CINCINNATI — Children, teenagers and adults stood shoulder to shoulder urging drivers to slow down in Lower Price Hill.
Two weeks ago, 3-year-old Kemarion was hit by a vehicle while he was standing on Hatmaker Street. He’s still recovering in the hospital and his family is raising money to help pay bills during the hospital stay.
The experience is one 10-year-old Miacle Gassett has been through.
“I got hit right there on State (Avenue),” he said. “He ran the stop sign. I’m walking across and he ran the stop sign and then he hit me, like, then he just kept going.”
Gassett said he spent a few days in the hospital. He was hit on Mother’s Day last year.
He returned to State Avenue Thursday afternoon for a pedestrian safety demonstration organized by Community Matters.
“We need to have safer streets for our community,” said Community Matters executive director Mary Delaney. “We have to find a way to slow cars down.”
Latoya Dodds, 14, said the stretch of State Avenue near Hatmaker Street is busy for both drivers and pedestrians.
Oyler School is on Hatmaker Street. There are several businesses in the area, and Santa Maria has a location on Glenway Avenue that many Oyler students go to after school.
Dodds said she is cautious every time she has to cross the street.
“Slow down, not going fast is good,” Dodds said.
She would feel safer if there was a crossing guard in the area.
“[They would] look across the street and actually help little kids who are walking around by themselves,” Dodds said.
Dozens of people advocated for safer streets in Lower Price Hill. Two weeks ago, a 3-year-old was hit by car on Hatmaker Street. Several of the people urging drivers to slow down Thursday afternoon were kids. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/Qxc5fydAyL
— Jessica Hart WCPO (@JessicaHartTV) October 20, 2023
Delaney is pleading with the community to listen to the kids who live and go to school in this area.
“I know everyone is busy, got places to be, but we’re talking about people’s lives. Slow down, be cautious and just drive like your kid is out playing,” she said.
The demonstration caught the attention of two Cincinnati City Council members: Liz Keating and Reggie Harris. Both were shocked by what they saw.
“It’s honestly really disturbing,” Keating said. “I mean, these kids should not be begging for their lives to be able to stay safe.”
Harris said he noted multiple cars speeding down the street.
“In fact, my chief of staff and I walked over and even though there was a crosswalk, there were still three young children trying to cross as I walked into the middle of the street ... you could tell for them this is an everyday occurrence,” Harris said.
Keating and Harris both have some temporary ideas to make that area safer. Keating said she would want traffic officers helping direct vehicles until something else can be put in place.
“We need to get more visibility in the crosswalks. I just tried to cross and counted nearly 20 cars blow through the crosswalk before I could even cross,” Keating said.
Harris said getting more bumpouts could also help.
“Cars naturally slow down when they perceive a smaller area space for them to turn into,” Harris said.
Harris and Keating both talked about a federal grant the city received to address traffic calming measures called the RAISE grant. Harris said it will be a couple of million dollars, but doesn’t have the exact number or a time estimate on when the funds will become available.
The city tracks data and prioritizes different areas when it comes to pedestrian safety improvements.
“We’ll then use priority in neighborhoods based on data, you know, what’s the largest need,” Keating said. “We can also continue to push where we see some of the biggest issues, and you know, it’s a smaller community so maybe the data is not as high.”
A change.org petition was created to push for traffic calming measures after Kemarion was hit.
Until more is done, kids continue to push for drivers to slow down and be alert so Gassett and others don’t have to cross the street in fear.
