Summary
The city of Columbus lowered several downtown street speed limits from 35 mph to 25 mph in March of 2023 in an effort to improve street safety. These streets are in the heart of downtown Columbus, within the borders of the city’s business district. This change was a direct result of the Vision Zero initiative the city committed to in 2020. The city has seen positive changes from this project, including a significant reduction in crashes, reduced fatalities and injuries, and an overall safer roadway environment.
Context
Regional Risk. The Columbus city downtown district has long been an accident hotspot, with pedestrian crashes the most frequent type by far. Of the 11 streets in the district that had maintained speed limits over 25mph, the majority were designated High Injury Networks by Vision Zero Columbus at the time; Vision Zero defines High Injury Networks as Corridors in the City of Columbus that have a high density of fatal, serious injury and/or vulnerable user crashes per half mile segment (not including highways).
Contributing to fatal and serious injury crashes has been speeding, which is up 40% compared to 5 years ago (Vision Zero).
““When a vulnerable road user is in a crash, a difference of 10 miles per hour in the speed limit may also be the difference between life and death.””
Unsurprisingly, there has been notable public concern regarding the safety of Columbus roads, as the number of people killed in crashes annually in the city, not including highways, doubled from 37 to 73 from 2015 to 2021 (NBC4). And in 2023, Columbus City Councilmember and Chair of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee Lourdes Barroso de Padilla said, again, that reducing speed limits was among the top concerns heard from residents in Columbus communities (NBC4).
Gay Street in 2007 (top) and 2022 (bottom) — Photos via Google Streetview. Courtesy of Columbus Underground.
Momentum to Make Downtown Streets More Multi-Modal. In 2022, the City adopted a downtown master plan, which includes various projects intended to revitalize communities and transportation structures (Downtown Columbus Inc.). This includes narrowing streets, converting one-way streets to two-way streets, and implementing more pedestrian friendly infrastructure. Such work, such as the reconstruction and narrowing of Gay Street had occurred or was already underway when the vote to lower speed limits came before city council, beginning in 2021.
Implementing Vision Zero Columbus’s Action Plan
Vision Zero’s Mission. Vision Zero Columbus is a city initiative that includes nonprofit and educational leaders, in addition to other public sector partners. Many other cities around the country have also adopted Vision Zero planning. All initiatives work to end all preventable serious and fatal crashes. The initiative advises and advocates for safer traffic procedures and road measures. This is achieved by conducting traffic studies and additional research to aid informed decision-making regarding roadway construction and renovation.
Zero Vison Columbus has reported “$5 million of dedicated gas tax and capital funds per year fund[ed] vision zero action plan strategies during (their) first two-year action plan” and “more than $15 million was invested directly in implementing Vision Zero strategies” (Vision Zero).
In addition to speed restrictions, Vision Zero Columbus is also working to implement a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) safety feature throughout the city. A Leading Pedestrian Interval prioritizes pedestrians at intersections and provides them with a walk signal up to 7 seconds before drivers are signaled a green light. Reducing driving speed is central to the organization’s zero crash mission, as Vision Zero designates speed as the most important factor to roadway safety.
““If people use the rules of the road, if they use the tools that are on the roadways, we know that we can prevent crashes from happening.””
What Changed. Beginning in spring 2023, more than 100 new 25 mph speed limit signs were installed throughout downtown, and 134 traffic signals were retimed to synchronize with the reduced speed limit and encourage compliance (Vision Zero).
Outcomes of Reducing Speed Limits
Safer Streets. The speed reduction initiative in addition to the Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) safety feature installed in downtown’s crosswalks has contributed to significantly safer roadways in the central business district. Over the 11-month period before the change, there were 479 reported crashes in Columbus roadways while there were 407 in the next 11 months after the change. Additionally, within the two time frames, fatal and serious injury crashes dropped from 19 to 9 (City of Columbus & Columbus Underground). Meaning that fatal and serious injury crashes were reduced by over half their original quantity and overall crashes reduced by nearly 15%.
Evidence that Interventions Work and Should be Replicated. This initiative in downtown Columbus has saved lives and created a safer central commercial district for both pedestrians and vehicle users. Vision Zero Columbus continues to work towards crash reduction through speed reduction and the Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) safety feature in other accident-prone areas of the city (Vision Zero).
Funding
The speed reduction initiative for Downtown Columbus was a combined effort of the Department of Public Service and Vison Zero Columbus. Both entities receive local tax revenue and funding from federal grants. The cost of changing speed signs and adjusting signal timers was nominal given the lack of construction required and in fact was recorded in the Columbus City Council minutes as a change costing $0.00. On average, the cost of a speed limit sign is typically less than $150 for the sign and mounting hardware (ODOT sign costs).
A Path to Success
Although the downtown speed reduction project ultimately succeeded, it was an initiative that took many years to implement. The concept of reducing downtown street speeds was first proposed in 2021, however an ordinance implementing the change was not approved for 2 years, until February of 2023.
It Takes a Village. Despite the slow start, the initiative eventually gained support, receiving unanimous 7-0 approval from the Columbus city council. The project additionally received advocacy from Columbus City Mayor Andrew J. Ginther as well as Columbus City Councilmember and Chair of the Public Safety and Transportation Committee Lourdes Barroso de Padilla who gave an informational presentation on the project at a city council meeting. This support was vital to the project’s success and community acceptance.
Legal Standing. The city has jurisdiction to reduce speed limits in the downtown district given it qualifies as a business district per city standards. And although this meant the city did not need to seek the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) approval, the city was still required to collaborate with ODOT to define the business district and determine its boundaries.
Future Initiatives
A Vision of a Multimodal Columbus. Although some advocates argued that lowering speed limits is not nearly enough to effectively improve the safety of Columbus’s transportation system, it had demonstratively reduced serious and fatal crashes in the downtown.
Certainly, complete street reform and construction, such as the introduction of bus-only and bicycle lanes to promote multiple modes of transportation, will further reduce the threat of injury or death on the city’s roadways, but these changes have had immediate positive outcomes.
The city plans to reconstruct many major roadways in Columbus and “put people first” in their development planning. Many of their projects expect to implement road medians, improved crosswalks, protected bicycle lanes, and widened sidewalks. For example, these interventions will likely be included in a restructuring of Broad St. that is being considered. Additionally, similar projects are underway or have been recently completed across the state, such as Youngstown’s SMART2 Network projects.
References:
Lower Downtown Speed Limit Led to Fewer Crashes; More Changes Planned
Speed limits changing in Downtown Columbus: When, where and how much: NBC4
Opinion: Reducing Downtown Speed Limits is Great, But Not Nearly Enough
There have been less fatal crashes in downtown Columbus after speed limit was lowered to 25 mph