| A busy thoroughfare
during rush hour, scores of cars inching ahead ever so slowly on their
way home from work. A series of retail shopping centers grace both
sides of the highway and small exits are located every couple hundred
feet into the outlying suburban areas. An impatient driver, followed by several others, exits at the ramp and enters the residential neighborhood. Seemingly oblivious to the posted limits, he speeds across the wide tree-lined streets, glad to be free of the congestion of the highway. He accelerates, first 30 then 40 and then 50 mph, ignoring the residential houses, the children outside playing, and the speed limit signs. The location: Southern Florida. But it could be New Jersey, Texas, California or Montana. While these issues have been addressed in Europe for decades, in the United States the need for traffic calming has been steadily emerging in recent years. Civic leaders and engineers are repeatedly encountering this situation. Main arteries or large retail shopping centers are located near residential inlets. Commuters or shoppers cut through these neighborhoods in an effort to avoid sitting in traffic. These alternate routes cause undue volume and speeding in what should be quiet residential neighborhoods.
In this Southern Florida community, the residents were frustrated by the cut-through traffic speeding through their streets and decided to take action. After approaching the appropriate officials, a thorough traffic study was conducted of the surrounding area and several 14’ speed humps were installed on local streets. Unlike stop signs, which when not warranted can create safety issues rather than resolve them, the speed humps merely enforced the speed limit, ensuring that drivers had to slow down. Traffic Logix offers a full line of innovative traffic calming products, such as the interlocking modular speed humps, to slow cut-through traffic and minimize excess volume. We work with communities to design solutions that are uniquely tailored to the specific problems they are addressing. |
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Cut-through
traffic can be caused by issues such as long-term construction, nearby
office buildings or industrial parks, recreational facilities, school
expansions, retail shopping, and adjacent highways.
There are two concerns that need to be faced when addressing cut-through problems. The first is increased speed; the second is volume. In many cases, by addressing the primary problem of speed by forcing cars to slow down, volume is also reduced as fewer use residential routes, gravitating instead to public thoroughfares. When addressing the problem of cut-through traffic on residential streets, there are several key factors to be considered. It is crucial to take an area wide approach to the problem so that you don’t merely divert traffic from one residential street to another. Nearby roads and thoroughfares need to be assessed to determine where the diverted traffic will shift to. A traffic study of the area should analyze the impact that traffic calming devices will have on all of the adjacent streets. The location of the devices must be carefully orchestrated to deter drivers from cutting through other residential roads and ensure that they instead use more public arterial routes. |
 Above is a classic example of cut- through traffic. A major thoroughfare is bordered by a residential neighborhood and cars may cut through to avoid traffic. Devices such as speed humps, tables, or cushions could help minimize this problem. |
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If
you have a story you’d like to share with us about how our products or
traffic calming have helped make your city safer, contact
d.werner@trafficlogix.com. Traffic Logix 5 Wayne Rd. New Hempstead, NY 10977 (866)915-6449 www.trafficlogix.com |
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| To
find out more about how Traffic Logix can help minimize cut-through
traffic problems, visit us on the web at www.trafficlogix.com or call (866)915-6449. ** If this message has reached you in error, email us at info@trafficlogix.com, subject: unsubscribe |
