Write ODOT in Support of the West Shoreway
Bike Cleveland and the City of Cleveland encourage cyclists to email or write the Ohio’s “Transportation Review Advisory Council” to express your support for the West Shoreway project. Here is a snap shot of the West Shoreway project-
What is the West Shoreway project?
The West Shoreway project (“Lakefront West”) will transform a 2½-mile freeway-style road along Cleveland’s lakefront into a tree-lined lakefront boulevard. The project will replace the current concrete barrier with a landscaped median and will create connections between city neighborhoods and the lakefront for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
The project will give Clevelanders better access to the lakefront and to Edgewater Lakefront State Park and will create safe cycling routes along the Shoreway, change the image of Cleveland from old rustbelt city to that of a vibrant 21st century waterfront community, spur development and revitalization in neighborhoods along the West Shoreway, eliminate critical safety hazards for motorists and pedestrians at West 28th Street and the Shoreway in Ohio City, and eliminate the ramp to Edgewater Drive at the west end of the road, thereby connecting Edgewater Lakefront State Park to the Cudell-Edgewater neighborhood.
Will the West Shoreway project create traffic problems?
No! By changing the speed limit of the West Shoreway from a freeway-like 50 mph to a parkway-like 35 mph, the project will add only 75 seconds to the trip from west to east. Since the opening of I-90 on the west side, traffic volumes on the West Shoreway have dropped from about 82,000 to less than 34,000 vehicles per day. There will be no congestion on the West Shoreway, with or without the project.
Is there public support for the West Shoreway project?
Thousands of Clevelanders participated in eight years of community meetings on the West Shoreway project and expressed overwhelming support for the project. Failure to fund the full project and move forward on schedule would be seen by many local residents and businesses as an example of a promise made and then broken.
Ask the TRAC to hold a public forum in Cleveland! Click here to download a sample letter, then e-mail the letter to TRAC@dot.state.oh.us or mail it to:
Ohio Department of Transportation
1980 West Broad Street
Columbus Ohio, 43223