6. ORDINANCE 25-2022 - AN ORDINANCE modifying Section 333.03(b)(2) of the Lakewood Codified Ordinances establishing a 25 miles-per-hour speed limit for Lake Avenue to ensure the calming of traffic and safe passage of cyclists. (1st read & referred to PWS 7/18/22; 2nd reading 9/6/22)
I am a life- long resident and currently reside on Lake Ave. When the restriping was completed I contacted Dan OMalley with my ongoing concerns as to what the city had just created. Prior to this installation of these bike lanes, we were all assessed for the necessary repairs or replacement of our sidewalks. the city claimed that this was to create a safe passage for our residents and thereby removing all tripping hazards. we ponied up the money and we all have brand new sidewalks on Lake Avenue. But once you put that bike path in, there was a little to no regard as to who was going to be using it. It is not a bike path, but rather a multipurpose trail. Almost no one uses those sidewalks. Those of us who live here have seen everything from mini bikes, wheelchairs, skateboarders, rollerbladers, joggers, walkers, dogs and even toddlers. Clearly this has created a very dangerous situation down as everyone feels it is their right to be in the street. But now your solution is to change the speed limit to protect bike traffic. Your national weather averages for precipitation in this part of Ohio will show you that 45% of the year we are either experiencing rain sleet or snow. So, again, for six months out of the year, you screw up car traffic for the few who want to be out peddling around. I wonder if any one at City Hall decided to just check with our PD and EMS crews to find out whether what they claim with respect to speeding and accidents is even true. And does any of it involve pedestrians in the street. If you cannot control even the 25 mph speed limits on sidestreets, what makes you think that you’re going to control the speed limit on Lake Avenue when it’s changed. Try controlling it now. Passing out tickets for speeding and other moving violations hits offenders in their wallets and its revenue for the city. There’s literally no point in changing speed limits when you don’t or can’t enforce what you already have in place.
As a resident of Lake Avenue, I can attest to how fast drivers speed on Lake. Reducing the speed limit and having the occasional police officer enforcing it will help calm the traffic on this residential road.
Lake Avenue is a residential street, and as such it should be 25mph. However, despite the fact that "Lakewood prides itself on being a family-friendly, bike able, walkable city..." it routinely fails at this and Lake Avenue is no exception. Reducing the speed to 25 mph, without making any changes to the street design is complete folly. It is very well known that signs have a minimal affect on the speed of drivers, and that physical changes to the street that make the target speed limit "feel natural" is the only real effective way to reduce speeds. Based on previous design goals it is clear to me that the city departments understand this. It is well understood at the state, national, and international level through numerous studies, and is widely available in many documents.
In 2019, when the city was re-striping Lake Ave, they had the opportunity to create the safest option available to it, but it did not pursue this route. Once again, Lakewood may pride itself on being bike able and walkable, but it fails to carry out plans that fulfill that claim on a regular basis. The attached image is a slide from the "Lake Avenue Striping Community Meeting" on October 24th, 2018. You can see that this option, which would have physically bounded the automobile lanes causing drivers to slow down, while also protecting bicyclists, was proposed but not enacted. It was rejected based on claims that it would be "confusing" by a select group of individuals who have the time and resources to attend these meetings, not a truly democratic process, but a process of the well-off. The design implemented once again prioritizes drivers above everyone else on the street, as the city has done and continues to do time and time again.
The city should demonstrate their commitment to traffic calming and bike-ability by correcting their mistake and implementing the road design in the attached slide to reduce traffic speeds and protect cyclists. Anything less is a failure.
I am a life- long resident and currently reside on Lake Ave. When the restriping was completed I contacted Dan OMalley with my ongoing concerns as to what the city had just created. Prior to this installation of these bike lanes, we were all assessed for the necessary repairs or replacement of our sidewalks. the city claimed that this was to create a safe passage for our residents and thereby removing all tripping hazards. we ponied up the money and we all have brand new sidewalks on Lake Avenue. But once you put that bike path in, there was a little to no regard as to who was going to be using it. It is not a bike path, but rather a multipurpose trail. Almost no one uses those sidewalks. Those of us who live here have seen everything from mini bikes, wheelchairs, skateboarders, rollerbladers, joggers, walkers, dogs and even toddlers. Clearly this has created a very dangerous situation down as everyone feels it is their right to be in the street. But now your solution is to change the speed limit to protect bike traffic. Your national weather averages for precipitation in this part of Ohio will show you that 45% of the year we are either experiencing rain sleet or snow. So, again, for six months out of the year, you screw up car traffic for the few who want to be out peddling around. I wonder if any one at City Hall decided to just check with our PD and EMS crews to find out whether what they claim with respect to speeding and accidents is even true. And does any of it involve pedestrians in the street. If you cannot control even the 25 mph speed limits on sidestreets, what makes you think that you’re going to control the speed limit on Lake Avenue when it’s changed. Try controlling it now. Passing out tickets for speeding and other moving violations hits offenders in their wallets and its revenue for the city. There’s literally no point in changing speed limits when you don’t or can’t enforce what you already have in place.
As a resident of Lake Avenue, I can attest to how fast drivers speed on Lake. Reducing the speed limit and having the occasional police officer enforcing it will help calm the traffic on this residential road.
Lake Avenue is a residential street, and as such it should be 25mph. However, despite the fact that "Lakewood prides itself on being a family-friendly, bike able, walkable city..." it routinely fails at this and Lake Avenue is no exception. Reducing the speed to 25 mph, without making any changes to the street design is complete folly. It is very well known that signs have a minimal affect on the speed of drivers, and that physical changes to the street that make the target speed limit "feel natural" is the only real effective way to reduce speeds. Based on previous design goals it is clear to me that the city departments understand this. It is well understood at the state, national, and international level through numerous studies, and is widely available in many documents.
In 2019, when the city was re-striping Lake Ave, they had the opportunity to create the safest option available to it, but it did not pursue this route. Once again, Lakewood may pride itself on being bike able and walkable, but it fails to carry out plans that fulfill that claim on a regular basis. The attached image is a slide from the "Lake Avenue Striping Community Meeting" on October 24th, 2018. You can see that this option, which would have physically bounded the automobile lanes causing drivers to slow down, while also protecting bicyclists, was proposed but not enacted. It was rejected based on claims that it would be "confusing" by a select group of individuals who have the time and resources to attend these meetings, not a truly democratic process, but a process of the well-off. The design implemented once again prioritizes drivers above everyone else on the street, as the city has done and continues to do time and time again.
The city should demonstrate their commitment to traffic calming and bike-ability by correcting their mistake and implementing the road design in the attached slide to reduce traffic speeds and protect cyclists. Anything less is a failure.