Council reviews $8.5 million in proposed sidewalk and trail extensions, asks for prioritization and outside funding

City Engineer Don (last name not specified) presented a package of proposed sidewalk and multiuse-trail extensions to the Pepper Pike City Council, showing route maps, home counts served and high-level cost estimates and asking council to prioritize which corridors should move into design.

The presentation matters because the projects together would extend the city—s pedestrian network, serve hundreds of households and carry multi-million-dollar price tags that the city expects to offset in part with outside grants and county partnerships.

Don said the maps reflected work the city began in 2023 and public input that favored a mix of 5-foot sidewalks and 10-foot multipurpose trails. He walked council through six priority areas—including Brainerd Road (Cedar to the Fairmount/Kurzdale intersection), several segments of Fairmount, Pine Tree, and a large Cedar Road frontage—showing estimated households served and planning-level costs.

The two corridors Don highlighted as delivering the most homes per dollar were the Brainerd Road segment from Cedar to Kurzdale and a Fairmount extension tying Snowberry and Chestnut streets to Gates Mills Boulevard. Don described the Brainerd segment as serving roughly 230 homes and estimated its design-and-construction cost at about $960,000. He said the Fairmount section that would pick up Snowberry and Chestnut would serve about 167 homes and was priced at about $1.35 million. Don gave additional estimates: a Brainerd/Fairmount segment at about $1.25 million, a separate Fairmount piece at about $680,000, Pine Tree at about $750,000 and a Cedar Road frontage project estimated at roughly $3 million because it likely requires bridge or culvert work and multiple signal modifications.

Don told the council he built some cushion into the numbers to reflect potential surprises such as signal replacements or environmental mitigation. He said Cedar Road in particular could involve bridge construction, drainage remediation and multiple signal upgrades, which drives the higher cost.

Council members pressed on timing, coordination and staging. Don recommended beginning survey and design work in the fall so projects could be ready for construction next summer where feasible; he noted that some segments will be timed to other infrastructure work (for example, sanitary sewer work on parts of South Woodland that will influence when sidewalks there should be built). He also said the city plans to pursue outside funding where possible, naming the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and county grant programs as funders the city has worked with previously.

Several members urged the city to prioritize projects that deliver the most residents per dollar and to return with a recommended grouping for initial design work. Don said his preliminary recommendation for the two top priorities would be the Brainerd segment (Cedar to Kurzdale) and the Snowberry/Chestnut Fairmount extension because they tie large residential areas into existing trails and have relatively straightforward designs compared with Cedar Road.

The council did not take any formal vote or adopt specific projects at the meeting. Don said he would make the maps and the spreadsheet of counts and costs available to councilmembers, and recommended reconvening discussion in early fall to set a priority list and to start surveying and design work for the chosen segments.

The discussion also touched on stakeholder coordination: projects abutting neighboring communities or crossing county-owned signals will require intergovernmental agreements, and segments that touch institutional properties (for example, school campuses or places of worship) will require early conversations with those property owners about access and security. Don recommended feasibility conversations with those stakeholders before advancing final designs.

Council members asked for a simple prioritization and a grouped cost plan showing which projects could be built together under typical grant-size envelopes. Don said he would prepare a recommendation and that early fall (September) would be an appropriate time to firm up priorities and contract survey and design work.

The presentation followed earlier work on the Gates Mills Boulevard project; Don said that project remains under construction and that landscaping and some plant replacement work will continue into the fall under the contractor—s warranty and maintenance bond.

Looking forward, Don and council members discussed pursuing external grants for larger corridors and coordinating timing with neighboring jurisdictions where corridors cross municipal lines. No formal motions were made and no appropriations were approved at this meeting.