In this installment of Cleveland Connects, we examine Northeast Ohio’s transportation infrastructure and how it should be shaped to create more livable communities and to promote more sustainable economic growth. Cars will always be part of the mix, and the planned Opportunity Corridor should improve cross-town traffic patterns, but young people today also want to ride their bikes to work or rely more on public transportation. What is the right mix of transportation options? Should the Rapid be expanded? Is it simply a matter of building more bike lanes? Coming up with the right answers will be critical to the region’s ability to grow and prosper and to capitalize on national attention during the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Keynote speaker Beth Osborne talked with Mike McIntyre on The Sound of Ideas about transportation in Northeast Ohio; listen to their conversation here.
Read what Plain Dealer Editorial Writer Peter Krouse has to say about Cleveland Connects: Getting Around.
Keynote Speaker: Beth Osborne, Vice President, Transportation & Development Services, Transportation for America. Beth is the Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at USDOT, where she worked on the surface transportation reauthorization, the Secretary’s livability initiative, and safety and environmental issues. Before that, Beth worked in the office of Senator Tom Carper (DE) where she was his legislative assistant for transportation, trade and labor policy. She began her career in Washington DC, in the House of Representatives working as a legislative assistant for Rep. Ron Klink and as legislative director for Rep. Brian Baird.
Bob Jaquay is an Associate Director of The George Gund Foundation and oversees its grantmaking in community revitalization and economic development. He is very knowledgeable about many of the dynamics of transportation, urban, and economic development.
Grace Gallucci is Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency. NOACA addresses the transportation, air quality and water quality needs of 5 counties in Northeastern Ohio, and plays a key role for many area projects that seek state and federal funding.
Freddie L. Collier, Jr. is Cleveland’s Director of City Planning. He has more than 20 years of experience in community lending and urban planning and has been employed with the City of Cleveland City Planning Commission for 15 years. Most recently, he served as Assistant Director of the Cleveland City Planning Commission. Collier has a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies with an emphasis in urban planning and a master’s degree in Public Administration.
Moderator, Mike McIntyre, host of The Sound of Ideas, ideastream’s daily public affairs talk show which airs from 9:00-10:00 a.m. on 90.3 WCPN and Tipoff columnist for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.