CLEVELAND, Ohio — Remember this number: 15.
The City of Cleveland is gearing up for its Cleveland Midway Project, an effort to make Cleveland a 15-minute travel city.
The plan involves overhauling at least two roadways and creating a premier urban bikeway—so there's safe transportation for everyone.
It's technically a two-part project.
There's the Superior Midway and then the Lorain Midway.
The Lorain Midway will be worked on in the future.
City officials say the project has been in talks for the last decade.
The overall goal is convenience.
Whether you're biking, driving or walking, they want you to be able to get to your destination in 15 minutes.
Marco Quaranta loves everything about Cleveland.
Looking out at Superior Avenue toward downtown—he can't help but wonder, will the Cleveland Midway Project be worth it?
"If people use it, I think it's good. But who knows? We may just have all this stuff in the middle of the road and could become an obstruction if nobody uses it," Quaranta said.
Crews plan to build a $24.5 million raised, landscaped median with a sidewalk bike path down the middle of Superior Avenue from Public Square to East 55th Street.
"Work towards creating a 15-minute city where people can walk, bike, and drive, take transit— to get basically everywhere they need to go in a short distance," David Bass, Major Transportation Project Coordinator for the City of Cleveland, said.
Bass says Superior Avenue is a historically wide street because street cars once ran down the middle.
With so much open space—it's been underutilized for decades and overused by countless reckless drivers.
Data shows Superior Avenue east of I-90 is the third highest corridor for fatal and serious injury crashes in Cleveland.
"If we can reclaim some of that space in the middle of the roadway to help calm traffic, then also provide safe connections for people riding bikes—that would be a really great thing to do throughout the city," Bass said.
Bass says the Superior Midway aims to connect folks to economic and recreation destinations while improving access for all.
While you can drive anywhere in 15 minutes—not everyone has that luxury.
"In Cleveland, about a quarter of people, a quarter of households, don't have access to a car," Bass said.
Faatimah Fisher and Flame Onsolo own and operate a mobile clothing business called the GOAT Attire.
They traditionally host pop-up events— up and down Superior Avenue and in several business parking lots.
They say getting drivers to pull over safely has been tough—since so many people speed up and down the road.
"If a car is just driving really fast—just going through, and you see somebody like on a bike or or scooter they can just be like hey—stop by here," Onsolo said.
They are eager for a potential boost to their business and others in the area once the project is completed.
"It probably would help. It would help because people have enough time to really take their time and look—and come and talk and get off their bike," Fisher said.
The city says safety is a top priority.
The project includes a raised landscaped median and sidewalk level bike-way with new traffic signals.
The project also aims to be eco-friendly, with fresh landscaping and overall encouragement from residents to utilize the space year-round.
It's something Quaranta is cautiously optimistic about.
"People taking less Ubers, people getting on their bikes. It'll be good in the summer. We'll see if people in the winter—if people are trudging through the snow on their bikes," Quaranta said.
Construction starts on the Superior Midway in late 2025 and runs through 2027.
The cost is covered mainly through federal funding.
The city is still working to secure funding for the Lorain Midway project.
It will create a bike-way network for 1.8 miles along Lorain Avenue between the Hope Memorial Bridge and West 65th Street.
There is no firm date on when that project will begin.
City leaders say they have completed a feasibility study on the Superior Midway.
They say there is no need to stress about congestion or potential delays during construction because there is so much empty and unused space already.
Superior Avenue will remain open to traffic on both sides during the entire duration of construction—since only the middle of the road will be worked on.
Eventually, the road will be re-paved as well.
News 5 will continue to follow through on each development.
