From curb to curb, dozens of volunteers painted and reinvented a high-traffic part of downtown Euclid on Saturday.
Those in the area said the speed limit is not followed, and it's not safe for bikers or walkers.
“We are building a new streetscape. That includes bike lanes, traffic-calming measures, reducing lanes from 2 to 1 in each direction, a beautifully planted median," said architect and volunteer Allison Lukacsy-Love.
She is leading the planning and design for the project. In addition to wanting to reduce speeders, volunteers want a fresh look in downtown.
The posted speed limit is 25 mph, but Lukacsy-Love said the road was designed for 45 mph.
"Which means that a motorist is very comfortable speeding 10, 15, even 20 miles per hour over the speed limit, so we’re trying to make that less comfortable," she said.
“It’s my neighborhood, and it’s our neighborhood. I want this to get back to being a slower space. It’s a 25 mph speed limit for a reason, and I just wish people would slow down a little," said volunteer Eric Wernet.
He lives across the street, and as a biker himself, he favors adding bike lanes.
With the way the traffic flow is now, he said the area is dangerous for those on two wheels or two feet.
Euclid is giving it a month to see if any changes are made in the area, keeping an eye on speeding.
“We really want to make sure the lessons that we learn from doing this temporary pop-up are able to be permanently implemented," Lukacsy-Love said.
Changes will stay up through the middle of October. During that time, traffic flow will be monitored to see if these temporary changes can become permanent.
