Youngstown is eyeing an ambitious partnership with Boardman Township to improve the Glenwood Avenue corridor from the city’s South Side to Route 224.

Council on Wednesday will consider applying for a $30,000 state grant to study the Glenwood Avenue Active Transportation Improvement Plan to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders along the route.

The plan would include capital improvements along Glenwood Avenue from Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown to Shields Road in Boardman, including better connections to Mill Creek MetroParks.

With a stated goal of improving access to economic and recreation opportunities for residents who live around the corridor, the plan would be designed to improve quality of life, health, access to jobs, as well as help to overcome racial inequities perpetuated by the regional transportation network.

The City of Youngstown will serve as the project sponsor with Boardman Township, Mahoning County, Mill Creek MetroParks, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, neighborhood groups, and corridor businesses serving as project partners.

The top item on the council’s agenda says that although it is one of the city’s busiest north-south corridors, Glenwood Avenue presents many safety hazards to pedestrians, cyclists, and transit riders because of neglected infrastructure that is currently intended to move cars as quickly as possible from the suburbs to downtown instead of serving the people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Many residents in the neighborhoods adjacent to Glenwood Avenue do not have a personal vehicle and rely on active transportation and public transit to commute daily, according to the proposal.

Under the plan, streetscapes and intersections along Glenwood Avenue would be upgraded to promote economic development and improve mobility by making transportation a viable option for residents to commute to businesses and institutions that serve the neighborhood, public transit stops, and major employment centers in both Downtown Youngstown and along Route 224 in Boardman.

Bicycle, pedestrian, and transit connections would be improved between the corridor and nearby recreational offerings in MillCreek MetroParks including three hike and bike trails, several athletic fields, boat launches, Lanterman’s Mill, and the Ford Nature Center.

The neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed study area, particularly those south of West Indianola Avenue and Glenwood Avenue are among the most densely populated in Youngstown and Boardman.

“Integrating Mill Creek MetroParks into the adjacent neighborhoods will make outdoor recreation safe and accessible for thousands of residents, many of whom are presently underserved by public parks, open spaces and recreational amenities,” according to planners.

If completed, planners say the project would allow people to safely commute by bicycle from Route 224 to Downtown Youngstown.

The city is also approaching the development phase of a bicycle lane connection project that will link Glenwood Avenue at Mahoning Avenue to Downtown Youngstown and Fifth Avenue as part of the SMART2 Corridor initiative.

Boardman Township and the Mahoning County Department of Engineering are currently in the planning phase of a road study for Glenwood Avenue from Route 224 to Shields Road, which planners say will potentially incorporate pedestrian and bicycle route that connects Route 224 to the proposed study area.

Youngstown is also in the initial phase of planning for a road study for Midlothian Boulevard to include improved pedestrian crossings and bike lanes that will connect even more neighborhoods to Mill Creek MetroParks at West Midlothian Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue.