Lorain mayor's state of the city address highlights grants, upcoming transit options

LORAIN — Lorain has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move the city forward, Mayor Jack Bradley said during his fifth State of the City address Thursday morning. His address highlighted projects completed or funded by the city's more than $90 million in grants in the past two years, including the $32 million it received in American Rescue Plan Act funds. Those projects ranged from improvements to its city parks — like the Oakwood Pool and upgrades to Campana Park with the Lorain Schools — to road repairs and lead waterline replacements. Community Development Block Grant and city dollars funded playground equipment, restroom upgrades and pavilions in parks across the city in 2023, Bradley said. And in 2024, he anticipates new basketball hoops at General Johnnie Wilson, Streator, Westwood, Pawlak and Kneirim parks, new restroom facilities or renovations at Lakeview south, General Johnnie Wilson and City View parks and new dugouts at Oakwood Park fields one and four. "We must make sure that we continue to provide for our young people," Bradley said. "And we have faith in our young people because they are our future." In 2023 the city repaired 42 streets with $1.1 million in Ohio Public Works Commission funds and about $688,000 in city funds. The city also submitted or was awarded funding requests for safety improvements for intersections and pedestrian thoroughfares throughout the city. It will pilot five fixed bus routes starting in 2027, Bradley said, thanks to a $2.8 million funding award from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. In the meantime, Lorain will be one of two cities in the county to pilot a microtransit program starting in July. Lorain County Transit, with Via Transportation, will begin testing routes for seven six-passenger vehicles. The program will be similar to Uber or Lyft, Bradley said, with users able to request a ride via an app or by calling a phone number to be picked up and dropped off from a location of their choosing. He said the microtransit program will help officials see where people in Lorain are going, how often they are traveling and how the city needs to develop its more permanent bus routes. Bradley touched on the city's Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant, which could bring a $50 million investment to the city's south side. In late 2022 Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority received $500,000 in planning funds to target Southside Gardens and the surrounding neighborhood to enhance affordable and market-rate housing options. Though still in its draft stage, its Southside Gateway Community Plan hopes to secure the millions in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, as well as spur up to $400 million in private investment, Bradley said. "We are not just shaping the future of our city, but defining the legacy of our time," Bradley said. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.