AKRON, Ohio — A group of Akron residents in the city’s Copley-Maple and East Akron neighborhoods is coming up with ways to make their streets safer.
This comes after the city just announced Akron’s Safe Streets 4 All Program on Tuesday.
Now, City of Akron Project Manager and Civil Engineer David Clapp said they’re gathering the community’s feedback to help the city come up with a safety action plan to reduce traffic-related deaths and serious injuries for everyone to travel in Akron.
“The data can only tell you so much, and we only get the data from crashes or things that actually happen, but we don’t get the data from the near misses and really just getting the information from the people on the ground,” said Clapp.
That’s why Clapp met with people like Larry, an Akron resident, during Ward 3’s monthly meeting to hear what matters most to him and his neighbors.
“We don’t have any speed limit signs. There’s no speed limit signs on our street,” said Larry. “The Manchester Road Bypass area is very unsafe like trafficwise. You’ve got people that just run through the stop signs constantly, going both directions. I’ve almost been hit numerous times going both directions.”
Meanwhile, Akron City Council President Margo Sommerville said another big concern is speeding.
“We see far too much speeding in residential neighborhoods. But we’re also looking at how can we make sure that our streets are pedestrian-friendly,” said Sommerville.
Using data from the region’s High Injury Network, the city said there have been almost 5,000 total crashes, 134 fatal and serious injury crashes and 98 bike and pedestrian crashes between 2016 and 2025 in both the study areas.
Clapp said the city hopes to reduce serious crashes through pedestrian protection, roadway departure reduction, intersection improvements and crosscutting strategies.
But first, Clapp said the city will have to apply for a grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
“We’re doing that first step of figuring out what we should build or what’s best to build so that way we can [go] after that funding,” said Clapp.
In the meantime, the city leaders want to hear from you, so they invites you to come out to other ward meetings or fill out the community survey.
For more details, click here.
