CINCINNATI — The Queen City has made meaningful progress on pedestrian safety, but there’s still much more work ahead, city leaders and advocates say.
Chance Pratt watches drivers whiz down Highland Avenue in Mount Auburn daily.
As WCPO 9 stood with him on the street and asked how fast people typically drive, a black car sped by: “Probably 50? 55?” he said.
It’s not just a nuisance for Pratt, whose neighbors include families with young children.
“I heard a big bang and my car’s just laying spun out in the middle of the street," he said. “It was completely totaled.”
Drivers going too fast cost money — and lives.
There were more than 4,500 crashes in Cincinnati last year that left someone injured or dead, according to city data compiled by the Devou Good Foundation, a Covington non-profit.
The number is lower than it was a decade ago, and far down from a peak in 2018.
“The trend’s encouraging, but we’re still talking 4,500 people,” said president Matt Butler.
There’s a national strategy called "Vision Zero" to eliminate crashes that result in serious injuries and fatalities. Cincinnati adopted the vision in 2019.
On Vision Zero progress, Butler said he would give the U.S. a grade of F. The city of Cincinnati should get a C, he said.
“I think we can bring that up to a B, with more money being allocated,” he said. “At this point, we’re in triage.”
More money would be used for traffic-calming measures like bump outs and curb extensions. After a two-year project in College Hill, Butler said crashes were reduced. Serious injuries and deaths were lower too.
The organization will soon work with the Walnut Hills Community Council on efforts in their neighborhood.
Council member Mark Jeffries said more community members are beginning to notice the visible impact of traffic-calming measures. He said real investment and enforcement only really began two years ago.
“That definitely helps,” Jeffries said. “But we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Jeffreys said the city used to spend about $500,000 for pedestrian focused engineering projects, a number which is now up to $7 million.
“I think we need to continue to invest appropriately,” he said.
The council member highlighted the importance of grants from a variety of resources in accomplishing engineering projects. He said money from the sale of the railroad will make a big impact in 3-4 years.
Jeffries has been vocal about connecting street projects to city values.
“Are we just getting to our destination a little faster?” he asked. “Or do we value not only human life, but creating a living, vibrant ecosystem of neighborhoods that are thriving.”
Achieving Vision Zero will require significant progress in three areas, he said: road education, traffic enforcement and engineering.
“There’s no one magic bullet,” he said. “All of them are needed.”
If you believe traffic calming measures could be helpful on your street, Jeffries suggests two things:
- Reaching out to your community council
- Reaching out to a city council member
