![Traffic calming](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Traffic_calming.jpg)
Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists,
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s and
cyclists
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of Bicycle, cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", ...
. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safer, more responsible driving and potentially reduce
traffic flow
In mathematics and transportation engineering, traffic flow is the study of interactions between travellers (including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and their vehicles) and infrastructure (including highways, signage, and traffic control devi ...
.
Urban planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...
s and
traffic engineers
Traffic engineering is a branch of civil engineering that uses engineering techniques to achieve the safe and efficient movement of people and goods on roadways. It focuses mainly on research for safe and efficient traffic flow, such as road geo ...
have many strategies for traffic calming, including narrowed roads and speed humps. Such measures are common in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
(especially Northern Europe), but less so in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. Traffic calming is a
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
(literal translation) of the German word ''Verkehrsberuhigung'' – the term's first published use in English was in 1985 by Carmen Hass-Klau.
History
In its early development in the UK in the 1930s, traffic calming was based on the idea that residential areas should be protected from through-traffic. Subsequently, it became valued for its ability to improve pedestrian safety and reduce
noise
Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...
and
air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
from traffic.
For much of the 20th century, streets were designed by engineers who were charged only with ensuring smooth motor vehicular traffic flow and not with fostering the other functions of streets. Traffic calming initiatives have grown to consider other design functions as well. For example, it has been shown that car traffic severely impairs the social and recreational functions of public streets. The ''
Livable Streets'' study by
Donald Appleyard
Donald Sidney Appleyard (July 26, 1928 – September 23, 1982) was an English-American urban designer and theorist, teaching at the University of California, Berkeley.[engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> (1981) found that residents of streets with light traffic had, on average, three more friends and twice as many acquaintances as the people on streets with heavy traffic which were otherwise similar in dimensions, income, etc.
<h1><br><p> Measures </h1></p>
Traffic engineers refer to three )
, (community)
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
, and (police)
enforcement
Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms.
Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations.
Ena ...
. Because neighborhood traffic management studies have shown that residents often contribute to the perceived speeding problem within their neighborhoods, instructions on traffic calming (for example in Hass-Klau et al., 1992) stress that the most effective traffic calming plans entail all three components—that engineering measures alone will not produce satisfactory results.
Engineering measures
Engineering measures involve physically altering the road layout or appearance to actively or passively retard traffic by one of several means:
* increasing the
cognitive load
In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the amount of working memory resources used. There are three types of cognitive load: ''intrinsic'' cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic; ''extraneous'' cognitive load refe ...
of driving (making driving more difficult)
* increasing the chance that an obstruction in the road will slow or momentarily stop motorists (such as replacing a bus pullout with a
bus bulb
A bus bulb, also called a bus boarder, bus border, bumpout, bus cape, or a kerb outstand is an arrangement by which a sidewalk or pavement is extended outwards for a bus stop; typically the bus bulb replaces roadway that would otherwise be part o ...
, causing transit vehicles to stop for passenger loading and unloading in the travel lane, rather than pulling off and letting cars pass)
* increasing the chance of passenger discomfort or even physical damage to a vehicle if speed limits are not observed (such as speed humps).
Measures include
speed hump
Speed bumps (also called traffic thresholds, speed breakers or sleeping policemen) are the common name for a class of traffic calming devices that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Varia ...
s,
chicane
A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
s,
curb extension
A curb extension (or also neckdown, kerb extension, bulb-out, bump-out, kerb build-out, nib, elephant ear, curb bulge, curb bulb, or blister) is a traffic calming measure which widens the sidewalk for a short distance. This reduces the crossing ...
s,
modal filters, and
living street
A living street is a street designed with the interests of pedestrians and cyclists in mind by providing enriching and experiential spaces. Living streets also act as social spaces, allowing children to play and encouraging social interactions ...
and
shared space
Shared space is an urban design approach that minimises the segregation between modes of road user. This is done by removing features such as kerbs, road surface markings, traffic signs, and traffic lights. Hans Monderman and others have s ...
type schemes. The town of
Hilden
Hilden is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is situated in the District of Mettmann, west of Solingen and east of Düsseldorf on the right side of the Rhine. It is a middle sized industrial town with a forest and numer ...
in Germany has achieved a rate of 24% of trips being on two wheels, mainly via traffic calming and the use of 30 km/h or 20 mph zones. In 1999, the Netherlands had over 6000
woonerven where cyclists and pedestrians have legal priority over cars and where a motorised "walking speed" limit applies. However, some
UK and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
"traffic calming" schemes, particularly involving road narrowings, are viewed as extremely hostile and have been implicated directly in death and injury to cyclists and pedestrians.
