Context
Bike ride during Lorain’s Bike Camp.
Lorain, Ohio is on Lake Erie, 25 miles west of Cleveland, with a population of 65,000. In 2017, The Lorain County Public Health Department received ODOT Active Transportation Plan Development Assistance and Safe Routes to Schools funding to create an Active Transportation Plan for the city of Lorain with Toole Design. This Active Transportation Plan was catalytic in spurring many new and varied Active Transportation projects and programs throughout the city of Lorain. Today, projects are executed via a collective impact model in partnership with a host of community partners spanning health, education, social services, and housing.
The Health Department partnered with the city, Lorain City Schools, and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to develop the Active Transportation Plan. They were motivated by a desire for improved health and safety. A 2009 study showed that 39% of third grade students in Lorain County were overweight or obese. From 2011 to 2013, there were 759 pedestrian or bicyclist crashes within 1.5 miles of a Lorain City school building, resulting in five fatalities.
The resulting plan, created by Toole Design and local leaders, contained recommended improvements for pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, school zone awareness, traffic calming, and intersection improvements.
Current projects completed and underway include: a micro public transit pilot program, EV charging stations, signal, sidewalk, and road diet improvements, and an update to Lorain’s Active Transportation Plan. And every intersection in the city now has a crosswalk.
Collective Impact Model
Out of the 2018 Active Transportation Plan came a new group dedicated to its implementation. Lorain Connected Collective is a collaboration among community organizations throughout the city and county, administered by Lorain County Public Health. The group meets monthly to discuss current and upcoming active transportation projects. Using the collective impact framework, Lorain Connected brings together diverse sectors of the region to propel a shared vision for health and safety.
Lorain Connected’s membership is made up of the same organizations that were engaged to create the Active Transportation Plan. Members include:
This partnership helps to facilitate projects in the city and county faster than any one entity may be able to on their own, utilizing each organization’s relationships, skills, and resources. Lorain Connected’s members do not pay dues but provide volunteers, meetings space, and other services as possible. The Lorain County Public Health Department administers the program, serving as the convener, note-taker, and following up with members on action items. This role takes about 0.2 full-time employees at the health department and is funded through the Safe Routes to Schools non-infrastructure funding. A second employee funded through the Ohio Department of Health’s Creating Healthy Communities grant also spends time working on the collective.
Volunteers paint a bike lane on E 31st Street.
The City of Lorain’s Engineering Department is the lead member for infrastructure improvements. Staff engineers provide engineering assistance to the group. Lorain County Public Health oversees non infrastructure programs and projects such as the Bike/Walk to School Days, Buckle Up program, and promotional safety signage.
When grants are identified for infrastructure funding, the City Engineering Department requests project ideas from or submits their own to the group. Lorain Connected then has a month to decide on the project. The Health Department and city do the majority of the grant writing, with the health department handling the narrative and the city handling the technicalities and cost estimates. The following month, the grant application is reviewed by the group and the city moves forward with the project approvals.
There is no formal voting on projects, but most decisions are based on the prioritization of projects set out in the Active Transportation Plan, allowing for easier consensus among members. The ongoing update to the plan will have a more robust prioritization of projects.
The Health Department tracks metrics and valuation, including funding and crash data, for all projects so they can clearly demonstrate the impact of the collective.
Since its founding, Lorain Connected Collective has been awarded over $4 million in grants and outside sources for their projects.
GO LORAIN – Community-Based Bicycle Sharing Program
Bike rack and repair station at the public library.
An example of a creative project designed through Lorain Connected’s collective impact model is the bicycle share program, GO LORAIN, that was created in 2019. This was a collaboration between the Lorain County Public Health Department , Lorain County Metro Parks , Lorain County Community Action Agency , the Lorain Public Library , and the City of Lorain. Through a Road to Zero grant, the partner agencies obtained bicycles and rented them out through the public library at no cost to the users.
The Library was the fiscal agent for the grants, the host site for check-in and check-out operations, and served as the program coordinator for the bike share. The Metro Parks hosted bike share stops at several parks in the county, returned abandoned bikes left at the parks, designed the GO LORAIN logo and signage, and established a sponsorship program. Community Action Agency refurbished donated bicycles to supply the program, conducted regular maintenance on the bikes, and developed youth activities to promote bicycle repair and mechanical repair. The Health Department created maps for the bike share program, highlighting stops and community partners, facilitated partner meetings, and maintained project records to document performance and outcomes. The City of Lorain returned abandoned bikes to partners and installed signage in the public right of way.
Though greatly hindered by the pandemic, this bike share program was a great success in Lorain and a demonstration of what can happen when there is a structure for organizations to easily partner.
Current Active Transportation Projects
Lorain has utilized local, state, and federal funding to facilitate improved transportation projects, including grants from ODOT, US EPA, Federal Highway Administration, CMAQ, and Safe Routes to Schools.
