The Real Costs of Traffic Calming

Construction-based traffic calming efforts, like traffic circles, come with a hefty price tag and take precious time to institute. Some residents of Kent, Wash., who are concerned about the dangerous speeding on their neighborhood streets, may have to wait over a year before the city can implement their plan to build costly traffic circles.

The installation of each traffic circle is projected to cost the City of Kent between $5,000 and $15,000, with the higher price tag reflecting the cost when utilities need to be moved. The City of Kent is considering the installation of four to five traffic circles. This kind of project can take a great deal of time as the parties involved manage issues of asset allocation, committee approval and neighborhood consensus. In this case, the city took ten months just to paint the speed limit on one road. The residents worry about the senseless accidents that may occur while awaiting the completion of this construction. Much of this expense and delay could be avoided with the quick and easy installation of a radar speed sign solution.

As more and more large cities include driver feedback signs as part of their comprehensive traffic calming efforts, it is easy to see how smaller cities with more limited resources could benefit from using them as well. The cost is lower, the installation is easier and the maintenance is more manageable for a smaller community. When you factor in the proven results of slowing down motorized traffic, solutions from Radarsign clearly could make an enormous impact for municipalities wanting to prevent accidents and save lives in a quick and cost-effective manner.

Police often target high-crash corridors with intermittent, intense enforcement operations.  Unfortunately, patrol cars can’t be stationed at those locations all the time. But, radar speed signs from Radarsign can.

Charlie Robeson: Radarsign™ Co-founder & Director of Sales and Marketing