Complete Streets Support – City Council Public Comment
Over the past few months City Council heard from advocates supporting an updated Complete & Green Streets Ordinance. This is an inventory of all the public comment received in support of Complete & Green Streets at Cleveland City Council meetings. The updated Complete & Green Streets Ordinance (Ord. 370-2022) was passed on 6/6/2022.
Bike Cleveland Executive Director, Jacob VanSickle, spoke in support of the Complete & Green Streets ordinance. “Improving our infrastructure can benefit the health of Clevelanders in many ways: it will reduce traffic-related injuries and fatalities; it will improve mobility for people who need to get to their work, doctors appointments, or school; and it will offer active mobility options to encourage physical activity and improved health,” Jacob said in his testimony.
You can watch Jacob’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/OI-xuC2snfM?t=444
Ashley Shaw, Chief Operating Officer at Ohio City Inc., was seriously injured while riding her bike in 2017. Last week, she shared her story with Cleveland City Councilmembers in support of the Complete and Green Streets ordinance: “In 2017 I was biking home when a driver turned into me in an intersection causing me to sustain a subdural hematoma which is a brain bleed…I spent years recovering from my brain bleed. Motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of traumatic brain injuries…Every day of the rest of my life will be impacted by my brain injury. I encourage you to make this a priority so not even one more person has to share this experience with me.”
You can watch Ashley’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/OI-xuC2snfM?t=1372
Sam Pruitt, a board member of the American Heart Association, also shared his story and urged council to pass Complete & Green Streets legislation.
“I’m a heart attack survivor. I have experienced firsthand the importance of having streets and sidewalks that encourage and make it easier to be active because, for me, it’s essential to my survival…This is important to me because I realized complete streets is a health equity issue. As I biked through some of the areas of town, I realized that many low-income communities lack well-maintained routes to parks & schools, roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks…It’s no coincidence that these same neighborhoods—often Black and Hispanic neighborhoods―experience higher rates of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.”
You can watch Sam Prewitt’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/OI-xuC2snfM?t=256
Diana Hildebrand, Education & Outreach Manager at Bike Cleveland, shared her story at Cleveland City Council on Monday in support of an updated Complete & Green Streets Ordinance. During public comment, Diana said:
“It is my mission to create fun and safe experiences for the children, adults, and seniors of all abilities that I work with. This can be a challenge in Cleveland, where our streets are designed for cars and cars alone…As a city-wide community ride leader, I have ridden over 6,000 miles throughout these streets, and even as a confident cyclist there have been incidents where I knew that coming home was way more important than continuing on with a bike ride.”
Watch Diana’s full public comment here: https://youtu.be/8xX-z6g364Q?t=481
Jack Brancatelli, a student at Cleveland State University and the vice president of the university chapter of the American Planning Association, took the mic on Monday night to urge the city council to introduce and swiftly pass an updated ordinance. Here is what Jack had to say:
“We should accept nothing less than streets that are proactively designed for kids walking to school, for our elders and neighbors, for people who have disabilities or use a wheelchair, for Clevelanders who can’t afford a car, for the next generation looking to call Cleveland home. Please show us Cleveland is ready to commit to a safer transportation network that makes this city a great place to live no matter what side of town you’re on, and no matter how you are getting across it.”
Watch Jack’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/mdrV-9kUBWg?t=391
Beth Glas, the Executive Vice President of Maximum Accessible Housing of Ohio and Co-Chair of ADA Cleveland, also spoke at Monday’s council meeting in support of Complete and Green streets.
“Complete Streets legislation would set the standard for how our streets are designed, considering the most vulnerable road users first, which 74,000 Clevelanders with disabilities―that’s about 20% of our population. For people with disabilities, our physical streets and sidewalks can be dangerous. Sidewalks without curb cuts, crosswalks without audible signals, and broken, narrow sidewalks can create barriers that endanger lives and limit independence…In supporting the Complete and Green Streets ordinance, you are supporting the rights of people with disabilities to travel safely on the streets and sidewalks of Cleveland.”
Watch Beth’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/mdrV-9kUBWg?t=614
Jenna Thomas, Bike Cleveland’s Advocacy and Policy Manager, spoke in support of an updated Complete & Green Streets ordinance that would transform the way that the city designs streets. During her public comment, Jenna stated, “ A Complete & Green Streets ordinance would address the livability and environmental needs of our community by creating a transportation system for all of us, including walkers, transit riders, wheelchair users, and bike riders alike. The ordinance should establish best practices for street design, it should outline resources that the city should consult when redesigning a street, and require that the street prioritize vulnerable road users first.”
Watch Jenna’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/ffKNeKEukQw?t=555
Chris Ronanye, Ward 15 resident spoke in support of Complete & Green Streets. During his public comment he stated, “We have a problem of safety on our streets…we’ve got people speeding, running over our neighbors. In University Circle we lost two residents who were in their 80’s. Improvements were made, but it was reactionary after the fact. You have the opportunity today to be proactive and calm our streets, and remember that our streets are for our kids, seniors, they need to be safe for all modes of transportation. Make them equitable and safe, and to make sure we look through the life of those who are not driving.
Watch Chris’ full testimony here: https://youtu.be/XFe3lh9ANec?t=1768
Jamie Meerdink, Community Advocacy Director at the American Heart Association spoke up in support of a new Complete & Green Streets Ordinance. In his testimony he said, “We’re committed to advancing health equity which can exist only when all people have the opportunity to enjoy healthier lives. For this reason we support Complete Streets. All residents should have the ability to feel safe and be active in Cleveland
Watch Jamie’s full testimony here: https://youtu.be/VuwCF3yKDZQ?t=1069