CINCINNATI -- The city furthered its efforts toward pedestrian safety improvements Wednesday with the launch of a city-wide online survey that allows residents to pinpoint on a map a problem area for walkers and bicyclists.
"As a crowd-sourcing tool, the Pedestrian Safety Survey will help us gauge the magnitude of a specific concern," Michael Moore, the director of the city's Department of Transportation and Engineering, said in a news release.
"We will use the feedback to prioritize safety improvements in our neighborhoods," he said.
The survey will gather information from residents until April 30, 2018. Users can report issues like:
- walk signal is too short
- long wait for a walk signal
- frequent jaywalking
- vehicles running stops
- speeding
- double parking
- parking too close to an intersection
- vehicles not yielding at crosswalks
- lack of visibility
- no sidewalks
- no bike facilities
- parking on the sidewalk
- crosswalk needed
- accessibility issue, among others
A screen shot of the online Pedestrian Safety Survey (Click or tap to enlarge).
As WCPO previously reported, the survey was piloted last August in Northside, arguably the neighborhood hit hardest with pedestrian safety issues over the last several years. Hamilton Avenue has seen multiple high-profile incidents -- some fatal -- involving pedestrians being struck in and outside crosswalks.
IN DEPTH: Northside study underway amid continued demand for safer streets
The outcry from Northside residents reached a fever pitch in September 2016, after beloved neighborhood business owner Sarah Cole was killed crossing Hamilton Avenue. Cole owned the popular burger joint Tickle Pickle.
In the months following, more and more neighborhoods have come forward with concerns over pedestrian safety, including East Price Hill, Clifton, Hyde Park and Mount Washington, to name a few.
"This is a really big issue," City Council member Greg Landsman told WCPO last month. "It's a big issue all over the city."
Landsman's remarks came after a WCPO investigation found that non-motorists make up a disproportionate amount of crash injuries and deaths in Cincinnati, even though they make up a small percentage of total commutes made.
"During the course of the campaign, we knocked on some 25,000 doors, perhaps more, and it was in the top of everyone's list of priorities," Landsman said.
The survey is one element of City Council's commitment last year to sweeping pedestrian safety improvements throughout the city. Council approved last June $500,000 in capital investment toward those efforts.
Pat LaFleur reports on transportation and mobility for WCPO. Connect with him on Twitter (@pat_laFleur) and on Facebook.
