College Hill Transportation Safety Improvements

 

The City of Cincinnati recently adopted a Complete Streets ordinance to improve the vitality and walkability of our neighborhoods. A complete street allows pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities to share the road safely.

The Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) is pleased that College Hill Forum has been awarded a Devou Good Foundation Active Transportation Grant to implement a Complete Streets traffic calming project on North Bend Road and Hamilton Avenue.

The College Hill Forum supports this project—the board president signed the funding agreement, and notification letters were sent to residents on North Bend Road between Simpson Avenue and Hempwood Avenue.

The College Hill Forum also passed a Vision Zero Resolution. Vision Zero is a global movement with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries.

The Complete Streets project aims to reduce speeding and improve safety for all street users while providing added protection for cars parked on the street. The interim materials the project is being constructed with have longevity but also provide flexibility for us to test and improve the proposed safety interventions.

The streets in College Hill are some of the most dangerous in the city for pedestrians. Over the last several years, five people have been killed and hundreds injured in traffic violence along North Bend Rd and Hamilton Ave. The streets are ill-equipped to safely serve the residents, visitors, bikers, walkers, joggers, people using mobility devices, and families living and working in these areas.

Statistically, pedestrians who are struck by drivers traveling at 40 MPH face a staggering 90% likelihood of a fatal outcome.

The traffic counts on Hamilton Avenue reveal that 60% of drivers exceeded the speed limit of 35 MPH. Notably, around 25% of the drivers were traveling at speeds of 60 MPH and above, with the highest recorded speed being 98 MPH.

Similarly, on North Bend Road, 55% of drivers were found to be surpassing the 35 MPH speed limit. Additionally, a noteworthy 20% of the drivers were traveling at speeds of 60 MPH and higher, and the highest recorded speed on this road was 89 MPH.

The Cincinnati Complete Streets traffic calming project includes the following:

  • A protected two-way bicycle lane on the north side of the street between Collegeview Place and Edwood Avenue. The protected bike lane will be separated from traffic using concrete wheel blocks and fiberglass paddles

  • 24/7 on-street parking on the south side of the street between Witherby Avenue and Hempwood Avenue. The parking will be protected with curb extensions comprised of concrete wheel blocks and plastic paddles. This will:

    • Calm traffic by visually narrowing the street

    • Improve the safety of pedestrians crossing the street by shortening the crossing distance

    • Prevent dangerous passing in the parking lane

  • Centerline hardening in the Hamilton/North Bend Intersection. Centerline hardening installs rubber bumps on the centerline adjacent to crosswalks. To avoid driving over the bumps, left-turning vehicles are forced to slow down and make more of a 90-degree turn, which can improve safety for pedestrians crossing the street

Residents have continually advocated for active transportation safety, most recently at the April 12th Rally For Safer Streets, asking cars to drive safely and slow down.

However, as advocate McKenna Stahl shares below, “There is only so much that can be done by raising awareness of pedestrians and speed limits when road design encourages unsafe behaviors.” (italics added)

This is where Complete Streets comes in. Here’s what resident advocates hope to see with Traffic Calming Measures:

DOTE liaison Felicia Eschenlohr, who has lived in CH on North Bend Road for 26 years, shared,  "I am hoping that all of the changes will lead to a forced reduction in speed and I am personally looking forward to crossing at safer crosswalks where none are now.

I have enjoyed all of the new restaurants in the neighborhood, but trying to walk in the business district feels like a dangerous game of Frogger. I hope the center line hardening and hopefully No Turn On Red signs will help [people] crossing at the main North Bend and Hamilton intersection. It is extremely dangerous and I would love to feel a bit safer.”

When asked what impact he foresees this project having as construction starts, CH Grass Roots Task Force Member Mark Ventura shared, “I see this project as sending a loud and friendly message that prioritizing one mode of transit at the cost of a community's cohesion is over. We are returning to Kindergarten and learning how to share.

I fully expect the project led by Devou will slow down extreme speeders, encourage travel by foot, bike, and chair, and create a deeper sense of community. So much of College Hill has been divided because of dangerous thoroughfares like Hamilton and North Bend.”

When asked what prompted her to get involved in CH safety, advocate McKenna Stahl shared, “I decided to get involved with pedestrian safety in College Hill after I moved here in September 2021 from Washington, DC. There were many instances in my first month alone where I walked to the business district and crossed Hamilton Ave. as I would in DC - with purpose and expectations that the driver is aware of pedestrians in the area.

However, I experienced many close calls and it became clear to me that people driving through College Hill do not expect there to be pedestrians and tend to fly through crosswalks at dangerous speeds. Around this time, there were also many new businesses and a new apartment complex getting ready to open their doors, which I believed would increase the number of pedestrians that would be present along Hamilton Ave.

My initial goal was to help raise awareness of pedestrians in the area, but [I] quickly realized there is a more difficult issue to address - speeding. There is only so much that can be done by raising awareness of pedestrians and speed limits when road design encourages unsafe behaviors.” (italics added)

We’re excited to see the safety measures keep our streets safer as construction progresses. You can learn more about the project area speed data, complete street plans, and give feedback below.

Feedback so far: Strong support from College Hill residents