5.2. SR 07-24-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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"calm" it makes the neighborhood more livable. Although "livable" in terms of a neighborhood does not have a precise definition, a livable neighborhood can be described as having the following characteristics: · Ability to feel safe and secure, · Opportunity to interact with neighbors, · Ability to experience a sense of home and privacy, and · A sense of community identification. In essence, when a citizen calls to request a stop sign to slow traffic on their street, they are requesting the city make their street more livable. Because no single answer for the problem of speeding vehicles on residential streets exists, many different traffic calming techniques have been developed. These techniques range from the traditional, such as radar display boards and selective police enforcement to non-traditional such as street chokers and roundabouts. A discussion of all the techniques is found on the following pages. A major component of introducing traffic calming techniques is a comprehensive citizen education/participation campaign. A citizen education/participation campaign encourages the neighborhood to take responsibility for the solution too. Experience has shown that a majority of the speeding violations in the residential area are from residents who live in the neighborhood. 2.1 2.3 Effectiveness of Traffic Calminq Devices Physical actions such as the installation of speed humps, traffic circles, street closures, etc. are almost always successful in forcing traffic to behave in an intended fashion. In certain situations, they can achieve the desired result by utilizing a one-time capital expenditure and generally Iow ongoing maintenance costs. Levels 3 and 4 traffic calming actions are generally viewed as much more "permanent" solutions than Levels I and 2 actions. In most instances the alternative approach to the desired result involves repetitive and costly ongoing Levels I and 2 traffic calming actions. There are significant potential benefits to utilizing Levels 3 and 4 traffic calming actions, which is why some communities have implemented Levels 3 and 4 actions and many other communities are exploring their possible use. Traffic Diversion Another concern is that in many instances implementing traffic calming devices would be likely to move the problem rather than solve the problem. In most instances the placing of impediments on a particular neighborhood street may merely dived some of all of that traffic to other neighborhood streets.