TOLEDO, Ohio — Speeding in residential areas is something the city of Toledo said it's working to address. Toledo City Council has tried addressing the issue by increasing fines for speeding.
In September 2023, our 11 Investigates team reported on the problem.
From 35-44 mph, WTOL 11 clocked multiple people going over the 25 mph speed limit on Sherbrooke Road in west Toledo Thursday.
"I don't think the school busses drive the speed limit down here," Stephanie Hinamon, who lives on Sherbrooke, said as a school bus drove behind her at what appeared to be over 25 mph.
Since WTOL 11 spoke with Hinamon as part of our investigation last year, she said she hasn't seen much of a decrease in speeding.
"There's actually been no change," she said. "After your report, we did see more police presence. It has since gone away."
She said her daughter's car was totaled three years ago by a drunk, speeding driver. Neighbors of hers say their cars have been damaged by drivers and they're worried about kids in the neighborhood.
A section of the Toledo Municipal Code governing speed limits was tweaked by council in 2020, doubling fines when speeding in portions of the municipality with speed limits of 25 mph.
In our September investigation, we found only one ticket was written under this section from 2021 to July 2023. We brought this to Toledo police Sgt. Aaron Riter's attention last year and he said the department would start writing more tickets.
"I didn't recall that legislation being passed in 2020. It slipped my mind. I worked midnights at that time," he said. "I didn't recall it, so I wasn't using it and I should have been. I will be going forward, as will the rest of the traffic section."
TPD did write more tickets under this code, but only for a few months.
From September 2023 to November 2023, there were 27 tickets written under the TMC. Since then, as of Jan. 8, zero have been written, according to records WTOL 11 obtained from Toledo Municipal Court.
When asked why tickets haven't been written, TPD said the traffic unit has been focused on major roadways, expressways and areas with a high number of accidents for the last couple of months.
Hinamon said she understands this but would like to see police patrolling in the area more often.
"I mean, we are residential and they passed legislation for a reason, and to not follow up on it seems kind of silly," she said.
Council member Sam Melden introduced the legislation to double fines. When told about the data, he said changing things takes time. He provided the following statement to WTOL 11:
“Process improvement is always a priority of mine, but changing the way we do things takes time. Speed enforcement in residential settings is a difficult thing to manage well but I’m happy with the strategic approach TPD has deployed. I’m confident that when City Council and our safety forces work together, we will see safer and more pedestrian friendly neighborhoods."
Speeding tickets can also be written under the Ohio Revised Code. 100% of the money from ORC tickets is given to the county, while money from tickets written under TMC is given to the city and goes toward purchasing additional traffic enforcement equipment.