LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) – Community members laced up their tennis shoes and joined Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith for a walk through the city’s 3rd Ward.
During the walk, residents shared their excitement about a new neighborhood market and voiced concerns about property maintenance and sidewalks damaged by tree roots. However, the most common concern centered around neighborhood traffic involving semi-trucks and speeding—particularly near the intersection of Flanders Avenue and North Jefferson Street. To address the high traffic volume and speeding issues in residential areas, Mayor Smith and the city are working on the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. The initiative was inspired by feedback gathered during the city’s “Walking the Wards” events. Two public meetings have already been held, but Mayor Smith says she still wants to hear from more residents about how to improve safety on neighborhood streets.
“What we're asking residents to do now is two things: number one, we want you to identify those streets where speeding is an issue, and number two, we are asking you to identify those streets that experience the cut-through traffic as well. And so, there will be a third opportunity for public engagement sometime this month so stay tuned through all the city's communication channels,” says Mayor Sharetta Smith, City of Lima.
Mayor Smith also highlighted the $4 million Downtown Streetscape Project, which is in the city’s 3rd Ward, as an effort to begin addressing traffic calming and pedestrian safety concerns.
