Cincinnati Announces Pedestrian Safety Plans

Seth Weber writes that Cincinnati is stepping up efforts to improve pedestrian safety. Mayor John Cranley wants to take a Vision Zero approach and says the city will increase traffic enforcement and fund street improvements, including curb extensions, flashing lights at crosswalks, and new crosswalks.

The city has also seen improvements with the lifting of rush-hour parking restrictions as a way to decrease road capacity and slow traffic. In addition, the mayor wants to see the city pass an ordinance allowing volunteer crossing guards to help children get to their schools safely. 

Cincinnati pedestrian advocates welcome the changes but wish they had happened sooner. One of the more recent pedestrian fatalities was a hit-and-run incident in September 2018 involving a 15-year-old girl. "In order to get to her bus stop before school, Gabby [Rodriguez] had to walk across the four lanes of Harrison Avenue. Gabby had just started taking the Metro for the first time this school year, Shawna [Rodriguez] said," writes Weber.