Cleveland, long car-centric, lags a number of our peer cities in walkability and bikeability — key attractions for a growing number of urban dwellers who, like me, are helping to rebuild the city’s population by actively choosing to live in neighborhoods that are more connected, more accessible and safer.
Fortunately the status quo in our city is quickly changing — from Mayor Justin M. Bibb’s Cleveland Moves initiative to the many walking/biking trails managed by Canalway Partners; from the city’s Cleveland Memorial Bridges Loop path now under construction, to the Cleveland Metroparks’ expanding Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway and the pathways coming next year to Irishtown Bend Park.
We can’t, however, allow our momentum toward creating safer and more enjoyable streets in Cleveland to slow. The city has a powerful new potential source of revenue — to be called the Parking Benefits Fund — that can be used to fund mobility improvements including safer crosswalks and intersections; traffic calming measures such as speed tables; sidewalk and curb repairs; safer routes near parks, schools, and business districts; better lighting and signage; and ADA accessibility.
Why parking? As Cleveland.com recently reported, the City of Cleveland brought in $1.17 million in just four months under Mayor Bibb’s updated parking rates. This compares to just $312,000 raised during the same period in 2025.
City leaders, encouraged by this new revenue, are considering legislation (Ord. 245-2026) to create a Parking Benefits Fund — a dedicated funding source that would reinvest 75% of this new revenue back into mobility improvements. This legislation is sponsored by Blaine A. Griffin, City Council President and Council Member, Ward 6; Jasmin Santana, Council Member, Ward 14; and Kevin L. Bishop, Council Member, Ward 2.
Council must approve this legislation.
Mobility improvements that would be delivered through the Parking Benefits Fund are numerous, practical and high-impact. They can be delivered quickly and equitably across the city and they have broad community support. Residents overwhelmingly want more investment in safe, multi-modal transportation.
Furthermore, use of local funds for better and safer mobility means fewer delays in grants from state and federal programs. These funds can be directed to building more internal safe-street capacity rather than relying on use of outside consultants as is currently the case in Cleveland. In Cincinnati, for instance, city council created an in-house, five-member pedestrian safety crew to implement projects more quickly and work to eliminate needless deaths on that city’s streets. Cleveland never should take a back seat to Cincinnati — in pedestrian safety as much as in professional sports.
As a newer resident of the City of Cleveland, I join many of my neighbors in calling on City Council to approve and enact the Parking Benefits Fund. If you agree and would like to add your voice, please email your councilmember today at tinyurl.com/y9fc7nk6
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