A number of visual changes to roads are being made to encourage more attentive driving, reduced speed, reduced crashes, and a greater tendency to yield to pedestrians. Visual traffic calming includes ''lane narrowings'' (9-10'), ''road diets'' (reduction in lanes), use of trees next to streets, on-street parking, and buildings placed in urban fashion close to streets.
![Dunbar_Spring_traffic_circle,_Tucson,_Arizona](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Dunbar_Spring_traffic_circle%2C_Tucson%2C_Arizona.jpg)
Physical devices include speed humps, speed cushions and speed tables, sized for the desired speed. Such measures normally slow cars to between . Most devices are made of asphalt or concrete but rubber traffic calming products are emerging as an effective alternative with several advantages.
Traffic calming can include the following engineering measures, grouped by similarity of method:
* Narrowing
Narrowing traffic lanesmakes slower speeds seem more natural to drivers and are less intrusive than other treatments that limit speed or restrict route choice. Narrowing measures include:
** Lane narrowings can be created by extending sidewalks, adding bollards or planters, or adding a bike lane or on-street parking.
**
Kerb extension
A curb extension (or also neckdown, kerb extension, bulb-out, bump-out, kerb build-out, nib, elephant ear, curb bulge, curb bulb, or blister) is a traffic calming measure which widens the sidewalk for a short distance. This reduces the crossi ...
s (also called bulbouts) narrow the width of the roadway at
pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
s
** Chokers are kerb extensions that narrow roadways to a single lane at certain points
**
Road diet
A road diet, also called a lane reduction, road rechannelization, or road conversion is a technique in transportation planning whereby the number of travel lanes and/or effective width of the road is reduced in order to achieve systemic improveme ...
s remove a lane from the street. For example, allowing parking on one or both sides of a street to reduce the number of driving lanes.
**
Pedestrian refuges or small islands in the middle of the street can help reduce lane widths.
** Converting
one-way street
One-way traffic (or uni-directional traffic) is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction. One-way streets typical ...
s into two-way streets forces opposing traffic into close proximity, which requires more careful driving.
![Construction of a crosswalk using polymer modified cement slurry](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Construction_of_a_crosswalk_using_polymer_modified_cement_slurry.jpg)
* Vertical deflection: Raising a portion of a road surface can create discomfort for drivers travelling at high speeds. Both the height of the deflection and the steepness affect the severity of vehicle displacement. Vertical deflection measures include:
**
Speed bumps
Speed bumps (also called traffic thresholds, speed breakers or sleeping policemen) are the common name for a class of traffic calming devices that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Varia ...
, sometimes split or offset in the middle to avoid delaying emergency vehicles
**
Speed humps
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...
, parabolic devices that are less aggressive than speed bumps.
**
Speed cushions, two or three small speed humps sitting in a line across the road that slow cars down but allows wider emergency vehicles to straddle them so as not to slow emergency response time.
**
Speed tables
Speed bumps (also called traffic thresholds, speed breakers or sleeping policemen) are the common name for a class of traffic calming devices that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Varia ...
, long flat-topped speed humps that slow cars more gradually than humps
** Raised
pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
s, which act as speed tables, often situated at
junctions.
** Speed dips, sunken instead of raised (often seen as double dips in cycleways in The Netherlands)
** Changing the surface material or texture (for example, the selective use of
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
,
cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
, or
polymer cement overlay). Changes in texture may also include changes in color to highlight to drivers that they are in a pedestrian-centric zone.
**
Rumble strip
Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. ...
s, when placed perpendicular to traffic in the travel lane (rather than placed between lanes parallel to traffic) act as speed bumps as they produce unpleasant sounds and vibration when crossed at higher speeds.
* Horizontal deflection, i.e. make the vehicle swerve slightly. These include:
**
Chicane
A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
s, which create a horizontal deflection that causes vehicles to slow as they would for a curve.
**
Pedestrian refuges again can provide horizontal deflection, as can
kerb extension
A curb extension (or also neckdown, kerb extension, bulb-out, bump-out, kerb build-out, nib, elephant ear, curb bulge, curb bulb, or blister) is a traffic calming measure which widens the sidewalk for a short distance. This reduces the crossi ...
s and chokers.
**
Roundabout
A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...
s and traffic circles provide another source of horizontal deflection especially when integrated within intersecting roads
![Diagonalsperre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Diagonalsperre.jpg)
* Block or restrict access. Such traffic calming means include:
** Median diverters to prevent left turns or through movements into a residential area.
** Converting an intersection into a
cul-de-sac
A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet.
The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...
or dead end.
