Akron drivers can soon expect to see more speed tables on streets across the city.
Officials will install 21 speed tables on 11 streets beginning in June, as part of an ongoing effort to curb speeds in neighborhood areas, according to a Tuesday news release.
“Speeding in residential areas is one of the most common concerns we hear from Akron residents,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said in the release. “Last year’s traffic calming program proved itself to be an effective tool to curb speeding and help make our neighborhoods safer for pedestrians and motorists alike.”
Speed tables are long, flat mounds placed in the middle of a roadway with the intent to get drivers to slow down.
The city of Akron and the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) conducted a small pilot program in 2020 that found speed tables in two locations were effective in reducing speeds, according to the release. Officials expanded the program last summer by installing tables in each of the city’s 10 wards.
Data collected last year showed speeds were six miles per hour lower, on average, when the tables were in use, according to the release. Additionally, the study found tables were most effective when more than one was placed on the same street.
Officials picked the locations for the 2023 rollout based on requests from residents, as well as speed data from the Akron Police Department. Residents who live on a street where tables will be installed will be notified in advance, and the city will post signage on the road to alert drivers to the new tables.
The speed tables will be removed ahead of the winter months.
The city also plans to implement solar speed limit signs that will flash the speed of oncoming vehicles at the driver and collect speed data. Locations are still being determined for this rollout, according to the release.
Speed tables will be installed at the following locations:
- Crosby Street (2) and Maple Street (1) in Ward 1
- Evans Avenue (2) in Ward 2
- S. Rhodes Avenue (2) in Ward 3
- Storer Avenue (2) in Ward 4
- Baird Street (2) in Ward 5
- Benton Street (2) in Ward 6
- Glenmount Avenue (2) in Ward 7
- Ridgewood Road (2) in Ward 8
- Clearview Avenue (2) in Ward 9
- Caddo Avenue (2) in Ward 10
The program launch comes just days after Cleveland officials announced a $3 million expansion of the city's speed table program.
Cleveland's pilot program of 10 speed tables last summer resulted in a nearly eight mile per hour reduction in speeds on streets where they were installed.
