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DOTE says traffic calming cut speeding nearly in half at pilot sites, cites 14,000 fewer high-speed drivers on one corridor
Summary
The city's Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) told a Cincinnati City Council committee that 2025 traffic-calming projects produced an average 48% decrease in speeding at 18 measured sites and marked drops in crashes at pilot locations; staff said they will provide treatment-level data to council on request.
The Cincinnati Department of Transportation and Engineering presented data to the City Council Climate & City Services committee showing large decreases in speeding and crashes at streets where the city installed traffic‑calming measures.
DOTE Director Long opened the briefing and turned it over to program manager Mel McVay, who said the program works with community councils to nominate two priority streets per budget cycle and then scores streets using crash and speed data, transit proximity and pedestrian generators. McVay said DOTE installed 86 traffic calming improvements in 22 neighborhoods in 2025, including speed cushions, speed tables, raised crosswalks and curb extensions.
McVay described pilot treatments the city tested last year, including a two‑way left‑turn lane ‘‘bump’’ on Glenway and a stop bump on 13th Street in Pendleton. DOTE staff told the committee they have before-and-after data from about 18 sites and have observed an average 48% reduction in driver speeding across those locations. McVay highlighted one example on Beechmont Avenue in Mount Washington, saying the share of drivers exceeding 40 mph dropped from roughly 25% to 3%, which DOTE estimated equates to about 14,000 fewer vehicle trips at that speed in two days.
The presentation also showed crash declines at treated locations. McVay said some East Price Hill sites dropped from about 30–40 crashes per year to fewer than 20 after installations.
Vice chair (introduced in the meeting as Jane) asked whether DOTE has broken the data down by treatment type — for example, which reductions were driven by raised crosswalks versus speed cushions or stop bumps. McVay said she did not have those split figures offhand but would follow up with a treatment-level analysis; she noted raised crosswalks are less common because they are more expensive.
Council members who spoke praised the program's safety gains. Council member Mark Jeffries stressed the human impact of prevented deaths and injuries, citing prior year totals of 15, 10 and five traffic deaths and saying neighborhoods requested the measures. Council member Seth Walsh said the results demonstrated the need to continue investing in the program.
McVay closed by explaining how residents can request traffic calming: by contacting her office via email or phone or by using the map on DOTE's website to report safety concerns, which the department reviews when planning long-term improvements.
The committee took no formal action at the meeting; DOTE said it would supply additional data on treatment-specific outcomes on request.
