OLMSTED TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Residents and officials will remember 2024 as the year the township officially went to the dogs.
That’s because after a soggy spring delayed its completion, the Olmsted Township Dog Park and Nature Trail opened up in early summer at 27180 Schady Road.
The roughly 24,000-square-foot Dog Park features two fenced areas, including a two-acre site for large dogs and another one-acre location for small dogs under 30 pounds.
“Because of Service Director Eric Williams and his hardworking crew, the township was able to open its Nature Trail and Dog Park on over 30 acres off Schady Road with new sidewalks connecting to Stearns Road,” Olmsted Township Trustee Riley A. Alton said.
The roughly $900,000 project, which features the dog park, nature trail and parking lot, included a $300,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant to help cover the expenditure.
The other big project completed in 2024 was the nearly 18-month widening of the Stearns Road bridge over the Ohio Turnpike.
“Led by Cuyahoga County and the Ohio Turnpike Commission, the long-awaited Stearns Road project is done,” he said.
“Residents are already reaping the benefits of an additional turning lane at our busiest intersection and — at least in the warmer months — sidewalks over what was a very dangerous bridge for pedestrians.”
The re-decking project increased vertical clearance and width to accommodate 5-foot-wide sidewalks on each side of the bridge.
The work also included full-depth and full-width pavement reconstruction, pavement widening, upgraded traffic signals at the Bagley Road and Schady Road intersections, new curbs, walks, drainage, sanitary sewers, signing and pavement markings.
“By working collaboratively with our partners at the federal, state, and local levels, we created a huge new amenity for residents to enjoy for generations to come and did so at minimal cost to local taxpayers,” he said.
“This year the township completed several projects that improve our community’s infrastructure, connectivity and overall quality of life.”
The trustee stressed the township is fiscally strong financially due to strong leadership focused on applying for and receiving grants.
“The Township won its first-ever healthy urban tree canopy grant to further beautify our community and plant additional trees, a MARCS grant to ensure our first responders have interoperable radio equipment on the state’s radio system and additional funding for parks and sidewalks,” he said.
Finally, 2024 will be a year remembered for planting seeds in the form of the township receiving grant money toward a wish-list project that’s been on the radar for a decade.
Earlier this year, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) announced as part of its Transportation for Livable Communities Initiative Olmsted Township was the recipient of a $276,000 grant toward the Greenway Connector Project.
The proposed project is part of the Mill Stream Run Connector, known as the Greenways Plan.
Once complete, the 4.5-mile trail across southern Cuyahoga County will connect Olmsted Township, Olmsted Falls and Berea to the Mill Stream Run Reservation and the Emerald Necklace Trail.
The funding covers roughly 40 percent of the Greenway Connector Project’s estimated $681,000 cost to install a 10-foot-wide multi-use path spanning approximately 1.25 miles from Fitch Road to Stearns Road.
“The trustees, fiscal officer and leadership team understand the importance of being good stewards of property tax dollars and saving residents money by using grants to stretch every dollar as far as it can go,” he said.
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