In December 2022 the City of Cincinnati passed a Complete Street ordinance, requiring the Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) to consider adding pedestrian-friendly design features to any road project in the city. If unable to incorporate these elements, they must document why they could not be included.

Now, one year after this ordinance was passed, there are measurable outcomes to examine. Has the Complete Streets ordinance resulted in safer streets in Cincinnati?

Cincinnati’s DOTE released the 2023 Complete Streets report in January 2024, which documents the number and type of safety improvements implemented throughout the city as well as traffic crash data.  

• 4 miles of new bike facilities

• 169,621 square feet of new/repaired/widened sidewalk and 169 curb ramp installations

• 112 traffic-calming improvements

• 557 safety improvements

• 515 comfort enhancements

The number of Cincinnati traffic crashes in 2023 was 12,810, a 15% decrease from the previous 5-year average. The number of traffic fatalities was up 8.5% compared to the five-year average. There were 11 pedestrian deaths in 2023, up 4 compared to the previous 5-year average.

The 2023 ordinance was not much of a change for DOTE, as they were already attempting to incorporate Complete Street elements wherever possible. What this ordinance did do however, was set up a structure for recording barriers to implementation and capturing measurable results. This policy will help the city identify what they cannot do with their current resources and provide the opportunity to add resources as needed.

John Brazina, DOTE Director, encourages other communities to adopt similar ordinances. “It is a simple idea”, he says, “and doesn’t change much other than a couple process changes.” The work put into the reporting is minor compared to the benefit of demonstrating the results of what the staff is accomplishing.

The Complete Streets ordinance also makes the city more competitive for federal infrastructure funding, as it demonstrates the city’s commitment to safer streets.

When the ordinance was announced in fall of 2022, the ordinance’s author, Councilmember Mark Jeffreys said, “This won't change the design of our streets overnight, but it will start to bend the curve.” One year later and hundreds of improvements later, that prediction holds true.