Case Study

Accelerating Vision Zerio in Cleveland through Data-Driven Street Safety

City Uses Data to Assist in Acceleration of Vision Zero Plan

As part of Cleveland's Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities, the City launched the East 55th Street Safety Action Plan. The goal was to identify low-cost, context-driven strategies to make streets safer for everyone, especially pedestrians and bicyclists. A quarter-mile segment of East 55th Street, between Payne Avenue and Hough Avenue was selected for a focused study. Using automated technology, traffic speeds, volumes, and pedestrian activity were analyzed to highlight areas where safety improvements were most needed.

Where Safety Falls Short: The Reality

Study Conclusion

The project began with identifying 28 key locations along the arterial road where pedestrian and bicyclist activity was most significant, based on input from stakeholders. Temporary cameras were strategically deployed at each location for a seven-day period to capture multi-modal roadway usage. Advanced cloud-based processing was used to extract detailed trajectory data, assuring accurate and comprehensive insights.

Approach and Data Collection Strategy

Vehicle counts and speed estimation, with a focus on identifying harmful speed zones.
Pedestrian and bicyclist crossings, as well as exposure times in the roadway.
Traffic gap analysis to evaluate safe crossing opportunities.
Pedestrian desire lines to determine optimal locations for crossing treatments.

Metrics Captured

To assist in planning treatments at these locations, desire line heatmaps were derived to visualize the current pedestrian crossing patterns. This information shows where treatments, such as protected crossings, could be implemented. For example, shown in the image to the right, the red shaded regions illustrates the VRU crossing patterns.

Desire Line Heatmaps for Crossing Treatments

Safety Benchmark and Focus Areas

The consistent analysis across the corridor helped establish a benchmark for relative levels of vulnerable roadway users (VRU) safety and focus attention on areas with the greatest safety needs.

Targeted Solutions for a Safer Corridor

The East 55th Street Safety Analysis highlighted a clear set of low-cost, practical recommendations designed to reduce crashes and improve safety for all users. These solutions focused on slowing vehicle speeds, improving pedestrian crossings, and accommodating bikes and transit more safely throughout the corridor.

Key Opportunities Highlighted by Data:

Set a target speed of 30 mph or less with a posted speed limit of 30 mph
Install a modular mini roundabout at E. 55th & Payne to slow high-speed traffic in a high-exposure area
Add bicycle turn boxes and alternate routing options
Upgrade existing and add new high-visibility crosswalks due to the high volume of pedestrian crossings that were away from crosswalks
Redesign bus stops to reduce bike-transit conflicts
Implement Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs)

Together, these targeted interventions form a data-driven blueprint to make East 55th Street safer, more accessible, and more supportive of Cleveland's Vision Zero goals.

Vehicle Behavior

The highest speed and speed variability at Payne Avenue hit 52 mph, which is 17 mph over the posted limit.
High traffic volumes mid-week (peak Thursday; 20,201 vpd) meet ODOT criteria for a potential road diet implementation: 4-lane to 3-lane conversion with turn lanes and protected bike lanes.

Pedestrian Vulnerability

More than 50% of pedestrian crossings occured at unmarked mid block locations.
Linwood-Lexington area identified as highest pedestrian risk zone due to the observed exposure, speed, and speed variability at that location.

Notable Highlights

Crossing Opportunities

On average, pedestrians waited over 30 seconds for an opportunity to cross the first set of lanes.
Pedestrians were often stranded in the center turn lane for an additional 30 seconds on average.

Risk Exposure

Some locations averaged over 8 minutes of pedestrian exposure per hour in active traffic lanes.
Pedestrians were exposed to approximately 100 vehicles during these periods.
Stranded pedestrians were, on average, exposed to 30 vehicles operating at harmful speeds.

The East 55th Street Safety Analysis demonstrates how data collection and analytics can effectively guide low-cost, high-impact safety improvements in support of Vision Zero goals. By identifying key risk factors - such as excessive vehicle speeds, high speed variability, and frequent midblock pedestrian crossings, the study provided city planners with context to guide decisions. The methodology offers a scalable framework for improving safety not just on E. 55th Street, but across similar urban corridors. This case underscores the value of context-informed planning in creating streets that are safer, more accessible, and better aligned with community needs.

Approach and Data Collection Strategy

The project began with identifying key locations along the quarter-mile road where pedestrian and bicyclist activity was most significant, based on input from stakeholders. Temporary cameras were strategically deployed at each location for a seven-day period to capture multi-modal roadway usage. Advanced cloud-based processing was used to extract detailed trajectory data, assuring accurate and comprehensive insights.

Metrics Captured

Vehicle counts and speed estimation, with a focus on identifying harmful speed zones.
Pedestrian and bicyclist crossings, as well as exposure times in the roadway.
Pedestrian desire lines to determine optimal locations for crossing treatments.

East 55th Street had become a growing concern due to frequent and serious crashes, particularly involving pedestrians. Over a five-year period, the corridor experienced seven fatal and serious injury (FSI) crashes, nearly half involving pedestrians. Many of these incidents occurred at night, outside of marked crosswalks, in areas lacking safe pedestrian infrastructure. The analysis highlighted that drivers frequently exceeded the posted 35 mph speed limit, with speeds reaching up to 52 mph in certain areas. This dangerous combination of high vehicle speeds, limited pedestrian crossings, and unpredictable driver behavior made the street especially hazardous and highlighted the urgent need for targeted safety solutions.