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Cleveland Heights seeks adoption of Safe Streets plan, aims for federal grant applications
Summary
Council heard a presentation of the Comprehensive Equitable Safety Action Plan (CSAP), developed under the federal Safe Streets for All program, and signaled support to adopt the plan and pursue demonstration and implementation grants to fund road safety projects.
Cleveland Heights officials presented the city’s Comprehensive Equitable Safety Action Plan (CSAP) to the Committee of the Whole on April 7 and said they will seek council adoption so the city can pursue federal Safe Streets for All demonstration and implementation funding.
Planning Director Zantz, presenting the plan, said the study reviewed a 10-year crash history and identified over 7,000 crashes in the city and multiple fatal and serious-injury incidents in recent years. “We looked at where these things are happening,” Zantz said, and the plan targets segments and intersections with high fatality and injury counts.
Nut graf: The CSAP follows the federal Safe Streets for All approach and focuses on engineering, enforcement, education and equity; adoption would allow Cleveland Heights to apply for demonstration funds and later for implementation grants to build pedestrian, bicycle and intersection safety improvements.
Key projects and policy recommendations noted in the presentation included: - Corridor and segment improvements such as Lee Road, Mayfield Road, Taylor Road and Monticello Road. - Intersection treatments including leading pedestrian intervals and high-visibility crosswalks at Cedar and Lee and other locations. - Policy changes to require sidewalks for new development, evaluate speed limits, and emphasize multimodal designs rather than relying on enforcement alone for traffic calming. - Continued attention to lighting improvements in business and neighborhood corridors.
Director Zantz said the plan was developed with broad engagement: a technical advisory committee including city staff, Cuyahoga County staff, RTA, police and fire, the schools and advocates; public pop-up events; a street team that gathered input from neighbors and schoolchildren; and an online comment map. Zantz said 47 public comments were received on the draft, 44 in support and 1 opposed.
Council members asked about state routes and jurisdictional hurdles (for example, Mayfield Road is a state route) and whether that would complicate implementing calming measures; Zantz said state designation may add a procedural hurdle but should not prevent improvements. Zantz said the city will report progress annually as required by the grant program and treat the CSAP as a living document.
Next steps: Council was asked to adopt the CSAP to support grant applications; staff said the city will apply for demonstration and implementation grants and continue to pursue other funding sources.
