Cleveland traffic deaths rise despite street safety push
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A "ghost bike" memorial outside the Wolstein Center downtown. Photo: Sam Allard/Axios
More than 600 cyclists and pedestrians were struck by cars in Cleveland in 2024, per a new report from the advocacy organization Bike Cleveland.
Why it matters: Fatal car crashes have risen steadily, even as the city pursues policies to make streets safer.
Catch up quick: Cleveland launched the Vision Zero initiative in 2022, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2032.
- And this year, the city announced Cleveland Moves, a five-year mobility plan to make streets more accommodating for non-drivers.
- It included a pledge to build at least 50 miles of protected bike lanes in the next three years.
Yes, but: Bike Cleveland says the escalating fatal crashes and pedestrian collisions demonstrate the urgent need to redesign streets.
- "These crashes are not accidents," the report argues, "they're the tragic and preventable result of streets that fail to keep people safe."
Zoom in: The group compiled data from the city's 911 calls and the state's crash reports, acknowledging the totals are likely an undercount. The collisions were broken down by location and type.
- Overall, 75 people were killed in Cleveland traffic crashes in 2024, up from 59 in 2023 and 43 in 2022.
- Fifteen of the fatalities were pedestrians or cyclists.
By the numbers: Ward 3 (Downtown, Ohio City, Tremont) saw more collisions involving cyclists and pedestrians last year than any other ward, with 85 total.
- Wards 3 and 14 (Clark-Fulton, Stockyards) saw the most fatal crashes, with three each.
Beyond ward-by-ward infrastructure recommendations, the crash report outlines priorities like creating a standalone city department of transportation.
What they're saying: Bike Cleveland executive director Jacob VanSickle tells Axios the city's transportation system is fragmented, with City Planning, Capital Projects and Public Works each handling elements of design and maintenance.
- "This siloed structure creates inefficiencies, slows progress and dilutes accountability," he says.
- A dedicated department would bring these functions under one body and provide the "coordination, capacity, and leadership" needed to deliver on the city's mobility plans.
Zoom out: VanSickle said Cleveland could look to Pittsburgh and Oakland, which established similar departments in the past decade.
The intrigue: Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne floated the idea of a county-level transportation department on the campaign trail in 2022.
- He hired a senior advisor for transportation in 2023.