U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes’ office announced a number of projects in the area that would be receiving federal money as part of the 2026 appropriations process. 

$1.2 million for the downtown Akron Main Street Project

This project affects the stretch of roadway from 388 S. Main St. to 540 S. Main St., which includes Bounce Innovation Hub, the AES Building, GOJO, Canal Place and GPD Group (which recently committed to expanding its footprint downtown and remaining there long term).

The work, according to a news release, will include pavement construction with concrete curbs and sidewalks, new lighting and traffic signals and aesthetic/landscaping treatments.

Bike lanes, upgraded pedestrian crossings with bump outs where possible, parking lanes, bus stops, and one lane in each direction for vehicular traffic with turn pockets will be included.

Underground conduits will be placed to facilitate Akron’s communication and traffic control system as well as future private fiber companies.

Peninsula Sanitary Sewer Collection and Treatment Facility

$1.09 million will go toward the Peninsula Sanitary Sewer Collection and Treatment Facilities project to develop a centralized sewer collections and treatment facility for the village at an estimated cost of $11 million.

Summit County has been working with the village since 2021. $7.5 million in local funds has been allocated by Summit County so far, which also obtained a $500,000 H2Ohio grant from the State of Ohio. 

Peninsula is located in the middle of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park — the project will provide critical infrastructure to protect the health of the Cuyahoga River and help prevent sewer discharges. It will also provide sewer service to the businesses in the village, which are in danger of closure without it.

East Copley Road corridor area

$250,000 to improve safety and economic development opportunities in the East Copley Road and adjacent corridors areas near prominent landmarks like Buchtel Community Learning Center, Simon Perkins Mansion, the John Brown House, Perkins Park, the Akron Zoo and the Akron Innerbelt.

Two sections of Copley Road in this area, from East Avenue to Diagonal Road/South Portage Path and from Storer Avenue to East Avenue, were listed as two of the roadway stretches with the highest car-crash risk in the area in the most recent AMATS survey.

Read more about all the appropriation projects here.

Additional funds for family planning and housing assistance funding

  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $1.85 million to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio through the Title X Family Planning Program.

    Title X provides family planning and preventive health services to people with low incomes, and supports services such as birth control, cancer screenings and STI testing through community-based health providers.

    The funding will help support services provided at the Akron Health Center.
  • The East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation will receive a $254,000 grant from NeighborWorks America to expand affordable housing in Akron. 

Editor-in-Chief (she/her)
Zake has deep roots in Northeast Ohio journalism. She was the managing editor for multimedia and special projects at the Akron Beacon Journal, where she began work as a staff photographer in 1986. Over a 20-year career, Zake worked in a variety of roles across departments that all help inform her current role as Signal Akron's editor in chief. Most recently, she was a journalism professor and student media adviser at Kent State University, where she worked with the next generation of journalists to understand public policy, environmental reporting, data and solutions reporting. Among her accomplishments was the launch of the Kent State NewsLab, an experiential and collaborative news commons that connects student reporters with outside professional partners.