Scenic Ohio grants 2007 Scenic Awards

Presented at a luncheon on Friday, July 27, 2007, at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium, Scenic Ohio was please to present awards to the following:

 The City of Akron, Mayor Don Plusquellic, for the design and building of Ohio’s first vegetative sound wall, proving that a vegetative approach to noise attenuation is a viable alternative to structural sound barriers.  The City and Scenic Ohio have requested that the Ohio Department of Transportation [ODOT] officially change its designation as a landscape demonstration project to a sound wall abatement, allowing Akron and other cities in Ohio to receive sound barrier funds for vegetative sound walls.

Ohio Historical Society and Ohio National Road Association for the Ohio Historic National Road Design Handbook for the Ohio Historic National Road Design Handbook, a handbook providing guidelines, tools and techniques for the communities along the historic National Road/U.S. 40 to “protect, preserve, enhance, develop this All- American Road”.  By creating a jurisdictional database, a project website to gather input from the public and through workshops, the project team produced the Design Handbook providing “guidelines and recommendations” for rural, urban and suburban settings along the 227 miles of National Scenic Byway and All- American Road

City of Cincinnati and the Hillside Trust of Greater Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Scenic View Study providing an inventory of all public viewing locations of the downtown/Ohio River area, with a strategy to preserve and protect these view sheds.   The Study provides a rational input on scenic issues of view encroachment and preservation with both public and private development projects in the Metro Area.

“The award winners demonstrate how intelligent and cost-effective attention to our scenic environment can make an important contribution to the liveability of our state,” said Scenic Ohio Chairman Christine Freitag of Akron.  “We want these communities to be seen as models for what should be happening throughout Ohio.”

Honored guests at the luncheon were Director and Mrs. James G. Beasley, director of the  Ohio Department of Transportation.

Strickland Appoints Director of Ohio Department of Transportation

Columbus, Ohio - Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Transition Chair Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman announced today the appointment of Brown County Engineer James Beasley, P.E., P.S, as the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation. Beasley will begin his duties March 5.  James Beasley, 57, has served as Brown County Engineer since 1980.  Beasley graduated from Ohio State University in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and earned his master's degree in hydraulic and hydrologic engineering from Ohio State University in 1973. Beasley resides on a farm outside Georgetown with his wife, Alta.  

"I am eager to work with our state's various regions and cities to ensure that all Ohioans have access to a quality, statewide transportation system," Beasley said. "This cooperation is absolutely necessary to ensure that economic development and job creation in every part of the state remain key priorities of the Ohio Department of Transportation."  

The Ohio Department of Transportation oversees Ohio's $2.1 billion annual transportation program. The department is responsible for designing, building and maintaining Ohio's nearly 20,000 miles of state, U.S. and interstate highways. Ohio has the second largest inventory of bridges, the fourth largest interstate highway system and the 10th largest highway system in the nation. ODOT also helps coordinate and develop Ohio's public transportation and aviation programs. These include 56 public transit systems and nearly 200 public airports. This appointment is subject to the advice and consent of the Ohio Senate.