On August 31, GOPC traveled to Cleveland as part of our work as a member of the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC).

ATAC is a group of practitioners, advocates, public officials and others who work with ODOT to advise and support the implementation of Walk.Bike.Ohio, the Active Transportation Plan which was published a year ago. Those who attended the meeting in person had the chance to participate in a bike ride which started at Cleveland Metroparks’s Merwin’s Wharf, a restaurant operated by the Metroparks and located on the Cuyahoga River’s Irishtown Bend. This facility provides access to a number of biking trails located around the city and its lakefront.

The bike tour provided a great opportunity to see all of the many improvements that have been happening both in the realm of active transportation, but also recent and ongoing development projects around the city, including in the Ohio City and Tremont Neighborhoods of the near west side.

The meeting itself provided an opportunity for ATAC members to learn about ongoing developments around the implementation of the Walk.Bike.Ohio plan, as well as to learn more about the recently announced Multimodal Design Guide. The guide serves as a source for planners and designers implementing pedestrian and bicycle facilities in ODOT right-of-way and as part of the Local Let Process.

ATAC also received an update about impacts of the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and how ODOT-established funding programs will be affected by the increased funding which the federal legislation has made available.  ATAC members also heard about other changes which have also occurred as a result of the passage of BIL, such as an expansion of the Safe Routes To Schools program to now cover projects for schools K-12 (previously the program only covered K-8 schools). Excitingly, ATAC members also learned ODOT will use BIL funds to cover the cost of the 20% local match that was required for local communities under the Highway Safety Improvement Program. Both of these changes will have a significant impact on the ability for local communities to implement important active transportation projects.

To learn more about the ongoing work of ODOT on active transportation, including Walk.Bike.Ohio and improvements to pedestrian and cyclist safety statewide, visit the Know Our Programs page on the ODOT website.