S St. Clair Street in Downtown Painesville to Become One-Way Street

S St. Clair Street, from E Washington Street to Main Street will become a one-way road starting this August in downtown Painesville. The project will see this section of roadway painted for the new traffic pattern in 2025 and construction for a new streetscape in 2026.

 

On Monday, August 4, the city contractor Trafftech will paint the roadway to allow northbound traffic only. The roadway will reopen the following day to motorists. August 5 will be the scheduled rain date. Signage and barricades will be present to alert motorists of the traffic change.

 

The proposal to change S St. Clair Street to a one-way thoroughfare was made by City Manager Doug Lewis to Painesville City Council to create 13 additional street parking spaces for the businesses on S St. Clair Street. The plan would create a total of 25 spaces compared to the current 12 located on the block. City Council discussed the change in 2024 into 2025 and approved the proposal with the plan to paint the roadway first before beginning the streetscape construction.

 

In June 2025, the City received a $1,014,500 grant from the Transportation Alternative Program through the Ohio Department of Transportation and Gov. Mike DeWine to fund the project. The City’s Engineering Department will begin the streetscape design work in 2025, with anticipated construction beginning in 2026. The streetscape plan includes improved sidewalks, new street lighting, a bike lane and crosswalk improvements. The design will be similar to the streetscape improvements made in recent years to Main Street and S Park Place.