Ohio Grants $2 Million to Clifton/Lake Multi-Use Trail Connector Project in Lakewood and Rocky River

The Lake-Clifton Connector, a 1.3-mile shared use pathway that links Rocky River with the western edge of Lakewood, is set to break ground later this year. Credit: OHM / Cuyahoga County

Lakewood’s 2024 Walking School Bus guide, a pamphlet PSA highlighting the age-old benefits of ditching four wheels, urges parents to be aware of a kind of paradox: reaping the health perks of taking the sidewalk while also staying clear of cars.

“Students are expected to walk responsibly the entire way, stay on the sidewalk, be extra cautious at all intersections, and obey all traffic signals,” the guide reads, amongst suggested roads and routes.

“Parents are encouraged to walk with their own child(ren),” it adds, “until they are confident their student(s) can walk to school responsibly.”

Starting late next year, that walk from the front porch to school lobby will get a smidge less worrisome for parents. (Especially those of Horace Mann Elementary.)

And for Lakewooders in general.

On Thursday, Cuyahoga County announced that the Lake-Clifton Connector, the mile-and-a-quarter makeover of Clifton Boulevard and Lake Avenue, received roughly $2 million from a state transportation grant.

Set to cost Lakewood, Rocky River and the county upwards of $11 million, the connector will be both cities’ first major separated and shared-use trail outside of the Metroparks — a trail that will wind through trees and planters on the north side of Clifton from Webb Road to Linda Street.

The makeover of the Clifton Road Bridge will include a total repaving of its northern side, with tree planters, a cycletrack and benches, early renderings show. Credit: OHM / Cuyahoga County

The county and its architect decided that a roundabout was the best solution for traffic flow near the Lake Avenue-Clifton Boulevard intersection. Credit: OHM / Cuyahoga County

Along with the inaugural build of Cleveland Moves, with separated bike lanes installing in Downtown’s Gateway District this month, the push forward represents a substantial score by the county amidst a state budget seemingly skeptical of funding anything transportation-related outside of the automobile.

But County Executive Chris Ronayne is taking the wins when he can get them.

“This active transportation investment will not only better connect the county through multiple modes of transportation,” he said in a press release, “it will also bring health and economic benefits to residents of our communities.”

In October 2021, some six years after the idea crystallized, county engineers and planners convened residents at Horace Mann to help architects whittle down design efforts of the connector from two separate concepts.

Which pretty much came down to two options: A roundabout or high-intensity flashing signals? (The roundabout design won, the county said.)

Recent designs seem to suggest an 11- to 23-foot shared use trail taking up most of the Lakewood side of Clifton, and replacing a northern lane on the Clifton Road Bridge. And throughout, planters and tree lawns.

That design, for which Lakewood paid $1.4 million, will also include “colored concrete crossings, enhanced lighting, and the installation of new signage,” according to the county.

It’s set to break ground later this year.