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Traffic on the West Shoreway heads out of downtown at the afternoon rush hour. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson are scheduled to announce a funding plan for enhance access from the Shoreway to Lake Erie.

(Thomas Ondrey/The Plain Dealer)

Updating with comment from Cleveland Councilman Jay Westbrook

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A funding plan that will allow completion of the Lakefront West Project along Cleveland's West Shoreway will be unveiled Tuesday by Mayor Frank Jackson and Gov. John Kasich.

The two leaders are scheduled to discuss the financing at a 12:30 p.m. news conference Tuesday at Upper Edgewater Park in Cleveland. Those planning to attend are asked to arrive by 12:15 p.m. There were no further details in a brief press release issued by Kasich's office.

Cleveland Councilman Jay Westbook, whose ward encompasses part of the Shoreway, said the first phase of the project "should include the creation of a boulevard, with a landscaped median. And I'm hopeful that we will have a full bike lane, a bike and multi-modal lane, that will bring people closer to the lake.

"It's bringing people closer to a great natural resource," he said.

The speed limit on the Shoreway will be reduced from 50 to 35 miles an hour, Westbrook said, adding "It definitely brings it from a freeway to a boulevard."

The Ohio Department of Transportation declined to offer details in advance of Tuesday's event.

On its web site, ODOT said the Lakefront West Project will connect Cleveland's West Side neighborhoods with the lakefront by building bike and pedestrian connections along the 2.5-mile West Shoreway, on the stretch between West Boulevard and the Main Avenue Bridge.

It will increase access to Lake Erie, improve green space, increase development potential and simplify connections along the now-limited access Shoreway, ODOT said.