MANSFIELD — No decision has been made on the return of weekend speed bumps to the “Miracle Mile” on Park Avenue West.
Yet.
“We are still monitoring the situation on Park Avenue,” said Keith Porch, the City of Mansfield’s safety service director.
“Obviously, once we get into nicer weather, if it starts to get crazy, then we will make schedules to bring them back out,” Porch said Tuesday.
“The bell hasn’t been rung up here for me to officially take (speed bumps) to the mayor to make a decision,” he said.
The traffic control devices were used for the first time in 2024 between June 21 and Aug. 22, in conjunction with an “anti-cruising” law approved by City Council in 2024 that limits repeated trips up and down Park Avenue between Trimble and Home roads on weekend nights.
City officials reported a far quieter and safer summer on the “Miracle Mile” with the restrictions in place.
Porch told City Council in September that accidents, reported incidents, calls for service, car stops and citations were all down signficantly, compared to previous summers.
There were only two car stops and eight citations written during the two-month period in which the speed bumps were installed from late Friday afternoon to Sunday morning each weekend.
The speed bumps and the anti-cruising ordinance were part of an effort to reduce lawlessness on the Miracle Mile that law enforcement officials said had become a problem in terms of speeding motorcycles, drag racing and out-of-town visitors.
During 2021, 2022 and 2023, Mansfield police averaged about 600 police reports annually from the targeted section of the four-lane road, an average of 50 per month.
The ordinance limits repeat vehicle traffic on Friday and Saturday nights between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. in an area with boundaries of West Fourth Street and Park Avenue West between Home and Trimble roads.
Efforts to improve safety on the Miracle Mile began in the fall of 2023 when law enforcement officials began formulating anti-cruising legislation, which was shelved until spring of 2024.
Police Chief Jason Bammann told Mansfield City Council in April 2024 that weekend evenings on the “Miracle Mile” are not what they were when he was there in his youth.
“When we were out there, (when) my parents were out there, people were truly out there to socialize,” Bammann told lawmakers. “This crowd is out there to just wreak havoc. It’s a totally different crowd.
“We’ve had gun calls out there. We’ve had overdose calls out there. So it’s not the social gathering that it once was,” the chief said.
One of the accidents on the “Miracle Mile” in the summer of 2023 resulted in the death of an Ontario man allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed on a motorcycle.
Earlier this month, Bammann sent out a press release reminding motorists of the anti-cruising ordinance and urging people to obey posted speed limits.
“Each summer, the “Mile” experiences increased reports of speeding and drag racing, which pose serious safety risk to residents, pedestrians and other drivers,” the chief said.
“We would like to remind everyone that speeding and other forms of reckless driving will not be tolerated and enforcement efforts will be increased in order to keep the
community safe,” he said.
Bammann said residents are encouraged to report any suspicious or dangerous driving activity by calling the non-emergency police line at 419-522-1234.