Traffic Calming in your Neighborhood - A How-To Guide for Residents
If you, like me, are concerned about vehicles driving too quickly in your neighborhood, there are a couple of steps you can take to try to address the situation.
Requests Speed Cushions
Did you know that in 2019 City Council adopted Policy 25 which facilitates the installation of speed cushions upon request by community members? Speed cushions have a mild and gentle profile and when properly installed, drivers can travel between 10 to 15 MPH with little to no significant disruption. Policy 25 also describes the specific conditions under which they can be installed. To be eligible, the road must:
Be 2 lanes wide
Not be a designated truck, bus, or emergency route
Have a 25 MPH speed limit
Have a maximum grade of 5%, minimum length of 500 ft
Have traffic from 300 to 4,000 vehicles per day
Once the road has been determined to be eligible, the community must provide support:
67% of property owners on the street are in support
100% of the owners immediately adjacent to the cushion are in support
This supporting information is gathered as part of the Speed Cushion Petition included in the Policy Form attached here:
Council Policy 25 - Speed Cushion Installation
.pdf
Download PDF • 165KB
Contact the Engineering/Public Works Department for more information.
Stop sign and newly installed speed cushions on N. Rios Ave
Request Stop Signs
The city has not implemented a similar policy for requesting the installation of a stop sign. If you think an intersection near you needs a stop sign, the first step is to contact the city - contact someone in the Engineering/Public Works Department - the contact information is available on the city's website. I recently did this for an intersection near me, and they responded quickly. They let me know that when the City receives a request for installation of a stop sign, they first do an internal evaluation with the City’s on-call Traffic Engineering consultant. The matter can then be discussed at the City’s Technical Traffic Advisory Committee and then a recommendation is made to the City Manager for further evaluation. If at this point it seems like a stop sign is warranted, the City Manager will present the case to the City Council for the final decision.
Request No-Parking Zones
This can also be a good option - if there are areas around intersections that have limited visibility because of parked cars, contact the Engineering/Public Works Department and they can do some research to evaluate the intersection. They'll discuss it with the City’s Technical Traffic Advisory Committee and City Manager as well and can determine if this is possible.
It doesn't take much time to get the process started, and could make a huge difference to make your community safer.