TOLEDO, Ohio — In June, 69-year-old Stephen Spitler was struck by a vehicle while walking his dog on Kenwood Boulevard in Old Orchard. He recently died. Spitler's death has drawn ongoing concern about traffic safety in the west Toledo neighborhood.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been more than 25 traffic accidents on Kenwood Boulevard.
Toledo City Council member Sam Melden has been pushing for safer traffic measures in Old Orchard since he was sworn into office in 2020, and believes in the city's Vision Zero plan.
"You always hope that you do these types of improvements before something like this happens," Melden said of Spitler's death. "In this instance, we totally failed. We didn't get it right. We didn't do it fast enough. But now, we're just trying harder and we're going even faster trying to make sure we can implement these changes."
Melden said those changes are coming soon and could include lower speed limits, additional stop signs and high-visibility crosswalks.
"I'm convinced before the summer is over residents will see improvements to Kenwood specifically, and that those improvements will be able to be applied city-wide," he said.
The Old Orchard Neighborhood Association provided the following statement about traffic concerns. It reads, in part:
"We stand with neighbors in full support of taking every measure possible to reduce speed and crash incidents in our neighborhood. This decade old issue requires a solution and action, We feel by working together with the city and our elected officials we can make a change for safety."