Fairlawn is about to give its busiest stretch of pavement a serious makeover, with roughly $21 million in federal money set to overhaul State Route 18, also known as West Market Street. The plan calls for wider crosswalks, bus pull‑outs and several roundabouts that are meant to slow drivers down and make crossing on foot a little less nerve‑racking. City officials say planning will kick off this spring, with design and construction rolling out over the next five years, and temporary street tests are already on deck to see which changes actually work. The new cash builds on an earlier, smaller federal planning grant that funded short‑term demonstration treatments along the corridor.
“Now we actually have the ability to go in and do a lot of this work,” Ernie Staten, Fairlawn’s director of public service, told News 5 Cleveland. The station reports that the latest award comes through the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All program and will pay for permanent upgrades after a year‑long run of temporary fixes.
What’s in the plan
The federal grant is listed as $20,856,094 for Fairlawn in a January 9 press release from Rep. Emilia Sykes' office. The money targets a 3.5‑mile stretch of West Market Street from Heritage Woods Drive to North Revere Road.
According to the release, the shopping‑and‑traffic heavy corridor is in line for a roundabout at Smith Road, pedestrian refuge islands in the middle of busy crossings, high‑visibility crosswalks with rapid‑flashing beacons, new corridor lighting, bus pull‑offs, extended left‑turn lanes and “access management” changes. Those changes include consolidating 8 to 12 existing driveways and adding right‑in, right‑out treatments that are intended to cut down on risky turns.
Timeline and next steps
City leaders expect planning to start this spring and run for about a year, followed by two years of design work and roughly two years of construction, which adds up to a five‑year journey from study to ribbon‑cutting, according to News 5 Cleveland. The planning phase is set to include outreach to nearby businesses and residents and will build on a $334,000 federal demonstration grant the city won in November 2025 to test temporary pedestrian islands, barriers and upgraded crosswalks.
What it means for neighbors
Officials say the redesign is meant to make life safer for people walking to seven nearby schools, including two that serve students with special needs, and to improve access to Bicentennial Park, the Rosemont Preserve and nearby Summit Metroparks, as outlined by Rep. Emilia Sykes' office. The city has been building a broader safety and mobility strategy for West Market Street, promoting it on The 18 Corridor site and testing signal‑priority and connected‑vehicle technology, coverage that has been highlighted by GovTech.
Next steps for residents
The Federal Highway Administration will work with Fairlawn to finalize how the money is spent, and city officials say they will schedule community meetings and business outreach as planning gets underway, according to WOIO. Neighbors should expect temporary lane shifts and pilot installations this summer as part of the demonstration phase, with permanent construction coming in stages later on in an attempt to keep disruptions in check.
