Cleveland Metroparks today announced it was awarded $950,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to advance the planning and design of four regional transportation projects that encompass 5.7 miles of trail and bicycle connections on Cleveland’s East Side. The projects were awarded federal funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants program and will support an overall $1.5 million planning project that leverages local funding from Cleveland Metroparks and the City of Cleveland.
 
  The four projects in the RAISE award are derived from the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan, a countywide trail and bikeway master plan that was completed in late 2019. The plan’s development was funded through the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency’s (NOACA) Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative (TLCI) program and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission, the project sponsor. The award is a direct result of collaboration between Cuyahoga County, the City of Cleveland and Cleveland Metroparks through the Cuyahoga Greenway Partners to advance several priorities in the ambitious Cuyahoga Greenways Plan.
 
  “We’re thrilled to advance these projects on Cleveland’s East Side that will have significant local and regional impacts on the region,” said Cleveland Metroparks CEO Brian M. Zimmerman. “I want to thank Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland for their work through the Cuyahoga Greenways Partners to prioritize these critical gaps, as well as thank the U.S. Department of Transportation for supporting our efforts to make Cleveland a more equitable and connected city.”

 
  The award advances four priority trail projects for implementation by developing full design documents for two projects and moving the remaining two through the feasibility stage. Collectively named the RAISE Cleveland Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning project, the awarded application encompasses the following projects:
 
Slavic Village Downtown Connector Phase 2 North
Awarded funds for the full design of 2.2 miles of bicycle connection from E. 14th St. to the intersection of Broadway Ave. & Dille Ave. It will connect the Slavic Village neighborhood and completed Morgana Run Trail to the Towpath Trail through Cleveland Metroparks Washington and Ohio & Erie Canal reservations along with Downtown Cleveland. It will also connect to the all purpose trail built as part of ODOT's Innerbelt Project along Orange Ave. that connects to E. 14th St. and on to the E. 9th St. Extension.
 
Morgana Run-Booth Ave. Extension
  Awarded funds for the full design of a 0.8 mile all purpose trail to link the completed Morgana Run Trail to the Mill Creek Falls area of Garfield Park Reservation. It will also connect to the Warner Road bike lanes and Mill Creek Connector Trail, as well as the future Slavic Village Downtown Connector via the Morgana Run Trail.
 
Iron Ct. to Opportunity Corridor
  Awarded funds for feasibility-level planning a proposed 0.7 mile connection from the Western Terminus of Opportunity Corridor Trail at E. 55th to the Slavic Village Downtown Connector Trail near Iron Court/Broadway Area.
 
Euclid Creek Greenway Phase 2 North
  Awarded funds for feasibility-level planning of a proposed two-mile bicycle connection between the lower Euclid Creek Reservation to its lakefront portion. The proposed connection would build on Cleveland Metroparks first phase of the Euclid Creek Greenway that will connect Euclid Creek Parkway to Euclid Avenue that will be constructed in 2022.
 
  Projects for RAISE funding were evaluated by the U.S. Department of Transportation on merit criteria including safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation and partnership. Project applications that demonstrated improvements to racial equity, reduce impacts of climate change and create good-paying jobs were prioritized.
 
  RAISE, formerly known as the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, is a highly competitive program and $30 million was available nationwide for the planning and engineering of projects in 2021 through the RAISE program.
 
  Cleveland Metroparks previously received a TIGER award in 2016 for the Re-Connecting Cleveland: Pathways to Opportunity Project, which supported construction of the Red Line Greenway, Whiskey Island Trail, Wendy Park Bridge, and the Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and Canal Basin Park Connectors. For more information on the RAISE program, visit: www.transportation.gov/RAISEgrants/about.
 
  For more information on Cleveland Metroparks RAISE Cleveland Bicycle & Pedestrian Planning project, visit: www.clevelandmetroparks.com/RAISEPlanning.