CASE TO SUPPORT !!

SOLON WALKABILITY PROJECT: LIBERTY & AURORA SIDEWALKS

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CITY OF SOLON !!!

APRIL 2014 !!!!!

Megan Christopher and John Sheele 757-642-3538

meganchristopher@gmail.com jsheele@gmail.com

����"�The City of Solon has invested significant resources to maintain a family-friendly, healthy community. City leaders’ dedication has led to impressive economic growth and stability, attraction of new residents and businesses, consistent rankings as a top Cleveland suburb and a national reputation for being an outstanding place to raise a family.

• The heart of the community, the Solon Recreation Center and Solon Community Park, demonstrates the city’s commitment to the health of its residents and provides a tremendous opportunity for families to stay active and healthy.

• But the city lacks sidewalks and walkability, especially for residents immediately surrounding the Solon Recreation Center and Community Park, a primary user group of the spaces.

• This document outlines a case for support for one total mile of new sidewalks from the perspective of a resident of the Huntington Woods neighborhood, the largest and closest residential neighborhood to the Solon Recreation Center and Community Park without a safe network of sidewalks directly leading to the recreation center and community park.

����������������• We respectfully request The City of Solon complete a much-needed network of sidewalks on (a) Liberty

Road and (b) a 400-yard section on Aurora Road (see below) to both enhance walkability for residents surrounding the Solon Recreation Center and Community Park and address current pedestrian safety issues.

.23 mi

.77 mi

click here to open in google maps

���!�������������������"���������� ���������Use of sidewalks would include walking, jogging or bicycling (often with small children or older children themselves) between surrounding neighborhoods and residences and:

• Solon Recreation Center, gymnasium, youth and adult recreation classes, Blue Ribbon program and camps

• Solon Community Indoor and Outdoor Pool

• Solon Community Park, playgrounds, baseball fields, tennis courts, picnic shelter, basketball courts and trails

• Cuyahoga County Public Library

• Community Gardens

• Special events such as Solon Home Days, fireworks, family-focused holiday activities, etc.

• Safety Town

• Youth t-ball, soccer

• Recreational walking, jogging or bicycling for health and enjoyment

• Trick or treating

• Runners (with and without jogging strollers) training for 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and marathons

• Older school-age children of surrounding residences and neighborhoods riding bicycles to/from school and extracurricular activities

• Pedestrian access to shopping, particularly to Market District plaza !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

��"���������������������������������������������"�!�������!�����• Bike lanes are not pedestrian-friendly or child-friendly; this is true now more than ever with the recent

rise in distracted drivers • Bike lanes are most suited for adult and

group bicycling and avoiding cycling-induced traffic congestion

• Bike lanes are unsafe for adults — and particularly children at any age — to walk or jog alongside cars

• Bike lanes are not safe for children riding bicycles

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In 2012 a total of 3,328 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes

involving a distracted driver.

Aurora!(bike lane)

Liberty

Here’s what nearby Solon residents had to say about sidewalks on Liberty and Aurora:

“A sidewalk is best. Even with a bike lane, you are never safe from the drivers texting.”

“I always see joggers and bikers on Liberty and worry about their safety. I believe sidewalks on those streets would be welcomed by [surrounding] neighborhoods.”

“I don't feel safe biking or walking in the bike lanes on Aurora.”

“With a walking path for Liberty and Aurora, we would run, bike and walk to the community center or schools or 91. It's scary and unsafe now.”

“I’d like to be able to walk to the rec without risking life and limb.” !

U.S. Dept. of Transportation

��� ��� ��������� �����• Huntington Woods, a development with a total of 145 homes, is located in the heart of Solon with

entrances off both Liberty Road and Bainbridge Road.

• The family-focused neighborhood has 64 homes built in the late 1960s and early 1970s and 81 newer homes built by Dinallo and Wittrup Homes between 1989 and 2000.

• Huntington Woods’ Liberty Road entrance is located just 0.9 miles from the Solon Recreation Center

• It’s the largest neighborhood closest to the Solon Recreation Center without a safe network of sidewalks for pedestrians connecting the neighborhood to the recreation center.

• There is a mix of home values within the development, but the newer development’s homes generally range in price from $300,000 to $500,000 with property taxes of $8,000 to $10,000 per home annually. 1

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!!!!!!!������������������ ���������"�According to The Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, a walkable community is made possible by visionaries and forward-thinking decision makers on city councils and planning boards “purposefully changing and building policies, practices, codes, and decisions to make their towns pleasant places for people.”

• More than just sidewalks and trails

• A true walkable community happens when streets, buildings, landscapes, buildings, intersections, sidewalks and trails come together in a way that welcomes and supports people walking, biking or using other modes of active transportation

zillow.com1

Huntington Woods’ Liberty Road entrance is located just 0.9 miles

from the Solon Recreation Center.

• Studies show walkable communities are healthier communities: healthier individuals, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability

• Walkable communities tend to have lowered rates of obesity and depression, reducing the rates of chronic disease

• On average, property values are higher in walkable communities

• The cost of making communities more walkable and livable usually is offset by savings in health-care costs

• Solon’s consistently ranked among the highest of Cleveland suburbs on the Cleveland Magazine’s popular “Best of the Suburbs” issue in nearly every category except walkability, with 40.6 percent, 41.4 percent and 54.0 percent of “Roads with Sidewalks” in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively (see above). Carrying out this project will raise that percentage and the perception of Solon’s commitment to its citizens’ health and well being.

• A walkable community translates to a healthier community, both in the health of its residents and the economic return on investment. Completing this small but vital core network of sidewalks will aid in residential recruitment and retention, as walkability is important to incoming residents, and more existing residents will utilize the rec center, park and special functions, further increasing the city’s return on its investment.