APA Ohio, the state chapter of the American Planning Association, gave its Best Small Jurisdiction Plan award to County Planning for for the Solon Connects Active Transportation Plan.

The Ohio Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Ohio) awards program honors outstanding planning and leadership in Ohio, recognizing the best and brightest plans, projects, and people. The Ohio chapter collaborated with its fellow committee in Michigan, reviewing and scoring each entry based on their innovativeness, transferability, overall quality, implementation, relevance, and community interaction. Solon Connects was selected for its creativity and high merit for an Ohio jurisdiction with a Census population of less than 100,000 residents.

The intent of the Solon Connects plan is simple: build safer and stronger pedestrian and bicycle connections between existing civic, commercial, and open space assets to create safe and beneficial active transportation options for everyone. The COVID-19 pandemic touched or impacted everyone’s day to day life in some way, but there were signs of hope as residents across Northeast Ohio began to rediscover the active transportation options, or lack thereof, in their communities once again. The foundation of the Solon Connects plan is to maintain and build off that momentum by establishing a more inclusive network for all ages and abilities by creating facilities with equitable and safe access for everyone.

“I would like to extend congratulations to the entire team at the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission on all their hard work to make this plan a reality. Solon Connects will prioritize walking and biking throughout the city. It will provide healthy and safe exercise opportunities for our families and businesses. This is our town and our quality of life and Solon Connects will play a large part in ensuring our future is much brighter than our past.” —Solon Mayor Ed Kraus

“It was truly a pleasure to work with Mayor Kraus and his team in Solon. Engagement with city leadership, stakeholders and residents is vital to the success of our work in communities. I am so proud of my team and the great work they did on The Solon Connects Plan, it is truly a proactive roadmap for the City of Solon and its residents. The goal of all of our plans is for the community to be able to implement the recommendations. The City of Solon is already moving toward implantation of some of the recommendations so we see this as a huge success!” —Mary Cierebiej, AICP, Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Executive Director

About County Planning

The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission’s mission is to, “inform and provide services in support of the short and long-term quality of life, environment, and economic development of Cuyahoga County and its cities, villages and townships.” In addition to working closely with community leaders and residents to develop comprehensive plans, County Planning also collaborates with numerous regional partners and county agencies, such as NOACA, RTA, the Cleveland Metroparks, Department of Public Works, Department of Development, and the Department of Sustainability, to increase the quality of life for all Cuyahoga County residents.