JOINT WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF

TODD PORTUNE,HAMILTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND

HAMILTON COUNTY TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT CHAIR,

AND

EDWIN H. HUMPHREY, CLERMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONER (BOARD PRESIDENT)

BEFORE

THE OHIO SENATE TRANSPORTATION, LABOR AND COMMERCECOMMITTEE, CHAIRMAN GAYLE MANNING

IN OPPOSITION TO SUB.H.B.53 (TRANPORTATION BUDGET)

MARCH 10, 2015

Chairman Manning, Vice Chairman Patton, Ranking Member Cafaro and members of the Ohio Senate Transportation, Commerce and Labor Committee. I am Todd Portune, Hamilton County Commissioner, and with my colleague Clermont County Commissioner Ed Humphrey, I am here to oppose language currently in Substitute House Bill 53 (Section 755.30)that would circumvent the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) and potentially require ODOT to reallocate funds designated forthe Eastern Corridor project.[1]

In addition to being a Commissioner, I am a member of the Hamilton County Transportation Improvement District and Commissioner Humphrey and I have each served as president of the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments, which serves as the metropolitan planning organization and federal transportation funds administrator for 196 local governments in the 8 counties and 3 states that comprise the OKI region.

Section 755.30 Is Overly Broad

We believe that Section 755.30 as currently drafted is too broad. The Eastern Corridor project is included as a funded project on the TRAC’s current Major New Program List. If the legislature simply chooses to remove or drastically alter a project from the domain of the TRAC, there may be other projects that the legislature chooses tomorrow to defund or alter, which raises significant concerns and issues on a number of fronts.

Alternatively, Bill Language Should be Re-Tailored

If, however, the legislature is inclined to include language in the Transportation Budget, we would support alternative language to address the real issue that was highlighted by the Ohio House.

Section 755.30is presumably purposed to expedite ODOT’s handling of the relocation of State Route 32 – a component of the Eastern Corridor program of projects that would be aligned in the area near Mariemont and Newtown.[2] While the Hamilton County and Clermont County Transportation Improvement Districts are concerned about any legislative effort to weaken the TRAC process, they believe that, if the General Assembly has resolved to legislate on this subject matter, the language should be amended to be more effective.

First, the current language does not clearly define what project is affected. The current language makes a general reference to “the highway construction project commonly known as the Eastern Corridor project.”As noted above, the Eastern Corridor Project is a comprehensive series of transportation improvement projects designed to improve access, mobility and travel safety between downtown Cincinnati and its eastern communities, and to open doors for economic growth and development.

Under the current language, it is arguable that other segments of the Eastern Corridor project such as the Red Bank Road project or even the Oasis Rail Line project could be affected by the language.

As a solution, we propose that the generic reference to the Eastern Corridor be removed, and a reference to the exact language describing the Route 32 relocation project as it appears on the TRAC list be inserted into the section.

Second, we believe language that is more outcome specific, culminating in a more meaningful result, is preferable over the current language. Some believe that ODOT or the FHWA have not made meaningful progress in the past few years developing the project that would relocate Route 32. The current language would not actually require ODOT to advance the project, but will merely require ODOT to send a letter indicating its intent “to proceed or not to proceed.”

As a solution, we propose new language that requires ODOT to advance the project and identify a recommended preferred alignment by the end of the 2015.

Conclusion

Our community agreed upon the Eastern Corridor project improvements.

  • An Eastern Corridor Major Investment Study (MIS) was conducted in the late 1990s by a 65-member Task force representing Eastern Corridor communities and stakeholder groups.
  • It was completed and endorsed by all but two Task Force Members in 2000, and the MIS recommended in concept the set of transportation improvements now under study.
  • The Eastern Corridor Land Use Vision Plan was developed in partnership with 17 jurisdictions within the corridor in 2001. It was adopted by both Hamilton and Clermont Counties, and this plan identifies how local communities want to look in the future.
  • Input from this adopted plan was used in the 2006 approved Eastern Corridor Tier 1 EIS, which identified feasible project alignment corridors, as well as the subsequent Eastern Corridor Tier 2 EIS work.
  • The Tier 2 EIS culminated with a record of decision signed on June 2, 2006 by FHWA Division Director,which journalized and established the purpose and need for the Eastern Corridor Project.
  • We are now in the process, in collaboration with ODOT, of advancing the Tier 2 EIS work, as approved and funded by the TRAC. The mission has been, and continues to be, identifying the preferred alternative alignments. This information is critical to making informed and professional decisions regarding build or no build.

There are simply many residents and businesses along the Corridor in Hamilton and Clermont County that want the EC to be completed.

Millions of federal, state and local dollars have been invested to develop the Eastern Corridor, and portions of itsfive core projects have been completed or are being constructed. Some will be under construction very soon.

Madam Chairman, I trust that my comments have given you and the committee some insights and options concerning this important project. I would be happy to answer any questions posed by the committee.

1

[1] The project is a multimodal transportation and land use planning project directly impacting 17 local jurisdictions and two Ohio counties [Hamilton and Clermont] that includes over 135,000 in population. Its broader impact is on improving air quality, reducing congestion and vehicle miles traveled and opening up new access for economic development in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky. The EC extends as far east as Milford and Eastgate regions in Clermont County and as far west as downtown Cincinnati and the Intermodal Transit Center that was designed to accommodate new transit and DMU Passenger Commuter Rail.

[2]There are 5 primary components of the Eastern Corridor Projects

  • Red Bank Corridor improvements
  • Relocation of SR 32
  • Improvements to SR 32 in the Eastgate area
  • Oasis Rail Transit project
  • Transportation Systems Management Improvements which consist of 180 local network improvements designed to ease congestion, improve safety and stimulate economic development by improving the local area network.