The following is a summary of the process that is used when proceeding with a request for traffic calming. The full policy can be viewed here.
Step 1: Process Initiation and Pre-Screening
Residents with traffic related concerns are instructed to submit their written request to investigate traffic calming within their neighbourhood to the Town. Staff will then conduct a brief preliminary assessment to determine if the requested roadway meets the Initial Screening Criteria. If the roadway fails any of the areas listed in the pre-screening it does not qualify for physical traffic calming.
For locations not meeting the initial screening criteria, staff will consider front-line mitigating measures to address the neighbourhood traffic concerns. These methods could include tools such as the use of driver feedback boards, targeted police enforcement, sign installation and pavement marking modifications.
Step 2: Traffic Calming Neighbourhood Petition
After it has been determined that the requested location meets the initial assessment criteria, a petition will be distributed to the residents within the impact area. The Town is responsible for the initiation, distribution and collection of the Traffic Calming petition to ensure consistency of the process by managing the collection of public input and this will be done in a manner that incorporates community involvement. Before an area is considered for traffic calming a signed petition must be received by the Town showing a minimum of 25% support for traffic calming measures. The signatures must come from households with direct frontage or flankage onto the section of roadway that has been identified as the location for the potential implementation of traffic calming measures, as defined by Engineering staff.
Step 3: Data Collection & Point Assessment
Once a successful petition is received the collection of data is scheduled based on a priority list. The Town shall collect information and data along roadway(s) in the project as deemed necessary by Engineering staff to qualify and quantify the extent of the local traffic problem. A review of the data will be completed using recognized engineering standards. Once collected and summarized, the data will be utilized in the point assessment system to determine a total point value. The point assessment system is a screening process focused on the various attributes of a roadway in order to quantify its potential need for traffic calming. By means of assigning weighted points based on the severity of certain road attributes (e.g. 85th percentile speed), this process will bring to the forefront roadways requiring consideration while quantifying the current conditions. The minimum number of points required to proceed with the investigation of traffic calming measures differs based on the classification of roadway. In keeping with the objective of restoring roadways to their intended function, local and collector roadways are designed and expected to convey varying levels of traffic volume.
Should a location fail to meet these requirements, residents will be notified in writing and the investigation for traffic calming measures will discontinue. However, staff will continue to address the concerns of the residents by means of the front-line mitigating measures.
Step 4: Traffic Calming Design Considerations
The data collected combined with site visits, historical information, future maintenance and construction plans, as well as resident feedback will be taken into consideration to determine potential traffic calming measures. Appropriate traffic calming measures will be determined based on the list of traffic calming measures outlined in the Traffic Calming policy. The traffic calming design could include one or more different types of traffic calming techniques. The preferred design will first be presented to emergency and/or roads operations services. While it is preferable to modify the traffic calming design, if modifications are not able to remedy agency concerns, the traffic calming process will be discontinued for the roadway under consideration and residents will be notified.
Step 5: Public Information Centre, Public Notice & Resident Notification
Staff will host a Public Information Centre (PIC) to present the purpose, objectives and implementation process of traffic calming in general. The PIC notice will be circulated to all residents who live within the affected area, which may include adjacent streets, as determined by staff. Residents will also be notified that traffic calming has been either approved or not approved by the Town on the subject roadway. The notice will be sent to the same mailing list used to deliver the traffic calming survey and any other persons having requested notification throughout the process.
Step 6: Finalize Preferred Traffic Calming Plan
Using technical data, community feedback, and in keeping with the goals, objectives and principles set out in this policy, staff will finalize the preferred traffic calming design to be put forward as the recommended preferred traffic calming plan. In finalizing the preferred traffic calming plan, general consideration will be given to the various aspects of road design such as utility placement, landscaping, sign requirement and drainage.
Step 7: Implementation of Traffic Calming Measures
Upon approval of Council, resident notification, and sufficient funding, traffic calming measures will be implemented. Residents will be notified of implementation timelines through the contact mailing list. Where feasible, staff may decide it is beneficial to phase in the traffic calming plan through the use of temporary or removable traffic calming measures such as pavement markings or flexible delineators. This will allow time to examine the impact of the measures and their effectiveness before committing funding to permanent treatments.
Step 8: Evaluation and Monitoring
Engineering staff will monitor the roadway to determine the effectiveness of the utilized measures and their impact on the surrounding road network. This information will be used in recommending similar measures in the future. In addition to conducting before and after speed studies the Town will conduct studies to assess if the traffic calming plan has resulted in significant amounts of traffic diverting to adjacent, parallel streets in some cases. These after studies will be compared with the Town’s ‘before’ studies to determine the change in traffic volume.
The full policy can be viewed here.
