Cincinnati officials say their traffic calming push is working, and they brought the numbers to prove it. City counts presented to council show speeding on targeted streets has fallen by roughly half. The Department of Transportation and Engineering's small-scale fixes, including speed cushions, smaller humps, raised crosswalks and curb extensions, produced an average 48% drop in drivers speeding where they were installed. On Beechmont Avenue in Mount Washington, the share of drivers exceeding 40 mph fell from about 25% to 3% after the work.
Numbers presented to council
Melissa McVay, the city's bicycle and pedestrian safety program manager, unveiled the figures at a Climate, City Services and Infrastructure Committee meeting on April 14. "On average, we've seen a 48% decrease in driver speeding," McVay said, as reported by CityBeat. Council members framed the reductions as evidence the program is saving lives and argued it deserves continued investment.
Before-and-after counts
Local TV coverage of the briefing noted that the department used before-and-after speed counts on pilot streets and found a roughly 48% reduction in drivers speeding after installations, as reported by WLWT. That reporting also said the city installed 86 small traffic calming improvements across 22 neighborhoods last year and is planning roughly 35 more projects this year. City staff said engineering choices are guided by crash, speed and transit data rather than anecdote alone.
Neighborhood wins and pilots
McVay highlighted Beechmont Avenue and Warsaw Avenue as dramatic examples. On Beechmont, the share of drivers over 40 mph dropped from about 25% to 3%, which she said translated to roughly 14,000 fewer speeders over a two-day count, and Warsaw's average speeds fell from about 37 mph to 16 mph after cushions and humps were added, according to CityBeat. The department also piloted a small "stop-hump" in Pendleton to get drivers to slow before stop signs, a tactic Fox19 covered last year that staff say has reduced people running stops. Not every installation has been free of complaint, and crews reported mixed feedback from Glenway Avenue residents after smaller humps were added.
Program scale and next steps
McVay told council the Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Program will continue expanding this year, and the Department of Transportation & Engineering maintains a public summary of past work and submission windows for FY26 project funding on its website, per the city's news page. The department's materials explain how neighborhoods can nominate priority streets and describe the kinds of quick-build fixes the city uses. Council budget decisions this spring will determine how many of the planned projects are funded for construction this season.
Enforcement, community reaction and what to watch
Advocates and some council members cautioned that engineering alone will not erase risk if enforcement and broader systemic factors lag. Local reporting has documented long-term declines in traffic enforcement that complicate the safety picture, as examined by WCPO. City staff said installations will be accompanied by neighborhood outreach and follow-up monitoring to check whether speeds stay down. For now, the early counts give city leaders a concrete talking point as they argue for continuing, and possibly expanding, the traffic calming program.
