With many
cities facing limited budgets, effective traffic calming can be
challenging
| Cities across the country have experienced budget cuts, and while stimulus money has helped improve roads in some municipalities, for others’, streets continue to need safety improvements. When funds are limited, it’s crucial to know how to spread them the furthest by making the right decisions about where to calm traffic. | In this issue: Handling requests Evaluating where it’s needed most Sample point systems Funding outside the budget On
the streets
Premiering Did you know? Traffic Logix tidbits |
| Handling requests | |
| Most cities receive more requests for traffic calming from their residents than they can fulfill. Particularly when budgets are tight, it’s important for cities to identify where traffic calming is needed most in order to stretch funding the farthest. Having a procedure in place can help qualify requests before a traffic study is even conducted. |
| The
first step in qualifying a request is usually for the resident to show
that other affected residents are in favor of traffic calming as well. For example, in Lafayette, LA, when a resident complains about traffic concerns, he or she receives a Traffic Calming Initiation Packet, which describes the goals and objectives of traffic calming and includes an application for assistance. The resident must provide the names and signatures of 5-10 other residents who are interested. In the city of San Antonio, TX, a resident must fill out a request form and obtain signatures of 10 residents whose property is adjacent to the street segment before traffic calming will be considered. |
On
the Streets |
 |
|
| Springer School in California
started a WoW
(Walk or Wheel) program 6 weeks ago to encourage students to
walk or bike to school. |
|
| Evaluating where it’s needed most | The program has eliminated nearly 22,000 driving miles already and has the highest student participation rate in the country. |
| Once it is clear that a significant number of affected residents are interested in traffic calming, the next step is to conduct a traffic study to evaluate how serious the speeding is. The traffic study should evaluate traffic speed, volume, and any other safety concerns in the area. | |
Many cities then have a point system in place to assess which streets are priorities. The point systems ranks different information such as: proximity to a school, park, Church, or commercial area; presence of a bike or bus lane; accident statistics; lack of sidewalks; number of miles that the 85th percentile speed exceeds the posted speed limit; and volume of traffic. After a street has been evaluated to determine its ranking in the point system, a city can then easily compare the need for traffic calming on different streets. |
Premiering Our
new and updated funding page is now available online. Learn how to
write effective grant proposals and research current grant
opportunities.
Visit the updated page here. |
| Sample point systems | |
| Different municipalities have different criteria for how pointsare assigned. | |
|
In
one system in Fayetteville, AR, local streetsare assigned five points
for every mph greater than 5 mph over the posted speed limit. The
average daily volume of vehicles is divided by 100 to assess the points
a street will receive for volume. Five points are assigned if there is
no continuous sidewalk, one point is added for each accident per year
at the location, and ten points are added if children must cross the
street to get to school. On collector streets in the city, additional
factors are taken into account such as the residential density and
whether it is a pedestrian generator. The maximum number of points
possible is 100; no street will be considered with less than 60
points.
In Harford County, MD, not only the streets are scored but the traffic calming measures also have points. If a street is eligible, it is then determined if they get Level 1 traffic calming, which is more passive such as educational methods, or Level 2, which is physical traffic calming measures. |
Did you know? The number of American cities with traffic calming programs in place has grown rapidly in the past two decades. Today, more than 200 North American cities have traffic calming programs in place. |
| Funding outside the budget | Did you know? |
| When
budgets are tight, sometimes it’s necessary to get creative
in
order to find the resources to fund traffic calming programs. While it
used to be unusual for residents to purchase their own solutions, today
many residents in affluent neighborhoods pool funds to purchase their
own traffic calming devices with city approval. There are also a variety of funds available, including Safe Routes to School and other Federal and local government grants that can be used toward traffic safety. The Traffic Logix website offers a portal to assist cities in finding funding to address their traffic calming needs. |
 You can design your own speed cushions using our design tool to choose, street width, cushion length, and striping design. |
Questions? Comments? Give us a call or email us at: |
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Traffic Logix
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