A pedestrian was struck and killed by a car on this part of Wayne Avenue last winter, and a mobile speed enforcement unit that is stationed along the roadway recorded more than 20,800 speed violations in a three-month period this spring.
“Wayne Avenue has been on our radar for many years as an unlivable street for all modes of travel, but especially for people on bikes, people walking and people using mobility devices,” said Laura Estandia, executive director of Bike Miami Valley and a South Park resident. “Most importantly, it’s an unlivable street for its residents and businesses.”
The Wayne Avenue Traffic Safety Coalition last month sent a letter to Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. and City Manager Shelley Dickstein asking city leadership to redesign a highly traveled section of Wayne Avenue.
The letter asks the city to apply for transportation funding this fall to make significant changes to a 0.5-mile section of Wayne Avenue that can take 70 seconds or less to traverse by vehicle, depending on traffic.
The requested changes include reducing the speed limit on this part of the roadway to 25 mph from 35 mph and installing nine-foot sidewalks.
The group also wants the city to reduce the number of lanes of travel from two in each direction to one in each direction, with a middle turn lane. Parts of the road have a middle or lefthand turn lane.
The coalition also wants to see bike lanes and a new tree canopy installed.
“Our hope is to bring about a cohesive, broader vision for Wayne Avenue that takes into account the needs of all road users,” said Estandia, with Bike Miami Valley. “We want better for all of Wayne Avenue. ... We want to bring about safe streets and urban vibrancy to a street that should be walkable to downtown and our local grocery store but isn’t.”
The coalition says there were 69 crashes on Wayne Avenue from Wyoming Street to U.S. 35 in 2022.
Lowering the speed limit on Wayne Avenue would reduce the likelihood of fatal pedestrian strikes, said Willie Morris IV, president of the coalition and a South Park resident.
Morris said the mobile unit only captures violations when vehicles are traveling about 13 mph over the speed limit (or 48 mph). A mobile speed enforcement unit at Park Drive along Wayne Avenue recorded nearly 20,845 speed violations during a 92-day period this spring.
Morris said a AAA traffic safety study found that the average risk of death for pedestrians hit by a vehicle traveling at 50 mph is 75%.
“In a three-month stretch, from March 15 to June 15 of this year, there were 20,845 documented chances that the pedestrians that frequently walk to the grocery store, downtown or to one of our community’s small businesses faced a 75% chance of death,” he said. “This is not a risk we can take any longer.”
Wayne Avenue has narrow sidewalks that often are crowded with pedestrians, people riding bicycles and scooters and residents who rely on wheelchairs, said Jill Davis, who lives on Park Drive in South Park.
Davis was involved in a serious automobile crash at Wayne Avenue and Clover Street in March.
She said her car was struck by a van that ran the red light as her car turned left onto Wayne Avenue.
It was the same intersection where 44-year-old Jennifer Johnson on Dec. 28, 2022, was struck and killed by an SUV that drove up onto the sidewalk after the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Coalition members say they are worried about what will happen when the city widens a section of Wayne Avenue from Wyoming Street south to Waldo Street.
They fear this project will result in more speeding and dangerous driving behaviors.
The city has said it hopes to make traffic-calming improvements on the stretch of Wayne Avenue from U.S. 35 to East Fifth Street.
Proposed upgrades included bump outs to define existing parking areas on the street, new lighting and repairs to broken curbs and curb ramps.
Businesses along Wayne Avenue cannot thrive with such unsafe traffic conditions, said Mark Manovich, president of Historic South Park Inc.
“Unless we do something about the speed, and slow these cars down, we’re going to have another fatality and a lot of accidents,” he said.
Dayton City Commissioner Shenise Turner-Sloss promised coalition members that their concerns are being taken seriously and are not “falling on deaf ears.”
“We know that it is an issue and there are plans and things that are in the making to make sure we address those concerns overall,” she said.
Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. said city staff would follow up with coalition members to discuss the issues they raised.
Members of the Wayne Avenue Traffic Safety Coalition include residents, business owners and other stakeholders in the South Park and Twin Towers neighborhoods, both of which share Wayne Avenue as a boundary line.
Supporters and signers-on include the owners, presidents and CEOs of Ghostlight Coffee, South Park Tavern, Custom Frame Services Inc., Dayton’s Original Pizza Factory, Branch & Bone Artisan Ales, East End Community Services, Walnut Hills Association, Historic South Park Inc. and the Twin Towers Neighborhood Association.
About the Author