**
Boom barrier
A boom barrier, also known as a boom gate, is a bar, or pole pivoted to allow the boom to block vehicular or pedestrian access through a controlled point. Typically the tip of a boom gate rises in a vertical arc to a near vertical position. Boo ...
, restricting through traffic to authorised vehicles only.
** Closing of streets to create
pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
s.
* Other means
Quite often residents have used a variety of homemade devices ranging from faux enforcement camera signs and even faux speed cameras and including dummy police.
Some Canadian communities erect flexible
bollard
A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...
s in the middle of the street in
school zone
A school zone refers to an area on a street near a school or near a crosswalk leading to a school that has a likely presence of younger pedestrians. School zones generally have a reduced speed limit during certain hours.
Fines
Fines for speedin ...
s. The bollards have a sign affixed indicating a 40 km/hr speed limit.
Implementation Strategies
There are primarily two implementation options for the creation of traffic calming measure: capital reconstruction versus operational changes.
* Capital reconstruction is rebuilding a street, which may involve moving infrastructure (such as sewers, water lines, electrical equipment) and adjusting the location, size and path of the roadway. Typically, capital reconstruction involves years of planning and design, and millions of dollars of investment.
* Operational changes to a road have to do with more short-term changes that typically implement minor adjustments within the existing curbline or that do not require rebuilding the road. These treatments range from a very temporary use of safety cones or other safety-approved traffic management devices, such as flexible bollards, that test a traffic-calming initiative for a few days to longer-term operational changes that may include restriping a street, which is best to plan around any routine maintenance resurfacing.
Enforcement and education measures
Enforcement and education measures for traffic calming include:
* Reducing speed limits near institutions such as
schools
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
and hospitals (see below)
*
Vehicle activated sign, signs which react with a message if they detect a vehicle exceeding a pre-determined speed.
*
Embedded pavement flashing-light systems which react to pedestrian presence at crossings to signal drivers and increase awareness.
*
Watchman, traffic calming system
Speed limits
Speed reduction has traditionally been attempted by the introduction of statutory
speed limit
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...
s. Traffic speeds of 30 km/h (20 mph) and lower are said to be more desirable on urban roads with mixed traffic. The Austrian city of
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, which has achieved steady growth in cycling, has applied 30 km/h limits to 75% its streets since 1994. Zones where speeds are set at
30 km/h (or 20 mph) are preferred by some as they are found to be effective at reducing crashes and increasing community cohesion. Speed limits which are set below the speed that most motorists perceive to be reasonable for the given road require additional measures to improve compliance. Attempts to improve speed limit observance are usually by either education, enforcement or road engineering. "Education" can mean
publicity campaigns or targeted road user training.
Speed limit enforcement
Speed limits are enforced on most public roadways by authorities, with the purpose to improve driver compliance with speed limits. Methods used include roadside speed traps set up and operated by the police and automated roadside 'speed camera' ...
techniques include: direct police action, automated systems such as
speed camera
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantit ...
s or
vehicle activated signs or traffic lights triggered by traffic exceeding a preset speed threshold. One cycling expert argues for placing direct restrictions on motor-vehicle speed and acceleration performance. An EU report on promoting walking and cycling specifies as one of its top measures comprehensive camera-based speed control using mainly movable equipment at unexpected spots. The
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
has an estimated 1,500 speed/red-light camera installations and has set a target for 30 km/h limits on 70% of urban roads. The UK has more than 6,000 speed cameras, which took more than
£100 million in fines in 2006/07.
Examples around the world
Europe
Traffic calming has been successfully used for decades in cities across Europe. For example, a
living street
A living street is a street designed with the interests of pedestrians and cyclists in mind by providing enriching and experiential spaces. Living streets also act as social spaces, allowing children to play and encouraging social interactions ...
(sometimes known as
home zone
A home zone (or play street) is a living street (or group of streets) as implemented in the United Kingdom, which are designed primarily to meet the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, children and residents and where the speeds and dominance of cars ...
s or by the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
word ''
woonerf
A woonerf () is a living street, as originally implemented in the Netherlands and in Flanders (Belgium). Techniques include shared space, traffic calming, and low speed limits.
The term "woonerf" has been adopted directly by some English-langua ...
'', as the concept originated in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
) towards the end of the 1960s, initially in
Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
, is a street in which the needs of car drivers are secondary to the needs of other road users; traffic calming principles are integrated into their design. From the Netherlands, the concept spread rapidly to Germany, starting in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
in 1976, and had become very widespread by the early 1980s. The ideas and techniques also spread to the UK towards the end of the 1980s, and practice there was advocated by academics such as Tim Pharaoh and Carmen Hass-Klau. The guidelines published by Devon County Council (of which Tim Pharaoh was the principal author) in 1991 were particularly well received.
