Ohio is putting more than $21 million behind 17 new bicycle and pedestrian projects spread across 16 counties, funding everything from sidewalk repairs in Norwalk to a pair of steel-beam bridges on a regional trail near the Pennsylvania line. Ashtabula County landed the single largest award in the round, receiving $4 million to keep building out the Pymatuning Valley Greenway Trail.
The grants were issued through the Ohio Department of Transportation's Transportation Alternatives Program, according to Cleveland.com. Governor Mike DeWine announced the funding, saying the new projects are about more than paving a path and are meant to make communities safer and more vibrant. The money is intended to improve safety and connectivity for people walking and biking, with projects chosen based on safety, connectivity, preservation, demand and readiness to begin construction.
Ashtabula's Greenway Trail Gets Two New Bridges
In Ashtabula County, the $4 million award covers a 1.9-mile section of the Pymatuning Valley Greenway Trail in Williamsfield Township, running between Slater Road and the Pennsylvania state line. The project includes two steel-beam bridges and a parking area. The trail has been under construction in phases since 2020, when it first drew Clean Ohio Trails funding to build a 10-foot-wide, ADA-compliant paved regional path linking Ohio to Pennsylvania, according to the Civic Development Corporation.
Huron and Erie counties together received $2.8 million for an 11-foot-wide shared-use path along U.S. 250 connecting Norwalk and Milan. Within Norwalk itself, a separate $511,665 award will fund sidewalk improvements along Milan Avenue and an 11-foot-wide shared-use path running between Deepdale Drive and Emerald Parkway.
Wooster and Loudonville Round Out the List
Wooster is set to receive $750,000 for 1.25 miles of shared-use paths connecting Venture Boulevard and Silver Road. Loudonville was awarded $1.78 million for a project that runs along Main Street from Spring Street to Brentwood Drive and includes 5-foot-wide on-street bike lanes.
The August 18 announcement follows a much larger commitment the state made in June 2025, when DeWine and ODOT unveiled a multi-year TAP funding package of nearly $52 million supporting 44 bicycle and pedestrian projects across 33 counties, as Hoodline previously reported. ODOT accepts TAP applications annually from October 1 through November 30 and evaluates proposals between January and February based on safety, connectivity, preservation and project readiness, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. Federal and state rules allow the grants to fund a wide range of non-motorized projects beyond paved paths, including Safe Routes to School initiatives, non-driver transit access, recreational trails and environmental mitigation.
Why Nighttime Safety Remains a Focus
ODOT Director Pamela Boratyn, in announcing the latest round of grants, stressed that physical improvements have to be matched by changes in driver behavior, urging motorists to eliminate distractions, obey speed limits and avoid driving impaired. That message lands against a backdrop of state data showing where the biggest risks lie: ODOT figures show 103 of Ohio's 150 pedestrian deaths in 2023 occurred after dark, part of a pattern in which more than 70% of fatal pedestrian collisions happen during nighttime, dusk or dawn hours, according to O'Connor Acciani & Levy.
The infrastructure push comes even as Ohio's traffic safety numbers have been trending in a more positive direction. Preliminary Ohio State Highway Patrol data cited by the governor's office showed overall traffic fatalities fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2025, down roughly 3% from 2024 and totaling 231 lives saved since 2021. Pedestrian deaths specifically have declined every year since a historic high of 176 in 2021, dropping 6% in 2022, 9% in 2023 and 17% in 2024, per data reported by Ohio Contractor.
State lawmakers have also been working the legal side of the equation. Ohio's three-foot passing law, enacted under House Bill 154 in 2017 and codified in Ohio Revised Code Section 4511.27, requires drivers overtaking a bicyclist to leave at least three feet of clearance. More recently, after more than 400 pedestrian crashes were recorded statewide in the first three months of 2026, state Representatives Mike Odioso and Mark Sigrist introduced bipartisan House Bill 714 to further strengthen pedestrian safety statutes, according to Graham Law.
