Council moves to secure Safe Routes to School grant for South End sidewalks; March 6 application deadline

City engineering and the safety-service director urged council to move quickly on Resolution 2026-16, an application to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for Safe Routes to School grant funding to complete sidewalk and pedestrian crossing work in a South End neighborhood. The administration said ODOT recently doubled the program's maximum grant to $1,000,000, improving the city's chances of funding phases 2 and 3 of a multi-phase project.

Quentin, the project presenter, told council phase 1 is fully funded and stage-3 plans were just received, making the project ready for construction this summer. He said the city will request funding for phases 2 and 3 in the next round and described local factors that strengthen the application, including the ODOT active-transportation need map rating (level 3 of 4) and safety data: "Some of them actually just in 2025 I was looking at the data we had 5, I believe, pedestrian or pedal cycle related incidents" in the project area.

Staff asked council to suspend readings on the grant-resolution so the application can be submitted before the March 6 deadline; council voted to move the resolution to third reading and then adopted Resolution 2026-16 by roll call. Resolution 2026-17 (related construction-bid authorization) was taken to a second reading and will be amended before bidding because the construction funds are in ODOT's FY27 and bid solicitation cannot start until July 1.

Council members described the neighborhood as a high priority where children walk to school without continuous sidewalks and applauded engineering staff for rapid progress. Staff noted some sidewalk segments cross private property and that certain crossings and rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) already are in place from previous work.