Lorain Public Transit Loops
Lorain County Transit (LCT) will provide seven vehicles for five fixed-route circulators in the city beginning in 2027. To stress test this program, the city is launching a micro-transit pilot with seven vehicles is scheduled to begin in July 2024. This program will provide “corner to corner” transportation for residents within the city limits Monday-Friday 6:30AM-6:30PM. If a rider needs a ride out of the city, these micro transit vehicles will work in tandem with the existing LCT bus routes, allowing someone to transfer to the bus under the same fare. The goal is to define the level of demand in Lorain by identifying popular destinations, peak demand hours, and where public transport is most needed. This data will inform the plan for the 2027 fixed-route circulator.
Cost: $2,884,447
Funding Sources: 100% funded by Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency (NOACA) through their Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds
EV Charging Infrastructure
The City of Lorain secured an additionally two electric vehicle charging stations within the city limits. Each station will have two Level 2 ports and two Fast Charger ports.
Cost: $660,000
Funding Sources: NOACA received $15 million for EV chargers through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant from the Federal Highway Administration. The city worked with NOACA to ensure that two chargers would be located in Lorain.
Active Transportation Plan Update
The city has submitted a funding request for updating the city of Lorain Active Transportation Plan, which must be updated every 5 years. The plan allows for funding requests for various programs, SRTS, TLCI, CMAQ, and safety.
Funding Sources: 100% ODOT grant
Signal Replacement, Cross Walk Beacon, and Road Diets
The City applied for a grant for full signal removal and replacement and pedestrian improvements on State Route 611 at Leavitt Rd, Oberlin Ave, and Washington Ave. They are installing a HAWK (High-intensity Activated CrossWalK) cross walk beacon at Lakeview Park. A Road Diet installation is also occurring on State Route 611 and US
Cost:
Funding Sources: 80% ODOT grant, 20% local funds
HAWK crosswalk signal in Wisconsin. Image Source
Intersection Improvements
The City made signal improvements and removed a slip lane on State Route 611 and State Route 58.
Cost:
Funding Sources: ODOT Safety Grant, 90% grant, 10% local funding program
2022 intersection improvement at US 6 and Broadway.
Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Action Plan
Lorain County Public Health was one of 510 recipients of the SS4A across the US. They will utilize these funds to develop a countywide safety plan, with Lorain being a pilot community. This plan will allow the City of Lorain to apply for future SS4A funding.
Cost: $160,000
Funding Sources: 100% USDOT grant
Pedestrian Systemic Safety Funding
Intersection and sidewalk improvements will be made throughout Lorain over 3 years.
Cost: $4,236,650
Funding Sources: 90% ODOT grant, 10% local funds
Safe Routes to School Pedestrian Improvements
Sidewalk improvements are happening at seven schools, from 2023 to 2026.
Cost: 1,612,829
Funding Sources: 100% Safe Routes to School grants
Other Collaborative Projects
We Walk Together Mural at Pearl Ave and 31st St.
Image Source: City of Lorain Facebook page.
An example of creative collaboration between Lorain Connected’s members is a recent community art contest held in the city. Children submitted designs and the chosen winners had their art translated to a street mural at a busy intersection (Pearl Avenue and E 31st Street.) The theme was “We Walk Together,” encouraging the artists and the viewers to remember that they all live together in the international city of Lorain.
The mural was painted in May 2024 and now serves as a street calming measure. It is great to see the creative projects that can result from partnerships dedicated to safer streets.
Lessons Learned
If your community is interested in exploring a collective impact model like Lorain, below are some lessons learned from the Lorain County Health Department and City Engineering Department.
Roads and streets are the canvas for a lot of civic life, but their importance is often overlooked. Through Lorain’s collective impact model, diverse partners have been brought together, reminding everyone how infrastructure design affects their work. Bringing in these partners during the planning phase set the stage for their continued involvement in Lorain Connected.
Tap into your local health department. Health department and active transportation goals often overlap, and the health department may have access to funding that cities do not, such as Creating Healthy Communities (Ohio Department of Health). Use all resources and partners available!
Staying organized is very important and can often get overlooked. Have an agenda, keep meetings on time, and follow up on all action items. If you don’t have the basics down, people can get frustrated and drop out, especially if they’re already spread thin.
Relationships and trust building between partners are key.
Always actively seek out funding sources to find the right piece for your project puzzle.
Invest in a plan. Doing the front-end work of inventory, community engagement, and project prioritization will pay off once implementation starts. Now when they’re ready to tackle the next project, Lorain looks at their plan, sees what the next priority projects are, and goes after funding. Or if new funding becomes available, they look to the plan to see which projects fit the criteria.
Any community can apply for ODOT funding for an active transportation plan. Lorain’s work with the ODOT approved consultant (Toole Design) and resulting 2018 plan is what got them moving on projects in the city. Your community could be next!