city of barberton grant application

8/3/2019 City of Barberton Grant Application

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Connecting Communities PLANNING GRANT

Connecting CommunitiePLANNING GRANT

City of BarbertonA North-South Community

Connection Plan forVan Buren Avenue South

and2nd Street Southwest

October 14, 2011


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Connecting Communities Planning Grant Application

Scoring and Timeline Applications will be evaluated by the Connecting ComPlanning Grant Task Force beginning immediately after the October 14, 2011 adeadline. The Task Force was created to score, review, and recommend projecAMATS Policy Committee, which will select the grant recipients at its Decembe2011 meeting.

1. Applicant/Sponsor (Implementing Governmental Agency Only). If sponsor is township please provide a letterof support from County Government or County Engineer (letters of support sholimited to 3).

Community/Agency City of BarbertonContact Person Mayor Robert J. Genet

Phone Number (330) 848-6719Fax Number (330) 848-6663Email Address [email protected] Address 576 West Park Avenue Barberton Ohio 44203

2. Project Co-Sponsor (If applicable. Please indicate which agency and contactwill be the lead.)Community/Agency

Community/Agency N/AContact Person N/APhone Number N/AFax Number N/AEmail Address N/AMailing Address N/A


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3. Connecting Communities Planning Study

PlanningStudy Title

Barberton South End Connectors - Van Buren Avenue South and

BriefDescription

The City of Barberton desires to provide community unity and cohimproving connectivity between the Citys north and south sides. city contains the downtown area and beautiful Lake Anna recreatresidential developments, commercial and public facilities (schoosouth side also includes large residential developments and land areas. The City of Barbertons economic base, involving thriving

industries, lies between these two areas and creates barriers to cconnectivity that inhibit mobility and growth. This has created a cfrom which opportunities to mitigate the effect of these barriers mOne of the biggest challenges is how these barriers have come todowntown. Unifying the residential neighborhoods with the downimportant in order to establish a cohesive identity and a sense of of the city as well as contributing to the success of the downtownAdditionally, the City desires to create an environment where the

downtown and industrial uses can not only coexist, but also thrivebenefit would be enhanced opportunity for economic growth throubusinesses and industries. Barberton also has good connectivityI-76 that enhances the economic potential for the City.

The redesign of Van Buren Avenue South and 2nd Street SW canbarriers that currently divide the City. Both roads are currently fosidewalks but are very utilitarian and are void of inviting features.contain the features of Complete Streets necessary to embrace athe needed north-south connectivity. These roads also contain abusinesses, light and heavy industrial as well as residential land roadway design, however, does not embrace all users, rather fundistribute industrial traffic. The City of Barberton believes that a Cconcept can be created on Van Buren Avenue and 2nd Street thaprovides for the mobility of all users, celebrates businesses and isurrounding residential developments and creates an aestheticalexperience.

SummaryofExpectedProduct(s)

o Complete Street plans for Van Buren Avenue and 2nd

Streo Pedestrian facility planning that will connect the residentia

to community areas to the downtown areas to the northo Bikeway planning with connectivity to the Towpath Trail a

lanes on Van Buren Avenue and/or 2nd Street as part of thComplete Street planning

o Transit coordination to make transit more accessible attra


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4. Project Map Please include a map of theproposed project planning area. If the map is

not included in the main document of yourapplication, please list the attached imagefilenames and include the files as anattachment when submitting. Image Filenames(if applicable):

Project AreaThe project area map is provided on Figure 1 Project Area. The 2nd Street and Van Buren

Avenue corridors are the only roadway connectingthe south portions of the City to the northern anddowntown areas. These corridors can be bestdescribed as having only functionality with pavedsurface for vehicular traffic and sidewalk in poorcondition. These roads are not inviting for generalpublic use and do not well serve as Cityconnectors. Upon entry to the north side of the

roadways at Wooster Road (for 2

nd

Street) andRobinson Avenue (for Van Buren Road), the themeis a welcoming experience with decorative poles,modern traffic signals, pedestrian crossings anddecorative walks with ADA compliance.

Both Van Buren Avenue and 2nd Street offer theopportunity to expand on the downtown planningthat includes streetscaping, walkability, recreational

experience and emerging vitality by providingcommunity connectivity. Both Van Buren Avenueand 2nd Street have proximity to Ohio & Erie CanalTowpath Trail, yet lack connectivity. This lack ofconnectivity isolates the attractive downtown areawith shops, restaurants and a beautiful recreationalarea at Lake Anna from the Trail.

