ACTION ALERT: Save The Midway
Update 2/22: Rep. Patton is removing the amendment in HB23 that would have ended the long-awaited Superior Midway. Thank you to all of our partners who emailed, called, and submitted testimony. Now the real work begins in engineering and constructing a world-class bikeway in Cleveland.
Learn more about the Midway and sign-up to get email update on the project at MidwayCLE.org.
Thanks to everyone who responded to our action alert and sent emails, made phone calls and submitted proponent testimony. Support our work to advance the Midway and a connected bike network by becoming of Bike Cleveland.
The Ohio House Finance Committee is discussing HB23, the state transportation budget. Recently language was added to the bill that would limit local governments ability to design bike lanes on their roads and specifically would prohibit the construction of the Superior Avenue Midway in Cleveland.
The language reads: “Compels ODOT to establish for the uniform application of the construction of bicycle lanes. Prohibits a bicycle lane in the middle of a street or highway in a municipality with a population over 300,000.”
This language would jeopardize the Superior Midway, a City of Cleveland project, that will provide a safe, convenient, and comfortable link for people biking along Superior Avenue between E. 55th Street and Public Square. The Superior Midway, a 2.4 mile, center of the roadway, curbed and landscape-buffered bike facility, is the result of almost 12 years of planning, community engagement, and study. You can learn more about the project at MidwayCLE.org.
While this project is unique in many ways, it would not be the first center-aligned protected bicycle facility. A local example would include Big Creek Parkway, and broader examples would be the Queens Boulevard Protected Bikeway, Sands Street, and Allen/Pike Streets in New York City – the latter which exist in a population zone that far surpasses the level indicated in this amendment. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration provides guidance on center-of-the-road protected bike lanes in their Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide .
Local municipalities and counties understand what’s needed on our roadways. According to the Federal Highway Administration’s in their guidance on bicycle lanes as a proven safety countermeasure, “Bicycle lane design should vary according to roadway characteristics (e.g., motor vehicle volumes and speed) in order to maximize the facility’s suitability for riders of all ages and abilities.” The language added to HB23 is not rooted in any real engineering principles or safety concerns — it is a targeted attempt by a state legislator to assert control over a city that is not even in their district.
Take action below and urge the Ohio House Finance Committee to remove this language related to local roadway designs and bikeways.