West Park’s Neighborhood Greenway will improve bike connectivity: Opinion

When I found the ad on Craigslist for a cheap studio apartment on Cleveland’s far west side, it seemed like my only option. I was going through a breakup and was desperate for something quick. I moved into that tiny studio apartment on Rocky River Drive in summer 2013. Having moved out of my ex’s apartment in Ohio City, I grew accustomed to short walks to places I wanted to go. Less because I knew the health and environmental benefits and more because parking was scarce and I didn’t want to lose my spot. My new studio apartment was close to everything that’s in Kamm’s Corners, and I could’ve walked, but now I had a private parking spot. 

Besides, driving there is faster anyway. 

Imagine my devastation when my old hand-me-down car finally quit. An engine problem from which there was no coming back. Money was tight, so a new car wasn’t in my future. I became reliant on public transportation for longer trips and got my steps in on those shorter trips. Whether I liked it or not, I became very aware of my neighborhood’s walkability. 

Sure I wasn’t getting to places slightly faster, but the silver linings were abundant. All that walking led to me losing weight and my overall health improving. I wasn’t spending money on gas or car repairs. I met my neighbors and even became friends with some of them. I began volunteering with the local nonprofit West Park Kamm’s Community Development. West Park became my forever home, not only because I could now afford it, but I was a part of it.

A career change and a bicycle or two later, I find myself as project ambassador for the West Park Neighborhood Greenway. An ambitious project to link together parks, destinations and the smaller neighborhoods that comprise West Park. Through a series of signs and road markers, the Greenway provides a north/south residential route for those who want to avoid the main arterial roads. 

As known as “Bike Boulevards” or “Neighborways,” these designated bike routes follow quiet, slow, residential streets that many residents already use to get to Gunning Recreation, Impett Park and other destinations along the route. Signs and roadway markings make these extra easy to navigate, and alert drivers to expect people walking and biking. These types of projects do not require construction, will not remove parking or close the street and are generally inexpensive.

The project was spearheaded by the West Park Better Streets Committee; a volunteer group made up of locals who build community around alternative forms of transportation and advocate for safer streets. The idea came out of an advocacy training hosted by Bike Cleveland in January 2023, and neighbors quickly set out to identify a route, engage with other neighbors and meet with City decision-makers. 

In May 2023, the Better Streets Committee hosted its first ride along the Greenways alongside city staff, the local councilman and residents. Since then, the group has continued to do community engagement and build support for the project: hosting neighborhood rides, public meetings, pop-ups at parks and the farmers market and more.

Still, the Neighborhood Greenway has not been installed. The project was formally adopted as part of Cleveland Moves, the city’s new Mobility Plan, but the installation has been delayed over and over again.

Making one of Cleveland’s biggest and most suburban neighborhoods more bike friendly seems like a daunting task. Most West Park residences are single family homes built during the dawn of suburban sprawl. Swaths of homes were built with a private car owner in mind. However, signs of smaller, more localized corners still exist. On the older streets of West Park sit small commercial centers. These handful of commercial buildings were built when not everyone had access to a car; small shops for locals to walk to and pick up a few things. Over the years, these buildings ended up getting left behind by the consumer who preferred the large shopping centers in the near west suburbs.

In the past decade, one of these small commercial centers saw significant investment in the form of a coffee shop, a salon and a yoga studio. It took no time at all for the Five Points intersection to become a small local destination. These small businesses flourish without an enormous parking lot. A testament to the fact that West Parkers don’t mind walking there.  

It’s not just that corner that sees people leaving their cars at home. The Kamm’s Corners Farmers Market gets busier year after year, many of the patrons walking or riding their bikes there. The desire to get into Rocky River Reservation, without having to drive there, spurred the all-purpose trail extension being built next to Fairview Hospital. Even the speed tables installed on West Park’s heavily trafficked residential streets have been met with enthusiasm. Many residents in local Facebook groups saying they want one installed on their street.

I stumbled into a real sense of community. Now, like many other West Parkers, I want to share that feeling. Having the support of the residents along the Neighborhood Greenway is vital to its success. There’s no road construction. No car traffic changes. Just a clearly marked bike-focused north/south connector. A visual reminder to neighbors and drivers alike, to take it a little easier.

West Park is organically growing into a more community-centric neighborhood. The West Park Neighborhood Greenway is another addition to a safer, healthier and much more kind future.