CINCINNATI — Hundreds of pedestrians are getting hit by cars in Cincinnati each year as the city works to install 56 traffic-calming projects across 27 neighborhoods.
So far this year, there have been 117 crashes involving pedestrians, according to Cincinnati Police data. That’s on pace with this time last year. In all of 2023, police reported 305 crashes involving pedestrians.
With a view from Jay Gee's Barbershop & Beauty Salon in Pendleton, John Green says the current stop signs aren’t cutting it.
Last week, he watched as a young boy broke away from his mother and ran out into a crosswalk. It happened at the same time as a driver approached the intersection, blowing through the stop sign.
“We need something right there to avoid the next [collision], because the next one might be a dead kid,” Green said.
The crash was captured on a nearby camera:
The intersection at 13th Street and Pendleton Avenue will receive the first “stop bump” in the city.
Pendleton Neighborhood Council President Abbey Tissot said a "stop bump" has been explained to her like an aggressive rumble strip that doesn’t cause the driver to lose control of the car. The street isn’t eligible for speed bumps or humps because of the steep decline.
“It's really welcome news that they're going to do something,” Tissot said.
As traffic to Pendleton and Over-the-Rhine from Reading Road has picked up in the past few years, the neighborhood council has requested more street calming but hasn’t qualified, Tissot said.
Areas with churches and schools are prioritized for community budget requests relating to pedestrian safety. Pendleton does not have either.
The speeding drivers, are having an impact.
“There are fewer people walking in Pendleton now anywhere — on the sidewalks, on the crosswalks, fewer kids bicycling,” Tissot said. “Because it's not safe.”
Tissot said drivers should be cognizant that they're driving in a community much like their own.
“When you're downtown, realize that there's a community a lot like the one you live in outside of the city,” she said. “We would like to be able to walk safely in our neighborhood the same way that folks would like to walk safely in their neighborhoods outside of the city.”
“Please let us have that,” Tissot said. “Drive safely, drive slowly.”
Columbia-Tusculum is used to speeding drivers through its business district. Two months ago, the city installed two sets of speed humps on Columbia Parkway.
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Allyn’s Cafe owner Allyn Raifstanger said he’s noticed the difference.
“I think we've slowed down the 50 mph people to maybe 35,” he said.
The speed limit is 25 mph. WCPO 9 watched as people sped between the two new sets of traffic calming devices. 30,000 cars pass Columbia-Parkway on a daily basis.
“It does help,” Raifstanger said. “We don't need that fast traffic. Slow down and smell the roses.”
The restaurant owner said he spoke with someone this morning who told him they noticed his restaurant for the first time.
"She said that she goes by here all the time, and now that she has to stop, she's noticed my place and is finally probably gonna come in,” Raifstanger said. “I think it does make a difference."
Across town in East Price Hill, W Eighth Carry Out owner Mohammad Abdelwahed hopes it’ll be the same story.
From his vantage point behind the cash register, he sees people crossing W Eight Street at McPherson Avenue all day.
“Sometimes I have to run outside the store when I see kids on the crosswalk, and nobody lets them cross,” Abdelwahed said.
Crews put the final touches Thursday on a new speed humps on Eight Street, the site of multiple crashes.
Neighbors said they’re still experiencing issues where cars don’t stop when pedestrians are trying to cross, it’s a welcome addition.
“It's a good idea. It's better,” Abdelwahed said. “I think it's going to reduce a lot of crashes in the area.”
The city’s “Vision Zero” goal is to completely eliminate traffic deaths and severe injuries.
