NOACA, the transportation and environmental planning agency for the five-county Northeast Ohio region, adopted a new policy last December to govern evaluations for new or modified highway interchange applications. The policy now requires staff to conduct additional analysis and modeling that will consider the impact of a proposed project on region-wide congestion, development, vehicle miles traveled, and commute patterns, with a specific lens on equity.

As GOPC reported in a previous blog, the goal of the new policy is to establish methodology and criteria to evaluate proposed transportation system improvements for their broader impact on the entire region. At the time the new policy was approved, NOACA had received eight requests for new or modified interchanges. Six months later, NOACA staff has recommended that three of these projects do not move forward based on the new criteria.

Of the eight requests that were under consideration, one was deferred for future analysis. NOACA’s modeling indicated the all of the remaining projects would increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in their immediate project areas. Staff recommended against the three projects that would cause the largest increases in VMT: full new interchanges at I-71 and Route 57 in Medina; I-71 and Boston Road in Strongsville; and 1-271 and White Road in Northeast Cuyahoga County. 

The other four project requests under consideration were recommended to move forward, with NOACA making additional recommendations at one, a modified interchange at I-77 at Miller Road in Brecksville to service a new economic development project. NOACA is recommending that the city should discuss compensating Cleveland and Warrensville Heights, who their modeling show will lose jobs and payroll tax revenue to the development project.

New points of access made accessible by highway interchange expansions can spur local development; NOACA’s interchange review policy intends to analyze whether local development is truly adding new regional value or just pulling existing jobs, tax base, and investment away from older communities. The new policy was implemented in order to create a clearer public understanding of how interchange projects can add to sprawl and impact racial and economic equity throughout the region. Northeast Ohio has not experienced regional population growth in decades, yet for years the area has continued to expand highway capacity. Staff recommendations to turn down certain interchange project requests show a step in the right direction to limit no-growth sprawl.

The staff recommendations will be reviewed, and potentially approved, at the June 11 meeting of NOACA’s 46-member board.

A detailed presentation about the recommendations is available on NOACA’s website.