In the United Kingdom,
Low Traffic Neighbourhood
A Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) is a scheme implemented to reduce through traffic in residential areas through the use of filtered permeability and traffic calming.
LTNs can be implemented through the use of barriers such as bollards, boom ...
s incorporate traffic calming and filtered permeability. In 2020, some LTNs were introduced with emergency funding from the government, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. A study found that people living in LTNs in Waltham Forest became less likely to own a car and were more likely to walk or cycle.
School Streets are another UK scheme which involves part-time restrictions on motor vehicles during school pick up and drop off times.
North America
More recently, in response to growing numbers of traffic accidents and speeding problems, cities across North America have begun creating traffic calming programs to improve safety and liveability on residential streets. Many municipalities create asphalt or concrete measures, although preformed rubber products that are easier to install and consistently meet standardized requirements are becoming increasingly popular. By 2017, San Francisco's Vision Zero program, which heavily features traffic calming, has reduced fatalities by 33%.
A 2018 study found that traffic calming measures in Portland, Oregon reduced excessive speeds, reduced daily traffic volume by 16% and increased home prices by 1%.
Example of Traffic Calming in Oakland, CA
The Harrison and 23rd Street Crash Response Project was proposed by the Oakland Department of Transportation (OakDOT) in June 2017 after the death of 68-year-old Oakland resident Robert Bennett (Ferrara 2017).
68-year-old pedestrian Robert Bennett was killed by an unidentified driver turning left from 23rd Street onto Harrison Street (Tolan 2017). The accident was indicative of inadequate safety measures to protect pedestrians at the intersection, especially considering that Harrison Street runs adjacent to Oakland's largest senior center.
In response to the fatality and the subsequent protests by
Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, Oakland's Department of Transportation (OakDOT) committed to make Harrison Street more conducive to pedestrians (Tadayon 2017). With a Traffic Engineering Technical Assistance Program grant from the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the City of Oakland implemented changes that were part of the
Vision Zero immediate crash response initiative. Harrison Street was historically a high injury corridor with a concentration of severe traffic-related collisions with “1.8 KSI (kills & serious injuries) per mile” and high speeds with 60% of vehicles over the legal limit (Harrison & 23rd St Crash Response). This problem was exacerbated by the six lanes of traffic on Harrison Street.
In addition to eliminating the left turn from 23rd Street onto Harrison Street, OakDOT's traffic calming scheme notably reduced the number of lanes on Harrison St from six to four. In place of the omitted lanes of traffic, OakDOT elected to add
bicycle lanes
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except ...
in each direction and larger median (Harrison & 23rd St Crash Response). The revised median protects pedestrians by giving them more space to stand and added protection from permanent
bollards
A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...
while incorporating curbed ramps to ensure that they can be used by individuals with wheelchairs and strollers. Moreover,
bulb-outs were added on each corner of the intersection to slow traffic while protecting pedestrians by reducing the amount of roadway they must cross. The enlarged median and bulb-outs were also painted bright purple making it more visible to drivers with the intention of reducing confusion and effectively making the intersection safer for pedestrians.
Since July 2017, OakDOT added to the original edition of the initiative. The revised edition, supported by the Lakeside Family Streets project and completed in 2019, replaced on street parking on Harrison Street between 20th Street to 27th Street with protected bike lanes. In conjunction with the additional bike lanes, the plan includes protected intersections for cyclists along Harrison Street to omit the need for dangerous mixing zones.
Japan
Various forms of traffic calming are used in Japanese cities, particularly in large cities like Tokyo and Yokohama. Tokyo's narrow streets force automobiles and pedestrians to be close to one another; a common traffic calming technique in Tokyo is to change the surface material and/or texture of the shoulder of narrow roads, which helps define the boundary between cars and pedestrians, while allowing cars to use those spaces to pass oncoming traffic.
Reception and evaluation
A
Cochrane Review
Cochrane (previously known as the Cochrane Collaboration) is a British international charitable organisation formed to organise medical research findings to facilitate evidence-based choices about health interventions involving health professi ...
of studies found that there is evidence to demonstrate the efficacy of traffic calming measures in reducing traffic-related injuries and may even reduce deaths. However, the review found that more evidence is needed to demonstrate its efficacy in low income countries.
According to economic commentator and smart growth critic
Randal O'Toole
Randal O'Toole (born 1952) is an American public policy analyst. The majority of O'Toole's work has focused on public lands, land-use regulation, and transportation, particularly light rail. He frequently criticized proposals for passenger rail ...
