Solon council approves application for downtown sidewalk funding

The Solon City Council on Oct. 6 passed Ordinance No. 2025-190, authorizing the mayor or his designee to submit an application to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) for Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) funding to design multipurpose paths and sidewalks in and near downtown Solon.

The ordinance directs pursuit of funding for sidewalks and multipurpose paths on Bainbridge Road from Som Center Road to Solon Road, on Solon Road from Bainbridge Road to Station Street, and on Station Street. Councilmember Pulunas moved to approve the ordinance under suspension of the rules; Councilmember Khan seconded. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with all recorded members voting "Yes." The council declared the ordinance an emergency and gave final passage the same evening.

Mayor [unnamed] and council members described the project as an opportunity to add pedestrian infrastructure to downtown Solon and said they had discussed the proposal in caucus prior to the meeting. "We were all excited to move this forward anytime we can try to possibly get some funding for this and this is exciting just to add sidewalks into our downtown," the mayor said.

The ordinance authorizes the mayor or a designee to execute the application but does not commit city matching funds in the text read at the meeting. The agreement of the planning and engineering departments and future council approval would be required before construction funding or contracts could be finalized.

Ordinance: 2025-190, TLCI application for Bainbridge Road, Solon Road and Station Street design (declared emergency).