Good Works Columbus: March 11, 2024
Homelessness response survey, affordable housing, new Eastland survey, and more!
Intro
Hi everyone, happy Monday! Thank you to everyone that came out for the KickButt Columbus litter pick up over the weekend. The impact from the Keep Columbus Beautiful Team:
The numbers are still rolling in but so far they are as follows…
· Over 343 bags of litter collected
· Over 10,290 pounds of litter
· Over 106 Volunteers
· Over 237.39 Volunteer hours
· Over $7,549.02 in community impact
Some of the more ‘interesting’ items found during the clean-ups were a rusty chainsaw, a whole bicycle, king crab legs, and even a cell phone that the team was able to return to its owner!
If you missed out you can create your own litter pick up through “Keep Columbus Beautiful”. They’ll take care of supplies and the trash pick up. Take a look here for more information.
Also, a note that this month’s Transit Columbus meeting has been moved to Tuesday, 3/26 at 7pm at the main library.
If you have an upcoming event or a link you’d like to share for the newsletter, feel free to send suggestions. Please let me know if I missed something!
Things you can do in person
Check out the “Save the Date” section below for upcoming things to do in person!
Things you can do online
(5 minutes) Complete the Eastland Community Survey #2. Check out the slide deck from the latest public engagement meeting here.
(2 minutes) Urge Congress to Invest in Affordable Homes in Fiscal Year 2025
Robust federal investments for affordable housing, homelessness, and community development programs are needed to address the growing affordable housing and homelessness crisis in communities across the country.
The MTP is a long-range planning document that identifies transportation policies, strategies, and projects in MORPC’s federally designated transportation planning area. This area includes Delaware County; Franklin County; Bloom and Violet townships in Fairfield County; New Albany, Pataskala, and Etna Township in Licking County; and Jerome Township in Union County.
Draft strategies have been identified and are available for review and comment. These strategies will be used to create an efficient and comprehensive transportation system for the region. In addition to the strategies, MORPC also identifies transportation projects to be included in the MTP.
Public comments can be submitted directly on the MTP interactive map, by e-mail to mtp@morpc.org or submitted in writing to:
MORPC
111 Liberty Street, Suite 100, Columbus, Ohio 43215
Attn: Maria Schaper
Public comments on the proposed projects must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024.
Save the Date
(NEW DATE) Transit Columbus monthly meeting Tuesday 3/26 at 7pm (Columbus Main Library)
Share your input by attending a Bike Plus Open House!
During these meetings, you can expect to establish a vision network, discuss prioritization and advise on policy recommendations. Everything will be in draft form, but we are excited to be working collaboratively with our partners and the public in creating Bike Plus.
A complete draft of the 2024-2050 MTP will be available for review and comment in late February at the 2024-2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan webpage. MORPC will host an open house at its office from 3:30-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. A formal presentation to review the proposed changes will take place at 5:30 p.m.
In Case You Missed It
Primary elections
Voting for the primary elections are now under way. You can vote early at your board of elections. Highly recommend following Senator Meow’s sample ballot. Go here for Meow’s reasoning and give their newsletter a follow if you haven’t already.
LinkUS Engagement Survey (2 minutes)
“Two new bills—from Senators Ed Markey and John Fetterman respectively—set Complete Streets as a minimum design mandate, taking a step towards safer streets for all road users. With over 40,000 pedestrian deaths on our roadways in the last decade, there’s no time to lose. Tell your senator to cosponsor the Building Better Streets Act and Complete Streets Act!”
“The City of Gahanna is working to develop an Active Transportation Plan to improve walking and biking in the community. The Plan will include infrastructure and program and policy recommendations.
We are in the information gathering phase and interested in learning from you about opportunities and barriers to walking and biking in the City of Gahanna. Please take this survey to share your input.”
Mark up the Vision Zero Columbus map. Have a close call walking, biking, or getting around town? Do you know a dangerous intersection that can be improved? Help identify these spots on the Vision Zero map.
Upper Arlington Public Library workers are forming a union. Tell the UA Library board to recognize their union!
(Housing Survey: 5-10 minutes) “The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) has launched its latest survey in the “Leaders Listen” series, in partnership with Measurement Resources Company and The Columbus Dispatch, to gauge Central Ohio residents’ opinions on experiences and services related to housing in the region.”
(2 minutes) Tell your elected officials to stop highway expansions! “A coalition of 200 organizations nationwide is calling on elected leaders to adopt a moratorium on expanding highways and a pause on existing projects until climate, equity, and maintenance goals are met. Tell your elected leaders to end the destructive, unsustainable practice of highway building and set a responsible course toward a cleaner and more equitable future.”
Sign up to gather signatures for the “Citizens Not Politicians” Amendment and help end gerrymandering in the state of Ohio through this ballot initiative. Link to become a signature gatherer.
Have a great day everyone!