CLEVELAND — Riders will be hopping back on their bikes as the weather starts to warm up and the city of Cleveland is looking to help them down the road by building a $24.5 million center bike lane on Superior Avenue, one of Cleveland’s busiest streets.

What You Need To Know

  • Cleveland has a fully-funded $24.5 million project to build a center bike lane

  • It will be on one of Cleveland's busiest streets, Superior Ave

  • The bike lane will be 2.4 miles long

Jacob VanSickle is the executive director of Bike Cleveland, an organization that advocates for bicyclists and pedestrians, and he said the organization is excited about this project. 

"This is a really important project in terms of reconnecting our city,” he said.

It will be a 2.4-mile bike lane, which VanSickle said will be a good safety measure. 

“What this project does is really creates organization on the street and helps people who aren’t necessarily in a car, use it safely,” he said. 

Despite the excitement, there have been some challenges. State Rep. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville), presented an amendment that would put the brakes on this project completely, but then on Tuesday announced that he is no longer supporting that. VanSickle said people should not have concerns.

“A lot of the concerns that he raised which were brought up by some of the local businesses along the corridor as well as the trucking industry, you know, a lot of those issues that they raised are issues that are addressed in the design process of the project which will be happening this year,” he said.

He said that the community will be involved during the design process and that if anyone has concerns about this being a safety hazard, that they really should not worry.

“Studies show that when you redesign a street and you narrow the lanes for cars and create space for bicycle and pedestrian accommodation, it actually makes the roadway safer for all road users,” he said.

VanSickle hopes that the new bike lane will get more people to spend time on their bikes or walking instead of inside or in their cars.

“It’ll encourage more people to get out and bike and walk versus having to hop in their car because they’ll be able to do it in a safe and comfortable environment,” he said.

The design and engineering process will happen over the next 18 months with construction slated to begin in 2025.