, the main goal of traffic calming is to increase traffic congestion for the sake of
social engineering. He claims that some traffic calming measures such as reverting one way roads into two-way roads or creating "
bump outs" have increased motor traffic congestion, resulted in more accidents and increased pedestrian fatalities. However, Florida urban planner Dom Nozzi argues that "
ngestion is a powerful disincentive for sprawl; sprawl that steamrolls outlying ecosystems. With congestion, the sprawl market withers."
Gallery
File:Midblock median island.jpg, Median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
with a raised mid-block pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
File:Curb extensions at midblock crosswalk.jpg, Curb extension
A curb extension (or also neckdown, kerb extension, bulb-out, bump-out, kerb build-out, nib, elephant ear, curb bulge, curb bulb, or blister) is a traffic calming measure which widens the sidewalk for a short distance. This reduces the crossing ...
at a mid-block pedestrian crossing
A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...
File:One-lane chicane 1.jpg, Chicane
A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
on a one-lane road
File:Diverter with bollards.jpg, A diverter replaces a crossroads with two curves, forcing motor vehicles to turn
File:Directional closure violation.jpg, A motorist disregards a directional closure (a two-lane roadway with one terminus converted to one-way access)
File:Bremsschwelle.JPG, A (rather wide) speed table
File:Tree in the middle of the road^ Portman Park - geograph.org.uk - 1311576.jpg, A tree being used to slow down car drivers
File:Gatso Camera.jpg, Speed camera
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quantit ...
See also
*
Assured Clear Distance Ahead
In legal terminology, the assured clear distance ahead (ACDA) is the distance ahead of any terrestrial locomotive device such as a land vehicle, typically an automobile, or watercraft, within which they should be able to bring the device to a ...
*
Hierarchy of roads
The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarchy ...
*
Low emission zone
A low-emission zone (LEZ) is a defined area where access by some polluting vehicles is restricted or deterred with the aim of improving air quality. This may favour vehicles such as bicycles, micromobility vehicles, (certain) alternative fuel veh ...
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Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
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Road traffic control
: ''For the road traffic science, see various articles under Road traffic management.''
Road traffic control involves directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic around a construction zone, accident or other road disruption, thus ensuring the safety ...
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Shared space
Shared space is an urban design approach that minimises the segregation between modes of road user. This is done by removing features such as kerbs, road surface markings, traffic signs, and traffic lights. Hans Monderman and others have s ...
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Street hierarchy
The street hierarchy is an urban planning technique for laying out road networks that exclude automobile through-traffic from developed areas. It is conceived as a hierarchy of roads that embeds the link importance of each road type in the netw ...
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Sustainable transportation
Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; the ...
References
“Department of Transportation's Strategic Plan – January 2019 Update.” City of Oakland, January 29, 2019. https://www.oaklandca.gov/resources/department-of-transportation-a- strategic-plan.
“Harrison Street/Oakland Avenue Traffic Calming Study Project.” Kimley-Horn and Associates, inc, June 18, 2007.
“Harrison & 23rd St Crash Response.” City of Oakland. Accessed November 2, 2019. https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/harrison-23rd-st-crash-response.
Rudick, Roger. “Eyes on the Street: Lake Merritt BART Intersection Improvements.” Streetsblog San Francisco, May 31, 2019. https://sf.streetsblog.org/2019/05/31/eyes-on-the-street-lake-merritt-bart- intersection-improvements/.
Rudick, Roger. “Oakland Bollard-Izes Protected Intersections at Lake Merritt.” Streetsblog San Francisco, July 1, 2019. https://sf.streetsblog.org/2019/07/01/oakland-bollard-izes-protected- intersections-at-lake-merritt/.
Rudick, Roger. “Protected Intersection Update: What's Next?” Streetsblog San Francisco, November 2, 2019. https://sf.streetsblog.org/2019/10/31/protected-intersection-update-whats- next/.
Tadayon, Ali. “Quick Fixes Make Oakland Street Where Pedestrian Was Killed Safer; Redesign Underway.” East Bay Times. East Bay Times, October 1, 2017. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/09/29/quick-fixes-make-street- where-pedestrian-was-killed-safer-redesign-underway/.
Tolan, Casey, and Harry Harris. “Man Killed in Hit-Run near Lake Merritt Ran Social Justice Firm.” East Bay Times. East Bay Times, June 5, 2017. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/06/02/oakland-pedestrian-critically- injured-by-hit-run-driver-near-lake-merritt/.
External links
Traffic calming in an Ontario, Canada communityTraffic Calming ePrimer(Office of Safety, U.S.
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Traffic Calming
Road transport
Transportation planning
Sustainable transport