NOACA Board of Directors OK's projects, planning for Lorain County

The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, or NOACA, board of directors took several actions Friday at its monthly meeting that will affect Lorain County. The NOACA board approved phase 2 of its electric vehicle, or EV, charging design and installation program to design and install EV charging stations at various locations in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga and Lake counties at a cost of $18.75 million. The board also approved a contract with Tierra Plan worth $120,500 to develop a web-based application for NOACA's bicycle maps in each of the five counties it serves. The maps currently are only available in hard copy or in PDF format on the NOACA website. "The maps provide cyclists with the location of bike routes and facilities throughout the region and are unique in that they highlight the level of traffic stress that vehicular traffic imposes on cyclists along these routes," NOACA said in a news release. "The maps also include information about amenities such as points of interest, bike shops, safety tips, and other resources. Through this project, NOACA will hire a consulting firm to develop an interactive application that will enable users to conduct bike trip planning on a desktop computer or mobile device." NOACA's Long Range Plan and Transportation Improvement Program, or TIP, also was amended to include four projects worth $250 million. One of those is the nearly $144 million Interstate 90 rehabilitation and repavement project, which involves major rehab to I-90 and the addition of another lane to convert from four to six lanes from the Ohio Turnpike booth to the French Creek Bridge in Lorain County, according to NOACA. NOACA is a transportation and environmental planning agency that represents state, county, city, village and township officials in greater Cleveland, and addresses transportation, air quality and water quality needs in Lorain, Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga, and Lake counties. More information can be found at noaca.org.