SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- South Euclid, along with Cleveland Heights and University Heights, could become home to Bike Boulevards, which are designed to provide bicyclists with safer paths to their destinations.
South Euclid City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday (Sept. 27) to seek a Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) TLCI grant to create Northeast Ohio’s first Regional Neighborhood Greenways Connectors.
The project would design and mark various safe bike routes.
Before the grant application is officially made, Cleveland Heights and University Heights city councils must first discuss and approve the project.
The project is part of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission’s Greenways Network initiative, which seeks to eventually include all county communities.
“It’s to create Bike Boulevards,” South Euclid Community Services Director Keith Benjamin said.
“So (as an example), instead of a bicyclist having to ride down Warrensville Center Road, which, with north-south traffic is crazy with cars going 35 miles an hour, you create these connectors that go north and south, in the same neighborhoods and same area, but you do them on side streets -- 25 mph streets where traffic is much slower.
“With signage and sharrow (pavement markings that seek to improve bicycle safety) markings, you create these neighborhood connectors -- connectors to our parks, connectors to schools and also connectors to other cities,” Benjamin said.
“There’s one proposed connector that would go all through South Euclid, up through University Heights, to Shaker Heights.”
Benjamin said Shaker Heights also has been involved in the planning of the Bike Boulevards, but said, “That’s just for scale. The three communities for this phase -- this is phase one -- are South Euclid, Cleveland Heights and University Heights.”
If funded, South Euclid will serve as the lead agency for the project. While the exact dollar amount of the grant is not known, Benjamin said it could be between $150,000 and $200,000.
The three cities would have to put some money into the project as a grant match.
“But implementing Bike Boulevards is not an expensive proposition,” said Benjamin, who writes South Euclid’s grants. “It’s mostly signs, implementing sharrows, education and awareness, and the implementation of some common sense traffic-calming measures.”
In a memorandum he wrote to South Euclid City Council, Benjamin stated: “Bicycle Boulevards are streets with low motorized traffic volumes and speeds, designated and designed to give bicycle travel priority. Bicycle Boulevards use signs, pavement markings, and speed and volume management measures to discourage through-trips by motor vehicles and create safe, convenient bicycle crossings of busy arterial streets.”
Benjamin stated that there is “no major construction associated with this project.”
“I think it’s a great idea, because the more we provide connections to various cities through alternate means -- bicycles, walking, things like that -- the better it is for the residents,” said South Euclid Councilman John Fahsbender.
“It’s no fun to ride a bike on the major arteries. You just can’t get from place to place.
“And if you have the designated bikeways, then you can get from your house to the parks and other places,” he said.
“What’s being contemplated is a countywide effort, so you’ll be able to get on these greenways and get to the lake, to the river and various other places.”
As part of a recent road improvement project, South Green Road in South Euclid had a lane for bicyclists added, as well as a number of street markings to provide safety for riders.
If NOACA grants the money, South Euclid, Cleveland Heights and University Heights would serve as the pilot region in implementing the Neighborhood Greenways plan. The grant application is due by Oct. 7.
To see a short video about Neighborhood Greenways, visit here.
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