Traffic and Pedestrian Survey - Cincinnati, Ohio by Paul

Traffic and Pedestrian Survey - Cincinnati, Ohio by Paul - May 2019 Scholarship Essay

Ten thousand dollars isn’t a large some of money to solve an issue for a community of people. However it can be used to better identify a solution.

I grew up in Cincinnati Ohio - a mid sized city with a population of nearly 300,000 people. It is mostly filled with suburban life and commercial parks where the majority of people work. The main form of transportation is through cars. The roads however are not in the best condition: potholes are found on most streets due to the unpredictable temperature changes during seasonal transition weather. Pedestrians and cyclists are not uncommon but are not widespread. This is due to the fact that sidewalks and bike lanes are lacking in Cincinnati. Sidewalks are mostly found in the downtown area and in neighborhoods with higher tax payers.
Another road related issue is the danger cyclists and motorists have when navigating around the potholes. This damages vehicles and places all people on the road at risk. Many traffic lights are not placed well or timed safely. Often the transition between red and green (and vice versa) do not have a significant delay. The danger of this truly comes from the people who choose to not stop at a yellow light or run through a red light. Along with this is the danger to pedestrians, the pedestrian walk signal is synchronized with the light transition. In other cities, I have observed that the pedestrian light will turn to walk before the green, giving the pedestrians a safe right of way.

In order to help provide a safer infrastructure for roads, surveying traffic patterns and common crosswalks would be a smart investment. The data collected can be used to inform the city members on what improvements can be implemented to better their everyday lives in transit. The money could be used to rent specialized equipment to track average car speed, traffic density vs time of day, traffic patterns, crosswalk placement, sidewalk placement, added bike lanes, etc.

The geographical survey can help the city better plan for more pedestrian and cyclist activity. With more sidewalks placed, there is a bigger possibility that more people would be inspired to walk or cycle. With a growing amount of pedestrians, the use of public transportation would become more desirable for longer distances. This could lower the carbon footprint by decreasing the amount of personal cars being used.

Proposal by:
Paul Osadchy
May 2019