Industry Insights
Dinosaurs Were Unwelcome Traffic Calming Tools
Long Beach officials were forced to return to the drawing board when residents complained about the dinosaur-shaped bike racks installed on Wardlow Road in the El Dorado Park area. The fanciful bike racks were just the latest in a string of attempts, including several construction-based options, to slow speeding drivers along the 45 mph street.…
Rigid Criteria Leaves Neighborhood Vulnerable
To ensure equitable allocation of resources, municipalities have established criteria for determining where they implement traffic calming measures. To concerned citizens, some of these rules can seem arbitrary, especially when considering that it only takes one speeding motorist to maim or kill a pedestrian or cyclist. One Las Vegas neighborhood is questioning these guidelines. Speeding motorists…
Multi-Way Stop Signs Do Not Control Speed
The Port Orange, Florida city council unanimously approved the recommendation to install a three-way stop sign based on the results of a recent traffic-calming study. This study was conducted in response to complaints about drivers exceeding 60 mph on a roadway where the posted speed limit is 25 mph. The study’s final recommendations included adding…
Residents Resort to Homemade Signs to Slow Speeders
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. When people feel the need to protect their families and their neighborhood, they can get very creative. In Homewood, AL, residents have posted hand lettered signs reading “Slow Down; People Live Here”. The speed limit on Valley Avenue is 35 mph. However, residents say that…
Debates and Delays on Traffic Calming
There is widespread agreement that speeding endangers lives. Unfortunately, there is far less consensus on solutions to the problem, especially in residential areas. The news is replete with reports of neighborhood open houses, committees and task forces battling over the best traffic-calming solutions. Discussions over road closings, one-way streets, roundabouts, roads narrowings, speed bumps and…
Tough Choices for City Councils Result in Project Cutback
City Councils often face tough decisions when determining how to allocate their limited transportation dollars. Unfortunately, many cities with traffic-calming problems still look to construction-based solutions where just a few projects can eat up entire budgets. In Kent, Washington, the city council recently reapportioned $500,000, which had been earmarked for three neighborhood traffic-calming projects, to…
South Jersey Neighborhood in Need of Long-Term Solution for Speeding Drivers
Speeding is a 24-hour problem, but there are certain times when speeding drivers endanger our most vulnerable citizens. In a particular South Jersey neighborhood, residents often awaken to the roar of vehicles flying past their homes at speeds of 75 – 85 miles per hour. These same residents, who have monitored traffic repeatedly, report that…
“Land of the Speed Hump” Seeks New Traffic Calming Solutions
A southern Pennsylvania community has earned the dubious distinction as the “land of the speed hump”, according to Councilman David Ball. The Peter’s Township Council receives many requests for traffic calming measures that in the past would be answered by installing speed humps. However, city council members are no longer in favor of speed bumps…
When Speed Cameras Shut Down, Motorists Respond with a Lead Foot
As speed camera programs are being shut down across the nation, it is not at all surprising what develops in their absence. When the enforcement is gone, motorists quickly revert to unsafe speeds. The Pima County Board of Supervisors reports that during the final week their cameras were active, they caught 634 speeding drivers who…
Speeders Wreak Havoc on San Antonio Subdivision
While good fences may make good neighbors, frequently wrecked fences are costing the residents of one San Antonio neighborhood. The city conducted a traffic study last year to address the concerns of Maverick Creek residents, near the University of Texas. Residents claim that motorists are driving too quickly on the dangerous, curved road behind their…
Throwback Thursday: Busy urban neighborhoods take the initiative to slow speeding drivers
Originally posted Feb. 2010, this is a great refresher: An early success story about the installation of driver feedback signs in busy urban neighborhoods shows what happens when residents take the initiative to slow down speeding motorists on their own streets. The signs perform double duty as they both slow down drivers and collect data,…
Expensive Winter Weather Offers Free Transportation Study Insights
From New York to Denver to Washington, D.C. to Michigan to Vancouver, a new term is making international news. #Sneckdown – a portmanteau of the words “snow” and “neckdown” has become a phenomenon across the United States and Canada. Neckdowns, sometimes called curb extensions, are used to increase visibility as well as reduce crossing time…