City and CPS press for pedestrian-safety upgrades near schools; administration applies for $1M Safe Routes grant

Council and CPS members closed their joint meeting by focusing on pedestrian safety near schools after a recent incident in which a high‑school‑age pedestrian was struck near a school corridor.

The chair said the city had asked the Department of Transportation Engineering to compile a list and map of traffic‑calming improvements near schools and distributed a poster and handout. "We asked the Department of Transportation Engineering to put together a list of what traffic calming improvements we've made near and around schools," the chair said.

Board and council members urged posting the list publicly and requested more detail on project timelines and planned dates. Board member Kendra Mapp asked for an additional column in the spreadsheet to indicate projected plan dates or prioritization to give more context for when improvements will occur.

Chair and members also discussed reducing speeds and tracking enforcement. The chair told the group that city administration had authorized an application to the Ohio Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program for a $1,000,000 grant to advance downtown and OTR area improvements. "We approved the city administration applying to the Ohio Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School program. They're gonna be applying for 1,000,000 dollar grant," the chair said.

Officials said the Department of Transportation will present an update to the Climate and City Services Committee about pedestrian-safety improvements and outcomes, and members discussed preparing a request for a report to more closely track speeding and the results of traffic‑calming measures.

Next steps: the city will post the materials publicly (Legistar/BoardDocs were noted), DOT will provide a pedestrian-safety update at a council committee meeting, and staff will develop a report template to track speed and project timelines for the next joint meeting.