Car Less Ohio

From Columbus Business First:

Ohio Department of Transportation Director James Beasley on Thursday announced plans to retire next week.

Beasley, who served as Brown County engineer for 27 years before joining Gov. Ted Strickland’s cabinet in 2007, will serve his last day at ODOT Jan. 30. His replacement will be Jolene Molitoris, the department’s assistant director and chairwoman of the Ohio Rail Development Commission.

Strickland in a statement Thursday said Beasley made “lasting impacts” in his short time in office.

“He has led ODOT in a way that ensured integrity and ethics in the agency, instilled fiscal accountability and restraint, and modernized ODOT to think beyond just the highway system,” Strickland said.

During Beasley’s tenure, he broadened the focus of the department to include several modes of transportation, including bicycle and pedestrian. Molitoris said in a statement that she plans to further that work.

“As director, I look forward to working closely with our public and private partners to truly transform transportation and move Ohio into a prosperous new world,” she said.