Cincinnati Gets Serious About Pedestrian Safety

A new in-house team dedicated to pedestrian safety at Cincinnati City Hall and a new complete streets ordinance are some of the changes underway in Cincinnati.

2 minute read

January 17, 2023, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Nighttime view of Cincinnati, Ohio skyline

Sean Pavone / Cincinnati, Ohio

The Cincinnati City Council approved ordinance in October to create an in-house pedestrian safety crew, according to an article at the time by Anna Azallion for WCPO. The council acted to implement the new safety crew after a string of pedestrian crashes near the University of Cincinnati. The city counted 200 collisions with pedestrians in the city up until that point in 2022.

“The in-house safety crew will work on pedestrian safety projects like the installation of temporary bump-outs, signage, pain and rubber speed cushions,” according to the article.

Kea Wilson picked up the news for Streetsblog USA this month, putting the news of context of a recent groundswell of political and public support for pedestrian safety improvements in the Queen City.

The city recently more than doubled its funding for pedestrian safety initiatives as part of its 2023 budget, and adopted a Complete Streets ordinance in December that will require DOT leaders to explain themselves when they choose not to include vulnerable road user facilities in road projects; citizen-led advocacy groups have also successfully fought for significant infrastructure improvements in their neighborhoods.

Wilson speaks with Mel McVay, vision zero manager for the city, who talks about the growing support for political safety in the safety as well as what to expect from the five-person crew in the future. “Many of the most-effective pedestrian-focused projects, McVay explains, don't actually require specialized knowledge to install, because they rely on simple, easy-to-work-with materials like bolted-down plastic dividers to prevent drivers form drifting over center-lines, or high-visibility paint to make crosswalks easier for motorists to see at night,” for example.

More more information about the city’s new complete streets ordinance, see another article written by Azaillon in December. “Under the new law, the Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) will have a checklist to consider before moving forward with road improvement projects,” writes Azaillon. “The list includes five categories: bike facilities, sidewalk and curb ramps, traffic calming, safety improvements and comfort enhancements. Within those categories are things like bike lanes, sidewalks and speed humps.”

Thursday, January 5, 2023 in Streetsblog USA

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Two Rivian trucks charging at Rivian branded charging ports.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate

The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

1 hour ago - CALmatters

Metal U.S. Geodetic Survey marker in stone in Arizona.

Trump Cuts Decimate Mapping Agency

The National Geodetic Survey maintains and updates critical spatial reference systems used extensively in both the public and private sectors.

2 hours ago - Wired

Close-up of 10 mph speed limit sign.

Washington Passes First US ‘Shared Streets’ Law

Cities will be allowed to lower speed limits to 10 miles per hour and prioritize pedestrians on certain streets.

3 hours ago - The Urbanist