SS4A program grants go directly to regional, local, and Tribal communities for implementation, planning, and demonstration projects driven at the local level to improve safety and help prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.

This first-of-its-kind program was created by President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is a part of the more than $14 billion in the law dedicated to roadway safety across the country.

In Cleveland, a majority Black major American city, the grant will fund safety improvements on St. Clair Avenue on the city's east side, as well as an extensive analysis of crash patterns in eight critical one-mile high-crash areas in Cleveland identified through the city's Vision Zero Action Plan and ongoing work.The immediate work in the St. Clair demonstration area will also be evaluated as a model for the other identified high-crash areas.

“We are grateful to our federal partners for this strategic investment in our Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic crash deaths in Cleveland by 2032,” said Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb in a news release “This grant directly supports our work on clear, measurable strategies that provide safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for our residents.”

The SS4A grant is the latest in a series of investments in safer streets that include ARPA investments in the city’s successful speed table pilot program, a partnership with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to improve pedestrian safety through the Pedestrian Safety Improvement Program, and a $1.8 million Federal SMART grant award.

“There are many layers to our efforts around safer streets and safer transportation--and that’s by design,” said Calley Mersmann, the city’s transit and mobility strategist. “Vision Zero re-frames safety in a way that focuses on the system through things like safer street design and speed management to prevent serious crashes. Human error is inevitable, but [some] traffic fatalities can be prevented.”

Mayor Bibb said that the city is also in the process of finalizing a contract with Toole Design Group to develop a citywide mobility plan that makes it easier, safer, more convenient, and more enjoyable to move around the city outside of a car.

Per the 2022 Complete and Green Streets ordinance, Cleveland is required to adopt such a plan at least every five years. city officials say the process is designed to meaningfully engage residents to build on recommendations from past comprehensive planning efforts, including the 2007 Bikeway Master Plan. It is also structured to guide bicycle infrastructure build-out, to identify needed improvements to pedestrian safety and accessibility, and to propose program and policy improvements for people walking and biking.

The citywide mobility plan process complements last year’s $50,000 technical assistance award to the city from City Thread, a national nonprofit mobility consultancy.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.