CINCINNATI —

There have been at least three deadly hit-and-run crashes involving pedestrians since late July in Cincinnati.

So far, no arrests have been made and police have not publicly identified suspect vehicles they are searching for.

Two pedestrians hurt in separate crashes died Sunday.

Richard Tavares, 55, was hit along Reading Road in Avondale nearly three weeks ago.

Sarah Sweeney, 35, was hit along with her father crossing Hamilton Avenue in Northside late July.

Tavares and Sweeney both died Sunday.

The tragedies come as community members and city leaders push for pedestrian safety enhancements like lighting, speed bumps and speed cushions.

At Monday evening's Clifton Town Meeting, board members voted to submit two areas to the city for pedestrian safety improvements. Board members said the city requested each community council come up with its top two priorities.

Clifton's group narrowed down its priorities by surveying community members. More than 200 people responded.

"We were able to get rank order of where everybody saw the priorities in this area," said Mary Pat Lienhart, co-Chair, of the Transportation and Safety Committee.

Thirty-four percent of respondents put Clifton Avenue near McAlpin and Woolper avenues as priority number one, Lienhart said. Another 23% listed Clifton Avenue near Ludlow Avenue.

Both areas will be submitted to the city for approval.

"We do not want to be reacting to the death of anybody," said Gerald Checco, president of the Clifton Town Meeting. "The entire city is seemingly under assault by people that have decided not to respect laws."

Checco learned late Monday about one of the pedestrian deaths that occurred over the weekend. The victim was the daughter of a dear friend.

"It's obviously extremely sad. I don't know how to react to it," he said. "I am really shocked and dismayed that Sarah passed away... In that era of sadness we are hopeful that things will improve."

Mayor Aftab Pureval proposed $1 million in funding for pedestrian safety shortly after taking office. City council approved the funding unanimously. A spokeswoman tells WLWT the plan is to complete designs for the projects this fall and begin construction in the spring.

CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati mother is renewing her push for traffic safety improvements in the South Fairmont neighborhood.

Shawna Rodriguez's daughter, Gabby Rodriguez, died in 2018 after two cars hit her as she walked to Western Hills High School on Harrison Avenue near Hansford Place.

A memorial still sits where the crash happened. It’s something her mother must pass each day.

“I appreciate the sympathy," Rodriguez said. "I’m done with sympathy. I want action."

After years of asking for light and sign improvements in the area, Rodriguez said nothing has changed.

“There’s not been one darn change for my daughter. Is my daughter not valuable enough? Is her life not important enough?”

Since her daughter died in 2018, city data shows crashes have involved 10 pedestrians there. One person died in a crash last week. Last month, a car lost control and hit two homes there.

Related: Car crashes into several buildings in South Fairmount

“There's never been any light upgrades," Rodriguez said. "The streets are awful — the curves, the speed. It's just one thing after another."

The city’s Department of Transportation and Engineering oversees these type of improvements. It has a Vision Zero plan with the goal of making streets safer for those walking.

Online, no projects are scheduled for this stretch. WCPO 9 asked if and when it will get attention. No response has been given. WCPO has also contacted police about speed patrols.

“We're not actively seeing cops pulling people over for speeding,” Rodriguez said.

Blocks up Harrison Avenue, in the Westwood neighborhood, DOTE improved street lights, added new signs and a speed detector last month. The department plans to add pavement markers and a high-friction surface treatment once it gets more funding.

Rodriguez asked why not stretch that down the street?

“I’ve lost so much trust in our city and our leaders and our police since my daughter died,” Rodriguez said.

City Council member Greg Landsman says he would like to see DOTE complete projects faster.

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CINCINNATI —

Pedestrian safety is front and center on Cincinnati streets once again this week. Two deaths and two injuries in a span of about 72 hours, in three different neighborhoods. The city has made pedestrian safety a top priority.

"People have to slow down. It's just crazy at every neighborhood people are speeding up and down the streets," council member Jan Michele Lemon Kearney said.

$1.5 million is in the budget for safety projects. However, most would agree that is not nearly enough to deal with the problem. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 40 miles per hour has an 80 percent likelihood of serious injury or death

Cincinnati has a program called Vision Zero — part of a national campaign to reduce and ultimately eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries. More than 200 projects were planned for design and construction last year but because of COVID-19, many rolled over into this year.

"All related to slowing traffic down because if you are hit by a car and you're going slow, it's not going to be fatal and if it's fast and speeding, we can lose lives and we have lost lives," council member Greg Landsman said.

CINCINNATI — When a driver struck a man who was crossing the street Thursday night near the intersection of Clifton and Glenmary avenues, police said speed wasn't a factor in the crash. Instead, they said the road was dimly lit and the man was not in a marked crossing.

But regardless of who was at fault in that crash, leaders in Clifton continue to push the city administration for more upgrades to the neighborhood's pedestrian safety infrastructure in order to prevent crashes like Thursday's from happening in the first place.

Sue Afunah lives in Clifton and walks through the neighborhood "almost every day, for errands or just for pleasure," she said. "I see cars just flying through the red lights regularly… I would not depend on the pedestrian light to cross safely."

As of Friday afternoon, police had not identified the man injured but said he was in serious condition.

"It's not surprising; it's very sad," Afunah said upon hearing the news Friday.

Clifton Town Meeting trustee and City Council hopeful Mark Jeffreys said, whoever was at fault in the crash, the issue remains: Too many drivers are hitting people with their cars.

"Unfortunately we've been seeing things very consistent across the city which is increasingly pedestrians and bikers are being hit by cars speeding," said Jeffreys, who also chairs the neighborhood council's transportation and public safety committee.

"People are distracted," he said. "It affects children; it affects anybody walking or biking on our streets."

According to city data, 123 pedestrians were seriously injured in crashes since 2019. Six of those people were walking in Clifton.

Jeffreys will be the first to acknowledge the improvements the city has already made in his neighborhood to address speeding and enhance safety measures: Last year, crews installed a temporary protected bike lane along Clifton Avenue near the University of Cincinnati. Soon, they'll install a crosswalk, signage and speed cushions at Clifton and Warren avenues, and starting next month, a speed radar sign will rotate through various neighborhood streets.

"That does force people to slow down, and it also provides us data, which we can share with the police for further enforcement," Jeffreys said.

Resident Sydney Sebastian hopes more improvements will continue to help.

"There's a lot of traffic on foot that comes through," Sebastian said. "I think there's definitely a big difference between the people who walk here and the people who drive here… I've had situations where I have a walk sign and still people drive through the red light. And I feel like I'm a little invisible."

CINCINNATI —

Calls for enhanced pedestrian safety efforts are growing one week after a 7-year-old girl was hit and killed in Avondale. The girls were not in a crosswalk when they were hit near the intersection of Vine and Ehrman streets.

Shareese Lattimore was one of two 7-year-olds police say were running across the street Tuesday afternoon and were hit by a teenage boy driving on Vine Street.

The Avondale Community Council met virtually Tuesday evening. On the board's agenda was pedestrian safety.

Board members said they have been concerned about and discussing the issue for years. One board member has been pushing to have a traffic light installed at Ehrman and Vine for approximately two years.

Two board members are now chairing a pedestrian safety effort. Plans are not set in stone, but the board members will consider ideas such as adding lighting, increasing signage and launching educational campaigns.

The board members said they have already met with representatives from the city planning office and city manager's office.

"It's about keeping our kids safe... It's about saving lives of our kids," said board president Sandra Jones Mitchell. "We need to do all we can within our abilities to get the word out and to save a kid, to save a life."