CLEVELAND — The Cleveland City Council issued a press release praising the city of Lakewood for reducing the speed limit on its portion of Lake Avenue while noting that Cleveland is working on the same for its part of the road.
Lakewood reduced the speed limit on Lake from 35 mph to 30 mph, beginning June 3. The council’s release notes that the city has met with ODOT and gathered required data needed to make a change to the speed limit on their section of the road.
The city will also seek to reduce the speed limit from 35 mph to 30 mph from West 117th Street to Detroit Avenue. They expect a decision to come “in the coming months.”
"Residents on Lake Avenue have long advocated for a speed limit reduction, in acknowledgement of the residential character of this street and the variety of users who live and play here, including cyclists and families with young children," Councilmember Jenny Spencer said in the release. "I fully support a speed limit reduction which will make Lake Avenue safer through both Lakewood and Cleveland, and I'm grateful for the team at the City of Cleveland who is putting the steps in place to make this possible."
The release cites data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which stated that a small decrease in speed limits like this can reduce the chance of a crash causing injuries by 20%.
"Lowering speed limits on streets like Lake Avenue helps create safer neighborhoods for Clevelanders, and makes it more comfortable to walk and bike," said Calley Mersmann, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb's senior strategist for transit & mobility, in the release. "This speed limit reduction is in strong alignment with our transportation and safety goals, including our Vision Zero work to eliminate traffic crashes leading to serious injury or death. We look forward to working with ODOT to complete the adjustment process."
