Carmen, carmen.7@osu.edu, 688-3587

Adapted Recreational Sports – Lindsay Bond, bond.217@osu.edu, 688-3693

Adventure Recreation Center & Jesse Owens Centers – Diane Jensen, jensen.8@osu.edu, 688-3988

Aquatic Center – Christine Thompson, thompson.1363@osu.edu, 247-7370

Community Programs – Marci Hasty, hasty.11@osu.edu, 292-5328

Facility/Meeting Room Scheduling - Andrea Hall, hall.794@osu.edu, 292-6481

Group Fitness Classes and Massage – Scott Holmes, holmes.508@osu.edu, 292-8755

Intramural Sports - Ken Hill, hill.521@osu.edu, 292-5292

Lockers, Sport Shop, and Welcome Center Operations - Rob Jech, jech.2@osu.edu, 688-8788

Marketing - Emily Howard, howard.778@osu.edu, 688-4185

Membership - Kris Myers, myers.785@osu.edu, 688-8461

Ohio State Swim Club – Kyle Goodrich, goodrich.89@osu.edu, 292-1303

Outdoor Adventure Center - Steve Hawkins, hawkins.264@osu.edu, 247-8063

Personal Training - John Katsares, katsares.1@osu.edu, 292-5153

Racquetball and Squash Reservations - 292-8590

Recreational Sports Learning – Brendan Greisberger, greisberger.5@osu.edu, 688-3297

RPAC Operations – Dave DeAngelo, deangelo.1@osu.edu, 247-6009

Special Assistant to the Director – Marci Harrington, harrington.69@osu.edu, 688-3983

Sponsorship – Kristin Smith, smith.1424@osu.edu, 688-4619

Sport Clubs – Charles Anderson, anderson.1859@osu.edu, 688-3879

Web Site – Katie Thomas, thomas.2407@osu.edu, 292-5287

***************************************************