The City of Loveland has been awarded a $2-million grant to build sidewalks along State Route 48 from Blossom View Drive to Butterworth Road.
The project will rebuild the existing sidewalk on the east side of State Route 48, and then extend the project north into Warren County. Several neighborhoods, as well as Loveland Health Care, will be connected.
The grant is part of the 2024 Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Highway Safety Improvement Program. Statewide, Governor Mike DeWine has awarded nearly $41 million to ODOT districts and local governments for traffic safety projects.
“The city has shown its commitment to connectivity among its neighborhoods, and this funding will allow us to continue this effort into the Warren County portion of the city. We are excited about this project and appreciative to ODOT for approving our grant request,” Mayor Kathy Bailey stated.
Although construction will not take place immediately, engineering and design for the project will begin in 2024. More funding is needed to build sidewalk access points from Historic Downtown and the Brandywine subdivision. City staff is in the process of applying for additional funding through the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI).
“We don’t yet have all the funding we need to make this project a reality, but we’re off to a great start. Not only will this improve pedestrian safety along a busy thoroughfare, but this ties into the big picture of making Loveland more walkable,” explained David Kennedy, City Manager.
The city’s application was selected due to its emphasis on protecting pedestrians, Kennedy noted. According to ODOT, pedestrian-involved crashes resulted in 150 deaths statewide in 2023 — a statistic ODOT hopes to significantly reduce through the grant program.
Additionally, in 2024, other sidewalk projects are taking place along Loveland-Miamiville Road and in the Loveland Heights neighborhood as part of the city’s ongoing effort to improve connectivity. Public surveys were collected when the city completed its 2022 Comprehensive Master Plan, a document to guide the city for the next 10 years. Residents stated they were interested in seeing improvements to the roads and sidewalks in housing areas to ensure safe and accessible connectivity to commercial hubs and parks.
For more information about construction projects in the City of Loveland, please visit https://lovelandoh.gov/190/Construction-Projects.