The Cuyahoga Greenway Partners work in support of active transportation infrastructure and increased mobility options in Cuyahoga County.

photo of a multi-purpose trailPlaces which support active living and transportation – such as walking or bicycling – are fast becoming valued and defining features of desired communities across the nation. To help foster regional prosperity and stay competitive with other urban regions, Cuyahoga County must accelerate the realization of a comprehensive system of trails, bikeways, and pedestrian routes connecting neighborhoods with destinations. To achieve this vision, collaborative planning and resource coordination are essential.

In 2014, in response to repeated suggestions from the growing biennial Greater Cleveland Trails and Greenways Conference for a coordinated approach to trail and bikeway development, the leaders of several agencies in Cuyahoga County formed the Cuyahoga Greenway Partners (CGP). The CGP is a collaboration of agencies and organizations in Cuyahoga County that actively works to advance the implementation of trail and bikeway projects identified in the Greenways Plan. Each CGP member organization has responsibilities in transportation, planning, infrastructure or advocacy related to trails, pedestrians and bicyclists and has assigned staff to do the work of the CGP. The CGP is not a legal entity, nor is it a funding body.

The CGP collaboration led to the development of the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan, a county-wide trail and greenway planning initiative, completed in 2019.Bicyclists on a trail in the Flats

The vision of the CGP is a completed, county-wide network of off-road trails and on-road, low-stress pedestrian and bicycle facilities accessible for persons of all ages and abilities for transportation, exercise and enjoyment.

The mission of the CGP is to foster both the activation of new trail and bikeway projects as well as the sustained operation of all trails and bikeways over time.

To fulfill this mission, the CGP has developed goals grouped as actions. They are:

  1. TARGET:
    • Identify projects and project leaders most ready to advance and engage citizen support of these projects
    • Identify and promote new uses of current capital project funding programs to enhance project activation
  2. LEVERAGE:
    • Coordinate with other capital projects (road, bridge, sewer, etc.) to co-construct trail and bikeway facilities when possible
    • Support skills of project leaders through best practice sharing and training
    • Develop advocacy to both build political and citizen support as well as bicycle and pedestrian-friendly policies at all levels.
  3. COMMUNICATE:
    • Develop common messaging and consistently communicate with stakeholders and the public through a variety of means (web presence, social media, public meetings, other planning activities, etc.)
    • Share success stories
    • Build the Cuyahoga Greenways brand.
  4. TRACK:
    • Regularly measure and report project outcomes such as project activation (progression through planning, design, construction) and facility usage (trail counts, etc.)
    • Report on process and programming milestones such as funding alignment opportunities realized, promotion campaigns and events, etc.

CGP Members

Bicyclists on a trail in the Scranton Flats