Action Alert: E. 55th Safety Action Plan

 

In early 2023, Bike Cleveland convened a meeting of the Community Development Corporations serving neighborhoods along E. 55th to discuss the high number of traffic crashes on the corridor. Safe streets advocates across the organizations agreed that improvements were urgently needed up and down E. 55th. The coalition – which includes St. Clair-Superior Development, Famicos Foundation, Midtown Inc., Burten Bell Carr, Slavic Village Development, LAND Studio, Cleveland Metroparks, and GCRTA – advocated for the prioritization of safety improvements on E. 55th.

Now, Bike Cleveland is excited to support the E. 55th Safety Action Plan – a first step towards adding separated bike lanes along the entire corridor. Learn more & help us collect feedback at the links below:

Take the survey here!

Learn more about existing conditions on E. 55th & the project here!

 

Throughout October, Bike Cleveland supported the City of Cleveland in their community outreach efforts, doing pop-ups at different locations along E. 55th. Bike Cleveland staff distributed surveys at key locations, led a ride with consultants along the corridor, and planted yard signs along 55th to promote the project. 

 

This plan is the first step to getting major changes to the roadway. The E. 55th Safety Action Plan will confirm community support of safety improvements, get cost estimates, identify priority locations for additional or enhanced crosswalks, create basic design concepts for separated bicycle facilities along the entire corridor, and more. Following this plan, funding will need to be identified & the corridor would enter detailed design. The E. 55th Safety Action Plan survey will be open through the end of November & the plan will be finalized at the end of the year. 

Separated bike lanes along E. 55th would not only provide a safe & comfortable north-south connection for bicyclists, but would also slow down traffic to improve safety for motorists and pedestrians by narrowing the roadway.

We are thrilled to be partners in this exciting project and will push for real changes to be made on the roadway rapidly.