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Federal grant sought by city, YSU and other partners
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
A proposed project would link Youngstown State University, St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, the city’s downtown and Mill Creek MetroParks.
“The targeted area is the corridor from Mercy Health to Wick Park and down Fifth Avenue to the Spring Common Bridge,” said Michael Hripko, YSU’s associate vice president for research. “We’re calling it Meds to Eds to Tech to Rec.”
The city is the lead entity for a U.S. Department of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant.
There are several partners in the project including YSU, Eastern Gateway Community College, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown and Western Reserve Transit Authority.
“We also talked with Fifth Avenue and downtown developers,” Hripko said. “We tried to engage a large constituency as we put this together.”
The project is expected to cost about $20 million, and the application requests about $15 million.
“The remainder will be cost share,” Hripko said.
Mayor John C. McNally said the partners have been in discussion for more than two years to “do something that made sense both practically and economically.”
The entities used Aecom, a consultant based in Los Angeles, to help with the application, which was due Friday.
One idea is improving the connection between YSU and the city’s downtown and to “help more low-to-moderate-income folks access transportation.”
The corridor could include a bicycle path and the number of lanes reduced on Fifth between the Madison Avenue Expressway and downtown. McNally said the lane reduction was a recommendation in a safety study about 10 years ago.
A bike path also is proposed from behind Vallourec to connect to the park. He said Mill Creek MetroParks is supporting the project. The project’s second phase includes a bike path between downtown and the park.
Hripko said that when the partners learn if the grant has been awarded likely depends on how many applications are submitted. They hope to learn within six months.
The TIGER Discretionary Grant allows the transportation department “to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives,” the U.S. DOT website said.
The grant started in 2009, and since then, Congress has dedicated about $4.6 billion for projects benefiting the country, a region or a metropolitan area.