CLEVELAND — People who live or work around Superior had a chance to hear the latest from Major Transportation Project Coordinator David Bass on the city’s Midway Project.
The Superior Midway Project is this vision to make Superior more of a complete and green street. Complete in the sense that it accommodates all modes of transportation that people are using,” said Bass.
The city plans to build a $24.5 million landscaped median with a sidewalk bikeway down the middle of Superior Ave from Public Square to east 55th Street, an effort to make Cleveland a 15-minute travel city.
“You will still be able to drive easily on Superior, but now you'll also be able to ride your bike along superior, walk along superior and also cross much more safely,” said Bass.
Allowing people to get wherever they need to go in a short distance.
“This is fantastic, and I think this is a great thing for the neighborhood,“ said Cleveland resident James Sulecki.
Sulecki and his wife moved to Cleveland because they were looking for a more bikeable and walkable neighborhood.
“We're hoping that there's a general trend in Cleveland, and a lot of people who have left the city and moved in the suburbs like us will come back into the city,” said Sulecki.
And while some community members are looking forward to the project, others have concerns. After conducting a survey, Bass said businesses had concerns about parking changes and community members had questions about traffic patterns.
“To address those concerns we are adding mountable medians along certain portions of the median to allow trucks to use that space to then back into those driveways. There will be street parking along the curb side lanes from East 18th to East 55th street,” said Bass.
Bass said they are also making sure that all existing crosswalks will remain, as well as adding new crosswalks and a new signal at East 25th Street.
But a bigger update is the Rail Bridge project happening around East 39th Street.
“They are replacing the two piers in the roadway with just one pier in the middle of the roadway. so that has a significant impact of this portion of the project,” said Bass.
Bass said the Rail Bridge project will not be completed until 2028.
“Which means that we need to redesign that section of the midway, and also would not be able to finish construction of that section of the midway until the bridge work is completed,” said Bass.
The city plans to continue consulting with business owners in the area to make sure their needs are being met. Bass said they will be finalizing the design in December, and they are anticipating construction to be happening between August of 2026 and into 2028.
