Community Advisory Committee Meeting [in-person only]

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Transportation

Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024
9:00 a.m. — 11:00 a.m. EST

1240 W 6th St. Cleveland, OH 44113 (Directions)

GCRTA Office, Main Office Board Room

The mission of the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is to serve RTA’s Board of Trustees, management, staff, users, and the general public in a proactive role as the pulse of the community in the promotion and provision of high-quality transportation programs and services.

The CAC consists of the following members:

Johnny Brewington: retired fire chief for the Village of Woodmere.
Brooklyn Burmeister: architectural designer for the DLR Group.
Brian Gibbons: member of Clevelanders for Public Transit and Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equality (NOBLE).
Charles Kennick: neighborhood development coordinator for the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation.
Alicia Howerton: committee vice chair and strategic partnership manager for the Cleveland Sight Center.
Nichole Laird: committee secretary and senior planner for the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission.
Loh: member of Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equality (NOBLE), ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County Action Committee, and Clevelanders for Public Transit.
Paul Meissner: financial controller for the Realife Real Estate Group/HSK Management.
Jonathan Sieck: serves on the board of directors for Neighborhood Family Practice.
Dr. Joseph Sopko: chair of the committee and a retired physician who worked at St. Vincent Charity Hospital. *Cole Ware: member of the Cleveland Heights Transportation and Environmental Sustainability Committee and co-founder of the Coventry Neighborhood Group.

Note: This meeting is in-person only, and RTA does not record the meeting. It may be helpful for your coverage to record audio of the meeting, but it is not a requirement of the assignment. We add two additional hours of pay to in-person assignments ($108 minimum payment).

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Cleveland - OH Documenters Team

Live reporting by Ayanna Rose Banks

Committee commits to a better process for outside input

asrosedevelopes

Hi, I'll be live tweeting the Nov 14th GCRTA Community Advisory Committee meeting✨for #CLEdocumenters 📷@CLEdocumenters & @signalcleveland

07:55 AM Nov 14, 2024 CST

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 2/26

This meeting will not be live streamed

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 3/26

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 4/26

First topic of discussion is the focus groups they have created and the goals they are trying to achieve

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 5/26

These focus groups were created to increase communication between the GRTA and the public and help them identify ways they can help the public and improve public transportation

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 6/26

These are studies they are targeting and meetings they have planned to have with the community

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 7/26

These are the key themes that they have been focused to date

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 8/26

It was asked by committee members if they are speaking with the deaf and blind communities and getting their inputs in these focus groups

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 9/26

The chair responded that they were considering the voices of all disabled communities

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 10/26

The Rule’s subcommittee addressed an issue in getting outside commentary to the CAC and revising the guidelines for this communication

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 11/26

They are considering changing the language in section 7 of their guidelines to create a process for this communication and contact information for those wanting to reach out

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 12/26

This was moved to discussion before vote

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 13/26

A member of the committee noted that the committee doesnt meet very often, the next meeting being in February. There should be a away to get these comments to them in the time between meetings.

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 14/26

They Voted to agree with the changes in language in their guidelines

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 15/26

An individual wrote in to ask to share their ideas regarding safety on the RTA

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 16/26

One member asked if this was a good example of how they can utilize the new process they made for community comments and it was agreed

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 17/26

They voted to reach out to hear and consider their ideas

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 18/26

Another individual wrote in regarding transportation with the school systems and collaboration, specifically in East Cleveland

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 19/26

It was mentioned by a member that the school systems have the capability to apply for grants and funding to make up for a lack in transportation

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 20/26

It was acknowledged that the RTA has relationships and agreements with different schools and that they could look into the districts that they dont have agreements with and suggest ways for them to get more funding for transportation

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 21/26

A committee member brought up transportation after big games and how they fixed the issue of having enough trains available after big games

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 22/26

They discussed the progress and improvements they have made making sure game attendees are not stranded and there are enough trains with enough cars running late enough

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 23/26

A committee member addressed the covering of windows, which they have decided is a safety issue and they no longer will cover windows when wrapping vehicles

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 24/26

One of the committee members spoke positively of the new vinyl seats, while a different member expressed their discomfort and how they should find away to cushion the new seats

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 25/26

There will be a meeting at Saint Patrick’s church in Ohio city next Wednesday

asrosedevelopes @asrosedevelopes 26/26

Have questions? Think we got something wrong? Send any inquiries on the meeting or these tweets to @cledocumenters . Or email us at cledocumenters@gmail.com

View thread

Agency Information

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

See meeting notes for details

www.riderta.com

(216) 566-5100

gm@gcrta.org

@https://twitter.com/GCRTA

Facebook page

See Documenters reporting

GCRTA, or RTA, is a political subdivision of the state. Its Board of Trustees is charged with managing and conducting RTA’s affairs. The Board also establishes overall RTA administrative policies, which are implemented by the General Manager.