Council asked to accept $250,000 county grant for Fairmount intersection reconfiguration

City officials told council that because Fairmount Boulevard is a county-owned roadway, the project team reached out to Cuyahoga County and secured a $250,000 reimbursable grant for a new traffic signal and reconfiguration of the Fairmount median at Shaker Crest. Staff said the grant would help fund a left-turn lane and safer ingress/egress to the Fairmount campus and that the city would put up initial funds and be reimbursed by the county.

The mayor said the county executive was "extremely impressed" and the grant was intended to address traffic safety for library, school and recreation users. Council was asked to accept the grant on tonight's consent/new-business agenda; staff warned that if council does not move forward with the project, the city would forgo the reimbursement funding.

Council members asked whether the traffic signal would handle auditorium event traffic and staff replied the new signal and intersection reconfiguration should mitigate most peak-event congestion and allow safer turning movements. The city noted that additional county funding was requested to further repave Fairmount Boulevard but that approval of that extra funding was uncertain.