RoadwaysVan Buren Avenue and 2nd Street carry thefunctional classification of Urban Collector and assuch should have a local-user focus as opposed to regional connectivity. AMAidentifies that the 2010 traffic is 5,800 vehicles per day for Van Buren Avenue avehicles per day on 2nd Street. Typically, traffic volumes less than 10,000 vehicday can operate on a two lane roadway (one lane in each direction) Clearly th

Van Buren A

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Van Buren & Robinson Ave

2nd

Street at Wooster Ave


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Notes:

The photography, is provided by

Aerials Express, Cleveland 2009

0 2,0001,000 Feet


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(Please answer the remaining questions in no more than one typed page e

attach to this application)5. Describe the planning area boundaries and size. Describe the existingtransportation and land use issues. Define the problems facing the area. (points)

The project roadway network involves Van Buren Avenue and 2nd Street betweHudson Run Road/Snyder Avenue to the south and Wooster Road/Robinson Athe north. These roads represent the north-south connectors between the soutthe city and downtown. The roadway corridors under study involve 3,200 feet o

Buren Avenue and 3,000 feet on 2nd street located between Wooster Road/RobAvenue to the north and Hudson Run Road and Snyder Avenue to the south. Tnorthern corridor intersections at Wooster Avenue & 2nd Street and Van Buren ARobinson have been recently upgraded with decorative signal poles, decorativeand new sidewalks with brick pavers which create a sense of connection to thecommunity. Both 2nd Street and Van Buren Avenue from Wooster Road and RoAvenue south are void of any distinguishing features and act as a barrier to unitcity.

Lake Anna provides a unique 20 acre city feature for recreation and communitygathering. The core downtown surrounds this lake with the historic downtowncommercial district along Second Street. Residential developments encircle thedowntown with the newest residential development occurred at the southeast asouthwest corners of the city. These residential developments are separated frcore city area by a number of barriers including Tuscarawas River and Ohio & ECanal that transect the city running north and south. Along these natural barrierrailroads were built as well as industrial developments that created an additiona

separation between the different neighborhoods of the city. The Citys zoning mprovided on the following page illustrates this barrier throughout the City.

The Barberton Master Plan(June 2006) identified a number of vital land use anplanning elements that support this project. Specifically, the Master Planrecogthat there are natural and unnatural barriers to the north-south connectivity invoTuscarawas River, railroads, large area of industrial land and limited north-soutto serve all users. The Master Planspecifically stated: Unifying the residentia

neighborhoods with the downtown area is important to establish a cohesive idea sense of place for all portions of the city as well as contributing to the successdowntown businesses.

The industrial developments in Barberton emerged alongthe canal and railroad system. This pattern ofdevelopment was identified in the Master Plan as


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6. Define the purpose of the study, and the expected outcomes (access

management, streetscapes, pedestrian facilities).(10 points)

The purpose of the study is to recreate Van Buren Avenue and 2nd Street in a mthat better addresses the Citys visions, provides community connectivity, embrusers and elevates the users experience.

The City envisions the redesign of the two roadways to involve a Road Diet toassign the right-of-way to all users in the manner of Complete Streets design. elements of Complete Streets that are ideal for the project area include:

o Road Diet to redistribute the roadway right-of-way for all users; Vehicpedestrian, bicycle and transit

o Sidewalk upgrades to make the walking facilities more inviting and incADA compliance

o Street Trees for walking comfort and aesthetics that would soften theappearance of the stark industrial areas

o Street Lighting to improve comfort, security and safetyo

Bike Facilities - to provide connectivity to Towpath Trail, downtown, buindustries, and residential areas north and southo Transit accessibility including stops, bus bays and shelterso Pedestrian crossings include appropriate traffic control devices at key

intersections to promote pedestrian mobilityo Medians for traffic calming, safety and aesthetics

Both Van Buren Avenue and 2nd Street currentlyfunction primarily for vehicular traffic. With relatively

low traffic volumes on each roadway (less than 6,000vehicles per day), the four (4) lane roadways areexcessive for the traffic volumes. Incorporatingfacilities for other modal uses can easily beaccomplished with roadway/right-of-wayreassignments as provided in the figure to the right.In addition, traffic claming and aesthetic elementssuch as medians, lighting and landscaping will

provide a uniform theme for the corridors linking thenorth and south portions of the City.

