CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cleveland Heights is one step closer to improving safety for walkers, bicyclists and even drivers through its Comprehensive and Equitable Safety Action Plan.
“I don’t do a lot of cycling in town. I just don’t feel safe,” said Richard Waugh, a local resident.
As Waugh walked down Monticello Boulevard in Cleveland Heights on Wednesday, News 5’s Remi Murrey asked him what would make him feel safe, and he said more enforcement for distracted drivers.
“They don’t really look out for bicyclists in the first place but when they’re staring at their phone, it’s 5x worse,” said Waugh.
Other residents like Mike Gaynier, who attended Wednesday’s public meeting for Cleveland Heights’ Comprehensive and Equitable Safety Action Plan, told News 5 they want to see more sidewalks in neighborhoods.
“There’s no sidewalk on our side of the street. It’s five-lane road, with the highest speed limit in the city and unfortunately, we had a pedestrian fatality last November,” said Gaynier.
Cleveland Heights Mayor Khalil Seren told News 5 that cases where people have been killed while driving or walking only further emphasize the city’s need for this improved safety plan.
“We’ve had some really tragic occurrences as many communities have and I think recently, what we’ve seen is an uptick in irresponsible drive behavior,” said Seren.
Seren said the city recognizes all their roadways are not safe for different modes of travel.
But he said they hope to change this citywide, especially for disadvantaged communities.
“We want to create the safest environment we can so that we can avoid the emergencies that our first responders respond to,” said Seren.
Seren said Cleveland Heights is one of 14 cities across Northeast Ohio to receive $200,000 in funding through the federal government’s Safe Streets and Roads for All Program.
With this money, he said they can have community conversations like Wednesday’s and examine what improvements can be made to the city’s infrastructure, including speed bumps.
“We know we can’t control people’s hearts and minds, but what we can do is make changes in the physical environment that will force them to make changes in their behavior,” said Seren.
Wednesday’s public open house is one process out of many steps the city has to take before applying for funding for implementation to begin.
