TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo has received a $28.5 million federal transportation grant to redesign east Toledo's Front Street corridor, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown announced in a joint statement Monday.
Former Toledo City Council member Peter Ujvagi said federal funding for east Toledo, where he has been a longtime resident, is much-needed.
"One of our greatest challenges has been not enough investment in infrastructure and our parks have become very rundown,” he said.
The grant adds to the area's momentum created by the Glass City Metropark.
"For us here at Glass City Metropark, having better access both vehicular and pedestrian to the park and to all of the Riverwalk is going to make a huge difference,” said Metroparks spokesperson Scott Carpenter.
Ujvagi said east Toledo's neighborhoods, Birmingham and Garfield, have been overlooked.
But with the grant, Kaptur and Brown say Front Street will be safer and more accessible, preventing serious accidents, better connecting neighborhoods and offering future economic opportunities.
"This is a big win for the city of Toledo and will tie in very nicely with the improvements that we are making here with Glass City Riverwalk," Carpenter said. "We have all of this coming together at once building some momentum to help transform our riverfront."
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said over the last two years, the U.S. Department of Transportation has granted a total of $48 million to the Glass City, allowing for quality of life improvements.
"The project here with the combination of the city and with Metroparks has been just phenomenal," Ujvagi said. "The number of people who are now coming to east Toledo and discovering east Toledo crossing the bridge is huge."
Ujvagi said he and other community leaders are committed to working with the city and with Metroparks Toledo to ensure the improvements extend into the Birmingham neighborhood.
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