CLEVELAND — Last summer, the City of Cleveland initiated a speed table pilot program aimed at slowing down speeding on primarily residential roads.
On Thursday, the city released the results of the pilot, which showed average speeds were 7.8 miles per hour slower at the 10 locations where the speed tables were installed. Additionally, more than 77 percent of respondents to the resident survey indicated support for more speed tables across the city.
“We continue to hear from residents who are concerned about speeding in their neighborhoods and we take these concerns very seriously,” Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said in a statement. “I am encouraged by the results of the speed table pilot, and we will continue to curtail this dangerous behavior through physical traffic calming and data-driven solutions to create safer streets.”
The pilot program was first announced last June, with tables installed in August and a survey being sent to residents in February. Pre- and post-speed data was also collected on the pilot and pilot-adjacent streets to determine the pilot's effectiveness.
As a part of the most recent round of proposals for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) resources, Mayor Bibb requested $3 million for the ‘Back to Basics’ fund to support additional speed table installations and other multimodal and safety improvements. Cleveland City Council is currently reviewing the ‘Back to Basics’ proposal.
“As we move into the next phase of this work, we are continually taking in resident reports of issues and concerns and collecting traffic data to inform our response,” Cleveland’s Senior Strategist for Transit and Mobility Calley Mersmann said in a statement. “This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. We are aligning feedback and data with proven methods to slow traffic and improve safety street by street across our neighborhoods.”
More information on the speed table pilot program results and the City's neighborhood traffic calming efforts can be found at www.clevelandohio.gov/TrafficCalming.