As the snow fell on Brook Park, Ohio, on January 14, 2026, more than 200 residents, business owners, and local officials packed into an elementary school gymnasium, all eager—and a bit anxious—to hear how the new Cleveland Browns stadium would reshape their daily commutes and neighborhood rhythms. The meeting, jointly hosted by the city and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA), was the latest in a string of public forums sparked by the Browns’ ambitious $82 million traffic improvement plan, set to transform local roads before the stadium’s 2029 debut.
The centerpiece of the discussion was a detailed traffic analysis by NOACA, which modeled the impact of game days and major events on Brook Park’s arteries and the broader Cleveland region. The findings? For travelers heading to Hopkins International Airport via Ohio 237, the news was surprisingly good. According to the modeling, “drivers going to Hopkins International Airport via Ohio 237 should experience only a nominal impact, likely a minute or less,” as reported by cleveland.com. On the highways—including I-71, I-480, and Ohio 237—the expected congestion bump is just one percent.
But for everyone else—especially those navigating the local streets near the stadium—the picture is a bit more complicated. After games or big events, as many as 22,000 vehicles could pour out of the area at once, creating a 70% spike in congestion on main roads like Snow and Brookpark, and a 16% increase on other local routes. The highway ramps aren’t immune either, with a projected 13% uptick.
“There’s going to be some delays. Not a whole lot,” Grace Gallucci, NOACA’s executive director, told the crowd, emphasizing that “our region has excess capacity, particularly for the interstates. Our transportation system was built for a much larger population than we actually have.” Her message was clear: while the stadium will bring its share of headaches, Cleveland’s robust highway network is up to the challenge—at least for now.
The city’s strategy hinges on a mix of infrastructure upgrades and real-time traffic management. The plan includes two dedicated left-turn lanes for northbound drivers exiting I-71 at Snow Road, a new bridge for southbound traffic over Engle Road and the railroad tracks, and a pedestrian bridge to help fans parked off-site cross Engle Road safely. These improvements, however, are still awaiting the green light from NOACA’s 48-member board and require a complex patchwork of funding from the state and federal governments.
Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt was optimistic about the prospects, telling attendees he was “confident the project will score highly in a competitive process with the Ohio Department of Transportation for at least some of the requested $70 million from the state’s major road projects fund.” The Browns are chipping in about $12 million for engineering, but the lion’s share must come from public coffers. Orcutt and Haslam Sports Group Chief Administrative Officer Ted Tywang have even met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy to explore federal funding options.
The city is also betting big on technology. Instead of dramatically increasing the police force for just 20 or so peak days each year, Brook Park plans to install hundreds of traffic cameras to monitor congestion and adjust traffic signals in real time. “It will not be big brother to watch you,” Orcutt reassured the audience. “But it has a lot to do with keeping that traffic flowing.”
Osborn Engineering, the lead consultant for the Browns, has been working on the traffic plan for nearly two years—long before the stadium plans were made public. Dennis Albrecht, Osborn’s director of transportation, outlined an aggressive construction schedule, with final design details due by the end of 2026 and roadwork slated for 2027 and 2028. “There’s been a lot of, for lack of a better word, drama in the last year or so around our project,” Tywang acknowledged. “And I think that’s appropriate. And that’s fair. Because, as I said, it’s a big decision. But the local collaboration is headed in the right direction.”
Still, not everyone in the room was convinced. Live polling conducted during the meeting revealed widespread concern about traffic and parking, with many residents fearing game-day gridlock and spillover into neighborhoods and business districts. “I’m very excited for the stadium coming in, but I am a bit nervous. And I’m seeing all these numbers that are being projected, and it’s making my head spin,” admitted one Brook Park resident and business owner. Another homeowner pressed city officials on the funding question: “Where is the money coming from? If you’re not raising property taxes, where is the money coming from?”
Orcutt responded that the city is “out there hunting for all of this money,” referencing recent meetings with ODOT Director Pamela Boratyn and Secretary Duffy. For roadwork and other public infrastructure, the city is looking at state and federal funding sources, while the Browns are also eyeing federal dollars for a potential new Rapid train station along the stadium district’s western edge. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has made it clear it won’t foot the bill, and preliminary estimates put the cost at $40 million. “We don’t know when that will happen. We don’t know the funding for that station, either. But we’re working very collaboratively with RTA,” Tywang told attendees, reiterating, “But we’re committed to public transit. It’s really important to us.”
In the meantime, the existing Brookpark Road rail station—about three-quarters of a mile from the new stadium site—will likely serve many fans and workers. Planners have also begun a separate traffic study on Bagley Road in Middleburg Heights, funded by the Browns, to ensure that regional impacts are not overlooked. Results from that study are expected within a few months, and NOACA’s board is set to vote on the main road proposals as early as March 2026.
Despite the city’s efforts to reassure residents, skepticism lingered. The public-comment session, originally scheduled for 45 minutes, was cut short to just 20 due to an overlong presentation—leaving some feeling their voices weren’t fully heard. And, as one attendee quipped to laughter and applause, “The Browns need a winning team in order to go into this stadium. Can you work on that with Mr. Haslam?” The comment underscored a broader truth: while infrastructure upgrades and economic development are vital, community support can hinge as much on team performance as on traffic projections.
As Brook Park moves forward with excavation permits and the clock ticks toward a 2029 opening, the city, Browns, and regional agencies face a delicate balancing act—managing growth and excitement while keeping the wheels of daily life turning smoothly. The coming months, with key funding decisions and the start of construction, will reveal just how well that balance can be struck.