The resulting plan will include typical sections for theproposed street concepts, conceptual plan, right-of-needs (if any), project phasing, project costs andfunding opportunities

Complete Street Road D

Ex


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7. Discuss how this study addresses the following three principles (See p

more detail):a. Provide more transportation choices (5 points)b. Enhance economic competitiveness (5 points)c. Support and value existing communities andneighborhoods(10 points)

a. The study will incorporate multimodal featuresincluding balancing the roadway right-of-way for allusers; vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle and transit. The Van

Buren Avenue and 2nd Street corridors will be evaluatedfor bicycle facilities including bike lanes, sharrows or amulti-use path. Connectivity to the Towpath Trail (seefigure) is feasible at the immediate south end of theproject area with a trail head located off of SnyderAvenue. Providing this connectivity will encouragecyclist to access the City and downtown for recreationaland tourism purposes and furthermore will promote local

and regional bicycle mobility as a transportation choice.Metro RTA has routes on Van Buren Avenue and onWooster Road/Robinson Avenue. These routes havedirect proximity to the project area and connectresidential, educational and employment areas betweenBarberton and Akron. As a stakeholder, Metro RTA willbe engaged in the study to evaluate route, stops andtransit center needs for project area to enhance transitusage.

b. Businesses exploring Barberton for opportunitiescontinually express the desire locations that offer asense of place as well as proximity to interstate access.Barberton has access to I-76 to the north and I-77 to theeast. Land is available for businesses in the projectarea. This area, located between the downtown and theresidential developments on both the north and southsides of the City, has good redevelopment potential.

Developing a plan that creates an environment thatembraces the community and celebrates industry is vitalto retaining existing businesses, encouraging expansionof these existing businesses and attracting newbusinesses and jobs to the community.

c. The residents who live near the project area andwho are involved in frequent travel on these corridors have repeatably expres

Trail Head


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8. Explain the publics involvement in the study. What residents or groups

included and invited to provide input? (5 points)

The City of Barberton will engage the following businesses, groups and industrthe planning process:

o AMATS to provide oversight for the Connecting Communitieso City Planning to provide land use planning inputo City Economic Development Leaders to identify barriers to business

expansion

o City Engineering to provide details to roadway and utility barrierso Chamber of Commerce to identify elements desirable to attract industro Downtown Association to coordinate their ideas and goalso Metro RTA to evaluate existing and future transit routes, stops, needs,o Barberton schools to coordinate school routes (bus and pedestrian)o Park Agencies to coordinate accessibility to the Towpath Trail, Lake An

other park areaso Babcock and Wilcox as a major land user to coordinate their planning

expansion with public-private partnership opportunitieso Other community businesses that would benefit from the user enhanco Neighborhood groups to provide input pertaining to their connectivity a

mobility

The stakeholder involvement process is expected to include an initial fact-fimeeting to identify project goals, priorities, issues and opportunities. From tthe preliminary conceptual plan will be developed. Project phasing and priobe provided with planning level cost estimates to a second stakeholder mee

which feedback will be solicited for refinement of the plan. The final meetininvite the stakeholders and also provide a public format for the plan presentThe final planning report will incorporate the stakeholder and community co


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9. How will your community plan to implement this planning study? Descrpotential funding sources that could be used for implementation. (10 poin

The final plan is expected to involve a number of implementation phasesimplementation of the Complete Streets plan. Project costs and fundingopportunities for the phases will be identified. Having the plan in place wthe City in better position for state and federal transportation, Brownfield Jobs Ready Grants. Improving the corridors with both short termimplementations toward a long term vision will make the area more attrac

attracting, retaining and expanding businesses and industries. AdditionaCity will explore opportunities for public-private partnerships. Some fundiopportunities might include:

1. Transportation Funds can be explored for various public roadway of the project and include:

Safety Funds Wooster Road, Robinson Avenue and Van BuAvenue have been identified on AMATs safety high crash loc

over the years. Projects that can document a safety return hapotential for safety funding

Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds are could be consfor projects that improve traffic flow and can provide a documreduction in emissions. This might include lane changes and/signalization

Enhancement Funds for aesthetic or bikeway elements

Other surface transportation opportunities

2. Economic and Development Grants based on job creation with gopotential with Babcock and Wilcox present on the corridor and beiexpansion mode in recent years. These grants would have applicroadway improvements associated with a development or a site fodevelopment or redevelopment in the project area. The improvemthe transportation system with a Complete Streets concept would

the area more attractive for businesses and favor grant opportunitas:

Ohio Department of Development Brownfield Grants for site remediation for redevelopment

Jobs Ready Site


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city of barberton grant application

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