Safer Streets

Almost one-quarter of Cincinnatians live without a car. Despite this, our streets and transportation systems remain fundamentally unsafe for people walking and rolling. 101 pedestrians and 11 cyclists have been severely or fatally injured on our roads since 2021. Although 2022 marked the safest year since 2013 for pedestrians, it will take a lot more work to undo the decades of policies aimed at speeding up vehicle traffic with no regard for the safety of other road users. It’s critical that we address these inequities by proportionally investing in alternative transportation, and creating safer, more complete streets across all neighborhoods.

What We’ve Done:

This Council has made historic investments in pedestrian safety infrastructure and structural changes to make our streets safer for pedestrians. We’ve approved millions of dollars towards traffic calming and other pedestrian street improvements, which is the most the City has ever invested!

We worked to streamline the responsiveness of these projects, approving an in-house crew to implement projects faster. Digging deeper into the causes of fatal collisions, my office passed a motion to strategically remove rush-hour parking restrictions throughout the city, which is good for small businesses and reduces the travel lanes in our most pedestrianized areas.

Finally, the Complete Streets Ordinance – championed by Councilmember Jeffreys and passed by Council late last year – marks a comprehensive approach to safer streets that will continue to drive down the number of people hurt or killed on our streets.

Work to be Done: 

We adopted a Vision Zero policy, and will not stop until that goal is met. People should have options to around the city to where they need to be. Through my office’s participation in the Northside Pedestrian Safety working group, new, creative, hyper-local strategies will begin to emerge to solve the unique pedestrian needs of each neighborhood. We believe that a government that pursues these policies will deliver the equitable, safe, resilient, and high-quality mobility networks that all Cincinnatians deserve.