The Cuyahoga County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan will outline steps to develop a safe transportation network and empower our communities and transportation agencies to make changes that reduce crashes.
Just Awarded: Safe Streets & Roads for All Grant
County Planning in collaboration with Cuyahoga County applied for and was recently awarded $600,000 in Safe Streets & Roads for All (SS4A) grant funding for the development of a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan for Cuyahoga County. The SS4A program was established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with $5 billion in appropriated funds over 5 years. The SS4A program funds initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries.
The SS4A program supports the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy and its goal of zero roadway deaths using a Safe System Approach. Over 1,400 communities have received $2.7 billion in Federal funding through this program.
County Planning in collaboration with Cuyahoga County The goal of the Cuyahoga County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan is to enhance safety and reduce fatalities and serious injuries in our transportation system. Cuyahoga County is home to 1.2 million residents that live in highly developed urban areas, suburban communities, and semi-rural areas. Over the five years from 2017 to 2021, there have been 484 persons killed in fatal crashes in Cuyahoga County—events that upend lives, families, and communities—and that number is moving in the wrong direction. The number of persons killed in fatal crashes has more than doubled from 2018 to 2021, and when analyzed by race, 54% of those killed in fatal crashes were Black, despite those identifying as Black or African American alone comprising just 29% of Cuyahoga County’s total population.
The Cuyahoga County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan will bolster efforts to address safety in our transportation network. The plan will include a detailed safety analysis of existing crashes; deep community engagement; recommended infrastructure and non-infrastructure changes to address safety concerns; an understanding of how crashes and recommended changes impact racial, socio-economic, and mobility groups; and a comprehensive action plan that combines this information.
Coordination with Cuyahoga County Communities
A number of communities within Cuyahoga County have already completed or are in the process of completing Safety Action Plans, either using local funds or using funds provided through previous DOT SS4A grants. These communities include the Cities of Cleveland, Lakewood, Cleveland Heights, Euclid, Rocky River, and Independence. The Cuyahoga County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan will gather data for the County as a whole—including these jurisdictions—to identify a high injury network regardless of municipal borders. We will layer in local findings and recommendations from jurisdictional plans into one comprehensive plan that builds upon the work of individual municipalities.
For more information on local Safety Actions Plans, please visit those community websites:
- Vision Zero Cleveland
- Safe Streets 4 Cleveland Heights
- Euclid Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Action Plan
- Safe Streets for Lakewood (forthcoming)
- Rocky River SS4A (forthcoming)
- Independence SS4A (forthcoming)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do a countywide SS4A plan?
The countywide SS4A plan will look comprehensively at safety issues throughout the 59 cities, villages, and townships of Cuyahoga County. This will allow safety to be understood across municipal borders and will allow all of Cuyahoga communities to access federal funding without having to do individual plans.
How will communities pay for implementation?
Communities have many funding sources at the local, state, and national level available to address safety issues. A complete SS4A plan is also a prerequisite to applying for SS4A implementation dollars that are available from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2024, more than $800 million worth of SS4A implementation funding was awarded to communities.
How much funding was County Planning Awarded?
County Planning in partnership with Cuyahoga County was awarded $600,000 in grant funding to complete a Safety Action Plan. This funding will be supplemented with in-kind planning services from County Planning.
Who else has been awarded funding?
More than 1,400 communities across the nation have been funded through this program. .
Will private planning firms be able to bid on the work?
Yes, we anticipate that private planning firms will be able to bid on the work. We expect that a request will be announced in early 2025.
Our firm is interested in bidding on this plan. Can I reach out to County Planning?
Thank you for your interest in this project. At this time, we do not have additional information about the request for qualifications/proposals. Please return to this page later in 2024 for additional information. If you would like to be added to a contact list, please email phewitt@cuyahogacounty.gov.
When will the project start?
We anticipate the planning process to begin in 2025.
Are communities required to do a separate study to be eligible for Implementation funding?
No, communities in Cuyahoga County do not need to complete a separate planning study to be eligible for implementation funding.
Is the narrative from your grant application available?
Sure thing! Here’s the Cuyahoga County SS4A Application Narrative.
Where can I learn more?
Check back at this website or learn more about the federal program at the SS4A web page.
Contact Us
Questions or comments about the SS4A Cuyahoga County Comprehensive Safety Action Plan should be directed to:
Mr. Patrick Hewitt, AICP
Planning Manager, Strategy & Development
phewitt@cuyahgoacounty.gov