Citywide Plan Home Page
Introduction - The capital improvements section identifies specific recommendations for maintaining and improving Cleveland’s transportation and transit infrastructure. A well functioning transportation system is vital to the economic vitality of the City. The type and location of these capital expenditures will also have a direct impact on the future pattern of land use, investment and development. In addition to maintaining the condition of the existing infrastructure, the City of Cleveland also faces issues related to improving business access to highways, providing improved public transit options and increasing the number of safe and attractive opportunities for non-motorized transportation.

Goals - Major goals addressed in Citywide Plan’s list of capital improvement recommendations include:

Transportation:

• Improvement of the innerbelt freeway, the innerbelt bridge and its approaches
• Developing stronger connections to Lake Erie
• Creating better north-south movements through the Cuyahoga Valley
• Extending the Towpath Trail to Downtown and connecting it to the neighborhoods
• Connecting the east side and University Circle better to the freeway system
• Upgrading the condition of a variety of existing roads, bridges and streetscapes.

Transit:

• Strengthening the corridor between Downtown and Euclid Avenue , two of the City’s major employment centers
• Improving transit-oriented development opportunities
• Expand rapid transit opportunities to more neighborhoods
• Accommodating inter-city rail transportation

A more complete description of issues and strategies can be found in the citywide Transportation Chapter of the Full Text Document . Transportation issues related to each Planning District are addressed in each of the District Chapters, also located within the Full Text Document.

Funding Capital Improvements – Capital improvements are funded through a combination of local, state and federal monies. The City of Cleveland generally provides local funds through the issuance of general obligation bonds. The bonds provide upfront pots of money for large projects and are repaid over a number of years with local tax dollars. Most large projects are undertaken with funds obtained from a variety of state and federal programs. The general obligation bonds provide the local share of projects costs that state and federal programs require. Some community development projects, such as the infrastructure improvements necessary to build a new housing proposal, are financed with 100 percent City money. How local capital improvement monies are allocated is determined by the City’s administration with approval from City Council.

Transportation and Transit Maps - By following the links below, citywide maps of the proposed transportation and transit recommendations can be accessed along with written descriptions of each project. The maps and lists do not include projects that are considered to be normal maintenance or do not change the capacity or nature of the facility. They do include projects that are considered catalytic to neighborhood or areawide improvement.