After a Teen Was Hit on Eleanor Avenue, a Toledo Councilwoman Wants the Old Traffic Light Back
TOLEDO, Ohio — A 15-year-old girl was hospitalized with serious injuries after being hit by a car Thursday on Eleanor Avenue, and Toledo City Councilwoman Theresa Morris is calling for traffic safety upgrades in the area.
Morris, who represents District 6, wants the city to consider bringing back a traffic light that used to stand at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Eleanor Avenue. The crash happened just feet from that intersection, according to 13abc (WTVG).
“This is a problem. This is a public safety issue,” Morris said.
A man who lives in front of where the crash happened told 13 Action News off camera that drivers treat Eleanor Avenue like their own “Fast and Furious” road. He said something needs to be done about the dangerous driving.
Eleanor Avenue is a busy through street in a neighborhood where families with young children live. Morris said drivers need to be more aware of the people around them.
“When you’re in a neighborhood, you need to slow down. There are kids, there are balls, there are dogs, there are wheelchairs. There’s everything in the neighborhood,” Morris said.
Morris said she compiled data showing 40 property-damage crashes, 41 injury crashes and five pedestrian crashes along the road over the past two years.
The speed limit on Eleanor Avenue is 35 mph, Morris said, but many drivers go much faster.
“The speed limit is 35 on that. It is a through street. … However, you’re not going to find a lot of those folks going 35. You’re going to find them going a lot, a lot faster,” Morris said.
Morris and neighbors said a traffic light used to be at Commonwealth and Eleanor. Morris said it was removed before she joined council in 2021. She wants the city to consider putting it back.
“In this situation, I believe that if we have the infrastructure and there was a light there before, I just think that this is one mechanism that we can use to try and slow traffic down,” Morris said.
Morris said no one should feel unsafe in their own neighborhood. She asked drivers across Toledo to slow down.
“We’re asking people just slow down, slow down,” Morris said.
13 Action News reported it is working to get the crash report from Toledo police and learn more about what happened Thursday.
Featured image: A traffic light over a street. Photo by OhanaUnited, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
