The North Royalton City Council unanimously adopted legislation that would authorize the Mayor to submit an application to help promote transportation options that were targeted in the city’s Alternative Transportation Plan. The application asks for $121,000 from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) funding through the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative.
The requested funding would extend the multi-use path that runs from Rt. 82, south, to North Akins Road on Bennett Road. That asphalt path was installed several years ago, when that section of Bennett Road was reconstructed. The request would extend the path, from South Akins Road, south, to the MetroPark’s Valley Parkway. “Of all the sidewalks, this really is a good project, connecting the existing trails and sidewalks” said North Royalton Community Development Director Tom Jordan. The Bennett Road path would connect all existing sidewalks near the center of the city to the All-Purpose Trail being completed by the MetroParks.
This is the second time the city has sought funding through the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative. North Royalton received funding for a comprehensive sidewalk study as part of the Alternative Transportation Plan. The plan analyzed existing conditions and provide short- and long-term recommendations, including feasibility studies and implementation strategies. The plan encourages complete and green streets, and activities that promote sustainable development and several modes of transportation. These activities include development plans that are transit-oriented; land use and transportation plans for redevelopment; pedestrian and bicycle network plans; traffic calming plans for neighborhoods and economic development plans that are based upon the investment in transportation.
According to the study, “while just over half of the town center has sidewalks, the remainder of the city lacks adequate sidewalk connections. . . To cultivate the town center and increase access to its destinations and amenities, it is important to focus on creating a sidewalk network that enables connections in and around the district. Based on the existing conditions analysis and public input from the survey and public meeting, a list of prioritized sidewalk connections was developed. The connections, taken as a whole, would greatly increase connectivity to and within the town center and between residential areas, and would enhance recreational opportunities in proximity to the Valley Parkway multi use path.” Seventeen areas were recommended to have sidewalks installed. Many on stretches of State, Royalton and York Roads.
The city also received $108,000 in funding through the Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative for a sidewalk that would connect Memorial Park to Route 82 on State Road. That project is expected to be bid out in the next several months, with construction expected next spring, according to Jordan. He noted that it took applications in two funding years in order to receive this award. The city expects to hear whether the application was accepted next March. NOACA will release the news of who will receive funding after their March 20, 2018 meeting.
In the meantime, the MetroPark’s All-Purpose Trail project continues. Jordan stated that the project is currently on schedule. “A new 10-foot-wide, paved trail along Valley Parkway is in the process of being constructed in two phases within Brecksville Reservation between Ridge Road in North Royalton and Brecksville Road in Brecksville. Phase I of the Valley Parkway Connector Trail will extend over three miles to provide a paved trail between Broadview Road in Broadview Heights to Brecksville Road . At Broadview Road, it will connect with the existing trail that accesses the City of Broadview Heights administrative and recreation complex to the north,” according to MetroParks Senior Strategic Park Planner, Sara Byrnes Maier. “With completion of the approximately three miles of Phase Il in 2018, there will be a continuous off-street paved all purpose trail from Detroit Avenue in Lakewood in the Rocky River Reservation to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Towpath Trail, which extends to New Philadelphia to the south and will soon extend to downtown Cleveland and the lakefront.” Phase II of the project will connect to the existing all purpose trail at the Stuhr Woods Picnic Area and on to the Mill Stream Run Reservation.
The plan for Phase II is to clear a 20-foot zone of trees and brush. According to Jordan, that is currently taking place. The project will start at Broadview Road and go west in sections. Once the zone is cleared, they will remove six inches of topsoil, then add six inches of crushed stone and three inches of asphalt. Curb ramps will be added to the intersections. In low areas, a retaining wall that will feature vertical gardens will be added.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer