Public transportation to the new Cleveland Browns Stadium in Brook Park is high on the list of priorities for the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.
The metropolitan planning organization held a public meeting Wednesday to present the public and stakeholders with key considerations in ongoing plans to ensure accessible transit to the stadium.
"There are going to be some delays, not a whole lot" NOACA Executive Director Grace Gallucci said. "Our transportation system was built for a much larger population than we actually have. So the interstate will be able to absorb a lot of it."
The agency and developers working on the project presented attendees with six proposed infrastructure projects in Brook Park to prepare for an influx of traffic once the stadium is completed in 2029.
NOACA officials expects more than 22,000 vehicles to go to and from the new stadium on game and event days, however pedestrian bridges, roadway connectors and improvements to highway exits and entrances should make that traffic manageable, according to developers.
"With the street infrastructure, roadway infrastructure that's out there right now, all five-point roads, a lot of one-way streets, some turnarounds, lots of stop signs - that just would not work to handle major event traffic," said Dennis Albrecht, director of transportation for Osborn Engineering which is leading traffic and infrastructure planning for the new stadium. "We worked with our traffic modeling crew and our design team to go through a lot of iterations to figure out what roads and bridges would be needed to facilitate efficient traffic flow in and out of the sector."
These projects will cost more than $64 million, Albrecht said.
The upgraded infrastructure will also help with daily transit in Brook Park according to Mayor Edward Orcutt.
"With these improvements to the highway system, it is going to have a less of an impact after these build outs happen on our highway systems than what we have now even with increasing the amount of people that will be living in the city of Brook Park and working," he said.
The new Browns Stadium will be able to hold 23,000 vehicles on site, NOACA Director of Transportation Ali Makarachi said. Parking and public transit options are still being worked out by NOACA and project partners.
Marakachi said based on its modeling, NOACA expects expects virtually no impact on travel time to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, adjacent to the Brook Park stadium, or Southwest General Hospital, nearby in Middleburg Heights.
Infrastructure projects are expected to begin in 2027 after approval from the NOACA board. The agency will continue to research ways to mitigate traffic delays on local roads surrounding the stadium, Gallucci said.
Community members were also able to weigh in on both the proposed project and transit concerns around the new stadium through a live survey and audience Q&A.
And beyond traffic, they shared concerns on everything from traffic and parking to property taxes and Airbnb opportunities.
But Airbnb properties in the city are off the table in Brook Park, Mayor Orcutt said.
"I don't need people next door to a residential home that's not an Airbnb, here vacationing and causing loud noises and things of that nature," Orcutt said. "So the only way that you can get that changed is by voting Mayor Orcutt out of office and then having somebody introduce legislation to amend."
Property taxes won’t be affected by the stadium, Orcutt said, but residents should expect some traffic related to road projects this year.
The $2.4 billion enclosed stadium will sit on a 177.7-acre site east of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Construction is expected to begin later this year, and the team plans to move into the stadium by the 2029 NFL season.
