CINCINNATI -- Over the last two weeks, Cincinnati police have issued nearly 800 traffic citations across 19 of the city's neighborhoods as part of increased enforcement efforts to curb speeding and aggressive driving.
In a news release Thursday, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac called the enforcement blitz an "opportunity to help change behavior and encourage drivers to slow down."
Of 773 total citations issued in the last two weeks, 620 were for speeding, and roughly 70 more were for miscellaneous moving violations and seatbelt infractions, according to CPD spokeswoman Tiffaney Hardy.
Officers issued two citations for pedestrian violations over the blitz period, Hardy said.
Cincinnati Police Assistant Chief Paul Neudigate announced the enforcement blitz last month after multiple neighborhoods submitted requests to the department for increased enforcement on their streets.
"(Officers are) going to go out en masse, highly visible between vehicles and motorcycles and address these locations the community has told us are problematic," Neudigate said.
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In this first wave of enhanced enforcement, police targeted the following neighborhoods:
- Downtown
- Over-the-Rhine
- West End
- Pleasant Ridge
- Hyde Park
- Mount Washington
- Lower Price Hill
- East Price Hill
- Westwood
- Avondale
- Bond Hill
- Walnut Hills
- Paddock Hills
- Roselawn
- Northside
- Mount Airy
- Winton Terrace
- College Hill
- Clifton (Gas Light District)
CPD's efforts are part of a larger initiative by the city to make its streets safer for people walking through its 52 neighborhoods. For the past two budget cycles, City Council has approved $500,000 annually toward street improvements like more crosswalk lighting and signage and other infrastructure upgrades.
The increased enforcement comes after a years-long decline in traffic citations from the department. A WCPO analysis found a 60 percent decline in traffic enforcement stops by Cincinnati police officers from 2009 to 2016. Those numbers have begun to increase again over the last 18 months.
That same analysis also found pedestrians and bicyclists to be at highest risk for serious injury or death as a result of traffic crashes involving excessive speed.
Pat LaFleur reports on transportation and mobility for WCPO. Connect with him on Twitter (@pat_laFleur) and on Facebook.
