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The editors of the Lorain Morning Journal came out with a very strongly worded editorial in response to the Avon interchange isssue.
First key point:
Cuyahoga officials accused Lorain County of being an economic vampire sucking the life’s blood out of Cuyahoga County via that major artery, I-90.
If Cuyahoga County officials want to improve their economy, they should work hard at it and apply some leadership and vision to grow economically alongside its neighboring counties.
An observation: Cuyahoga County’s economy is not separate from Lorain County’s. It is the same economy. The question before our region is what type of programs and procedures are we going to implement to make our economy globally competitive.
Second key point:
Cuyahoga County’s NOACA strong-arm tactic works. Once.
Now, if Lorain County is smart, it will get out of NOACA and join, or start, a similar agency to meet its needs. Some Medina County officials want out of NOACA too, having watched in horror as Avon was assaulted and realized Medina County is likely to be bloodied next. Medina and Lorain county officials should see if others want to join in a move away from NOACA, and get it done.
A second observation: Clearly, there needs to be a more trusted regional process developed to address regional transportation and physical development issues. But suggesting that Lorain County can somehow secede from the region is as practical as suggesting that Lorain County physically pack up move. It cannot be done. We need to fix our system, not break up the region.
As Rob Briggs of the GAR Foundation in Akron and the Fund for Our Economic Future and Hudson Mayor William Currin said in a recent column, we have to get regionalism right if Northeast Ohio’s economy is going to prosper.
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Comments
# Submitted by Arnold L. Johnson (not verified) on Tue, 11/06/2007 – 15:31.
Let’s see, there are in reality no real industrial or business centers between west Cleveland and Sandusky. This means most of Lorain County has had to look to Cleveland for their work and business needs. Now counties west of Cleveland must pay Cuyahoga County a ransom to have access to traffic that passes thru (via I-90) because Cuyahoga feels threatened by growth in those western counties!! Regionally, Cuyahoga does not have the resourses, the business base or the JOBS to support all of northeast Ohio. Cuyahoga has a few economic flesh wounds that can heal over night with some care. Lorain County has been devastated in comparison yet Cuyahoga has the bigger concern, the largest voice. I think Cuyahoga County is only there in the NOACA to insure its own domination in the region. It is obvious that Cuyahoga County does not really care about the plight of its neighbors. Do we have to continue sticking our collective necks out there so they can bite and drink? Is regionalism really working for us? Do we need to rethink it? I’d say the counties with the most need should have the most voice.
# Submitted by Peter Holmes on Thu, 11/08/2007 – 12:06.
The Ohio Department of Transportation’s desire to eliminate inner-belt interchanges in Cleveland’s Mid-Town and Quadrangle neighborhoods will have a predictable outcome: businesses will relocate outside Cleveland. The justification enabling thru traffic to travel faster through center city Cleveland is in contrast to the positions taken in Lorain County. The net net is that highways are political, and real estate interests are among politicians’ biggest supporters. When traffic engineers supposedly drive the process of expanding or enhancing roadways, look under the onion skin to find out what is really going on.
