Label
Safe Streets, Strong Neighborhoods
Council Member Melden
Title
Establishing the "Safe Streets, Strong Neighborhoods" initiative and Amending Section 303.99(a)(1) of the Toledo Municipal Code, "Traffic Code misdemeanor classifications and penalties; fines" to double the fines for speeding in residential areas; and declaring an emergency.
Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
In 2019, Toledo was designated the 64th most dangerous metro area for pedestrians in the United States with pedestrian safety on a downward trend since 2016 according to a 2019 safety study conducted by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. A significant number of complaints of speeding in residential neighborhoods in the City of Toledo has given rise to a study of how to improve the safety of not just Toledo streets, but Toledo neighborhoods as a whole.
In consultation with community leaders, after gaining insight from best practices throughout the country, and after conversation with leadership in the Administration, Council Member Sam Melden has assembled a 6 point "Safe Streets, Strong Neighborhoods" Plan. Three steps to take in the short term, three areas of focus in the long term.
An immediate short-term step is to increase the fines for speeding on residential streets. Toledo will never be the city it can be if our residents are afraid of walking their dog, teaching their kid to ride a bike, or even going for a walk with their grandparent. When motorists use our residential streets as their shortcut around traffic, or even their personal racetrack, they are ruining our neighborhoods. Doubling fines for speeding in other situations has long been used as an effective means to reduce speed in other sensitive situations such as construction zones. A 2002 study of motorist behavior in construction zones conducted by the Oregon Department of Transportation concluded that 51.3% of drivers said their driving was influenced "a lot" and 19.8% said their driving wa...
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