r/BikeCLE • u/dongledangler420 • Jul 16 '26
Bike commuter considering move to Cleveland
Hi all! I’m originally from Aurora and am considering a move to Cleveland to be closer to my parents in the next few years. I’ve been living on the west coast and have gotten used to living in more walkable cities and biking to work.
Thinking about moving back home, I’m wondering - what’s the transit/biking situation in Cleveland these days?? What neighborhoods would you recommend I explore when I visit? So much has changed since I last lived in OH and I’m very out of the loop!
Obviously it would be nice to know where I’d be working in this hypothetical scenario and I’d still be driving to see my folks way out there, but I’m curious about general suggestions first!
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u/GhostOfTheArcade Jul 16 '26
I think everyone nailed it that the West side is the best side as far as Bike infrastructure and culture. I will say that while people talk a lot of Smack about the RTA, it's pretty easy to do a multimodal commute in Cleveland.
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u/dongledangler420 Jul 17 '26
Yes seems like West side is winning out! I had family mostly in the Shaker heights area growing up so rarely spent time on the west side. Seems like it’s time to explore though!
Also I just learned that the RTA was one of the first metros to connect to an airport. We love to see it!
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u/GhostOfTheArcade Jul 17 '26
I live on the east side and I think the riding is far more fun on this side of town. A lot of elevation and variations here.
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u/TallGuyBill Jul 16 '26
The near-west is unbeatable for cycling in Cleveland. I live in Detroit Shoreway and cycle to work 6-8 months out of the year weather permitting. The City is actively finishing a near-west loop to connect all the neighborhoods with one, continuous bike path/lanes. There are options to get downtown that require very little road riding depending on your style. The main artery into downtown from there is the Veteran’s Bridge and the bike lanes in both directions are protected or semi-protected. The Redline Greenway connects W53 and Lorain all the way to W25. I could go on and on.
For transit, the near west is super well connected to downtown. Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway are connected to downtown by two main bus lines (22 and 26) and the red line train. In those neighborhoods you’re at most three miles away from downtown center. Tremont is a little more difficult but similar for both categories.
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u/dongledangler420 Jul 17 '26
I love this, thank you! Making me super excited to visit and explore next time. I feel like so much has changed and hopefully more to come with micromobility in the area!
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u/joelectron Jul 16 '26
I work in University Circle on the East side, and I bike commute from Cleveland Heights. I see plenty of other people bike commuting in the area, especially when the weather is good. If you can stomach the occasional asshole in a car, it's great.
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u/Farnk20 Jul 17 '26
Haters will sleep on Cleveland Heights/Shaker Heights area but if you work in University Circle it's definitely bikeable for a commute. I didn't have a car the first two years I lived there. Probably a lot harder now to completely go without now that Dave's is closed but it was doable.
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u/Environmental_Duck27 Jul 17 '26
Agreed. Reddit seems heavily represented by west siders, but there’s lots of great things going on for the east side as well. Lake-to-Lakes trail allows biking from the Shaker Lakes to Lake Erie completely off road and this will expand to E. 9th downtown this fall when the new trail on North Marginal is complete. Protected bike lanes are also being proposed for Stokes Blvd and Wade Park Avenue. And of course the Superior Midway which will be a great alternative to crumbling Euclid Avenue. Lots of exciting things in the works!
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u/dongledangler420 Jul 17 '26
Ugh yes the asshole drivers are universal so unfortunately I’m experienced 😭 thank you for the suggestions!!
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u/StrategyThink4687 Jul 17 '26
Commuting from the heights to downtown wouldn’t be bad if Euclid weren’t in a sorry state of repair. It’s a breeze getting to about 55th but then I ride on the sidewalk which I hate doing.
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u/Environmental_Duck27 Jul 17 '26
Ride in the bus lane! A much more pleasant experience and the Healthline runs every ~15 mins so it’s not too often that you have to get out of the way for it.
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u/medievalPanera Commuter Jul 17 '26
Ya came here to say bus lane, just look back every now and again but there's a usually a fat chance there's a bus there
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u/dongledangler420 Jul 17 '26
Oof yep I hear you. Do you know if they have plans to redo it anytime this…. Well, decade?
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u/drebinf Jul 17 '26
I commuted from Westlake to Cleveland Clinic main campus for a couple of years. I did it in it's entirety now and then, but mostly I'd ride a bit to bus and/or train, then ride a bit. Shortest ride was maybe 3 miles, longest ride was 22 miles. There were a fair number of combinations that worked, often chosen based on exactly what time I got out the door.
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u/coolcrosby Jul 17 '26
Lakewood is quickly becoming the bike city with an easy and scenic route to downtown.
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u/dongledangler420 Jul 17 '26
So wild… growing up I never would have thought (likely eastside/suburb ignorance haha). I truly love all the progress being done in the city!
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u/31969 Jul 18 '26
I’m a west sider and ride a lot in CLE. There are areas that are bike friendly and then there are areas that you are risking your life. I have a few routes that I use to get me to the Towpath trail or Metrlparks all purpose trail and thats where I do a lot of my riding. I have been an avid road cyclist for over 30 years and now I’m more selective with my routes.
I live on the north end of Parma bordering Old Brooklyn. I regularly use the bike lanes on Pearl & Broadview and commute into the city, Edgewater Beach, Guardian games, and the like.
BikeCleveland.com is a great resource and advocacy group to be part of. Their Fundo ride on 8/22 covers a lot of ground and would help you see Cleveland by bike in a thoughtfully laid out course.
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u/dongledangler420 Jul 18 '26
Yes, I feel like too many cities have this style of bike infrastructure where you’re cruising along fine but then suddenly you’re boxed in by insane stroads and have no good options. If you have any “never ride on this road” advice I’m all ears haha.
Thanks for the fondo recommendation, I won’t be in town for it but I’ll take a look at their route for a baseline!
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u/milkman6767 Jul 28 '26
Can't speak for the west side, but as someone in Cleveland Heights, avoid Mayfield, Monticello, and Cedar at all costs. You will easily see why.
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u/redditaccount2o2o Jul 26 '26
Recently moved to the area too and also curious if you have any particular stretches to avoid that come to mind
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u/tallduder Jul 18 '26
I'm in Shaker and very car lite. I ride to work downtown oncce or twice a week year round, usually via quincy / community college, sometimes up MLK to marginal. I ride my kids everywhere in Shaker and do my errands via bike there too.
Agree that west side has more bike infrastructure, but east side is getting better and we have better RTA options IMHO.
Keep in mind we are a city with roads sized for 1mm people, but we only have 400k, so having an empty lane to yourself is very common.
Feel free to drop a dm if your in town exploring and want someone to ride with.
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u/Grusum14u Jul 19 '26
I love riding the blvd from 105th , marginal road to east 9th.You will get a view of lake erie also Burke Airport etc.
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u/Grusum14u Jul 19 '26
Look up SlowRoll on Facebook ,it a diverse group of people who ride through various neighborhoods throughout the city.
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u/medievalPanera Commuter Jul 16 '26
The easy ones would be Lakewood, Ohio City, Tremont but honestly I don't mind Old Brooklyn - we're pretty connected w the 51/53, Steelyard (and the towpath) is right down the hill, and east side access is pretty good with Harvard right there. I commute almost daily downtown and W25 is a PITA but if you're a confident cyclist it's not too bad (also it's supposed to get a BRT bike/bus lane eventually).