The Wayne Avenue Traffic Safety Coalition met last week with the Dayton city engineer to discuss improvements to this busy road that serves as a corridor between the downtown core and south Dayton neighborhoods.
The safety coalition is a group of more than 20 concerned neighborhood associations, local businesses and public agencies who wish to see road safety improvements along Wayne Avenue.
They have asked the city to consider a lower speed limit, crosswalk enhancements and speed buffers.
Willie Morris IV is a resident of the South Park neighborhood off Wayne Avenue and serves as the president of the safety coalition.
“Wayne Avenue has had a reputation for a very long time as a road that you don’t want to be on," he said.
It's been synonymous with rushing vehicles on its narrow lanes, Morris said.
“It’s a road that houses many of our local shops and public services," he said. "But being on the sidewalk for any amount of time is frightening, and just over a year ago proved deadly for our neighbor Jennifer Johnson.”
Johnson was struck and killed on Wayne Avenue on Dec. 28, 2022. The 44-year-old woman had been waiting at a bus stop when a driver lost control of his SUV and struck Johnson before crashing into a utility pole.
South Park resident and coalition Vice President Laura Estandia said at the Jan. 24 meeting with the engineer that Johnson's death had a ripple effect throughout the community.
“That is when a lot of us came together and said we really want transformative change for Wayne Avenue," she said. "We’re looking for a solution that is going to help slow traffic and keep our neighbors safe.”
The city installed a speed camera along Wayne Avenue after residents expressed concern. That has helped curtail speeding, Estandia said.
“But we know that mobile speed camera is a temporary solution, and the coalition really wants a project that is going to transform this urban corridor,” she said.
The meeting focused on the area of Wayne Avenue between Wyoming and Bainbridge streets, which includes the interchange for I-35. But several projects are scheduled for Wayne Avenue downtown, which the coalition wants to monitor “to make sure that at the end of the day the street is designed with people in mind first, and prioritizes safety,” Estandia said.
Although Wayne Avenue serves as an important part of the transportation corridor in Dayton, Morris stressed that that “convenience can’t come at the expense of our local buildings, our own property and even worse, our lives.
“That’s why the Wayne Avenue Traffic Safety Coalition’s mission is to utilize modern traffic and mobility design principles to create a Wayne Avenue that is safer for commuters of all kinds (whether) car, bus, bike, legs, or wheelchair,” he said.
A small group of the coalition's members initially approached the city commission last August to voice their concerns about the busy road. Morris praised city officials for listening to their concerns and taking significant steps toward addressing some of the problems.
David Escobar, lead city engineer for the city of Dayton, spoke to the coalition members at the Jan. 24 meeting. He presented a conceptual drawing for proposed changes to Wayne Avenue, but both he and coalition members stressed that this was just a starting point, and a lot of community input would be sought before a traffic design was finalized.
“We will come up with a plan and then develop a grant application that we will submit to the state for some highway safety improvement plan funding to make some improvements along Wayne Avenue," Escobar said. "I will say that (the) grants aren’t 100% certain. So we’ll apply for it, but it will be at their discretion as to whether we are funded or not.”
Escobar also discussed changes that were already scheduled for other portions of Wayne Avenue, which includes widening a section at the southern end of the road from Wyoming to Waldo streets to incorporate a turn lane. Another project will add a mid-block crossing near Kroger and Walgreens with a midlane island refuge for pedestrians crossing the road. Construction should begin on that section this year, pending federal approval.
On the north end of Wayne Avenue in the Oregon District, the city will add bump outs from Bainbridge to Fifth streets to define parking and lighting for the pedestrian walkway. Escobar said the city has had issues with drivers plowing into parked cars in that area, despite warning signs. He estimated that part of the project will begin in 2025, pending federal funding.
