The Lima Allen County Regional Planning Commission has released drafts of two reports that aim to make improvements to Lima and Allen County.
The commission released the VISION 2040, a plan that highlights improvements to the Lima area by examining population, demographics, employment, land use, and housing characteristics.
The commission also released the Allen County Traffic Crash Summary report, which details areas of high traffic as well as shares statistics on crashes, both fatal and non-fatal.
The VISION 2040 draft shared details on various topics, such as redevelopment, where a study found that population density in 2020 was set at 2,636 per sq. mile, compared to 1970 statistics that was set at 4,800 per sq. mile.
Population numbers have been decreasing since 2000, with that year bringing a total of 40,263 residents. That number decreased to 38,771 in 2010, then 35,579 in 2020. The regional planning commission projects that the number would reach 33,520 in 2030, and then 31,178 in 2040.
Public priorities that were highlighted were blight, crime, downtown revitalization, economic development, pedestrian facilities, negative perception, and more greenspace/parks.
"One of the big focuses from the City Of Lima as well as private investors and the community have been downtown revitalization," said Cody Doyle, Associate Planner for the regional commission. "Downtown has its own chapter where we look at possible ways to improve the economics and land use around downtown. So that was one of the pieces of the puzzle of this comprehensive plan."
The Traffic Crash Summary report details various numbers when it comes to crash statistics. In 2021, a total of 3,120 crashes occurred, which resulted in 25 fatalities.
154 crashes involve alcohol and drugs. 38 crashes involved bikes, pedestrians, or other non-motorized people. When it comes to crash severity, 26.1% of all crashes involve injury, with 18.1% of people involved in crashes resulting in injury.
The highest reported crash month was in November, with 11.6& of crashes occurring. The most heavy time period when it comes to crashes is 4:00 PM.
"You can kind of see what intersections, in terms of the county, are getting the most activity in traffic crashes," said Adam Haunhorst, Planning Engineer. "We can use that for targeted improvements. We take a lot of looks at this in reference to pedestrian fatalities and injuries. We are using a lot of this data in our composition of our transportation plan where we can target pedestrian improvements and keep everybody safer."
