A.
General.
(1)
A critical concern about the use of traffic calming devices is the
delay they may create for emergency response vehicles, including fire
engines, ambulances and law enforcement vehicles. It is important
to be aware of the trade-offs when making decisions about the use
of traffic calming devices. The more aggressive devices for slowing
traffic will slow emergency vehicle response as well, and in some
cases may cause safety concerns.
(2)
It is important to point out that fire trucks respond to many life-threatening
medical emergencies, such as heart attack victims, in addition to
fire emergencies. Often, a fire truck is the first to respond to a
medical emergency. Thus, to areas at the limits of current response
times, any significant traffic calming devices will cause response
time failures.
(3)
Recognizing the importance of limiting any delays in emergency response
time, all traffic calming devices will be designed to accommodate
all emergency vehicles and to minimize their impacts on emergency
vehicle response times. Most arterial and collector streets are considered
primary emergency vehicle response routes and are used to access various
parts of the Borough from the fire station. In order to minimize impacts
to emergency vehicle response times, particular attention should be
paid to the types of devices used on collector streets.
(4)
Devices that considerably limit or restrict emergency vehicle access
on collector streets will not be allowed.
B.
Emergency response policies:
(1)
Policy No. 1: Traffic calming measures shall be designed to accommodate
all emergency vehicles and to minimize their impacts on emergency
vehicle response times.
(2)
Policy No. 2: Traffic calming measures shall be limited on primary
response routes.
(3)
Policy No. 3: The Fire Department and the Police Department should
be involved in the development of the traffic calming measures in
neighborhoods and should approve all proposed plans.
There are a few basic types of traffic calming devices that
have different effects on the motoring public. It is important to
understand how each type of device works and its impacts on motorists
and emergency vehicles. The following discussion is divided to explain
each type of device and the associated policies:
A.
Horizontal shift and constriction devices.
(1)
Horizontal shift devices include traffic circles, chicanes and medians.
Constriction devices include curb extensions, neckdowns and chokers.
Both horizontal shift and constriction devices slow traffic by physically
forcing motorists to maneuver around the devices. The use of landscaping
within these devices not only enhances the aesthetics of the streetscape
but also increases their effectiveness by breaking up the motorist's
line of sight, which reduces the comfortable speed of travel. Therefore,
these devices, when used in conjunction with one another, are effective
for a longer stretch of roadway rather than just in the immediate
vicinity of the device. These devices also tend to have relatively
lower impacts on emergency response times in that the vehicles can
continue to move around the devices without stopping. However, use
of these devices usually requires prohibition of on-street parking
adjacent to the device.
(2)
Policies on horizontal shift and constriction devices:
B.
Vertical deflection devices.
(1)
Vertical deflection devices include speed lumps, speed humps, speed
tables, and raised crosswalks and intersections. The only vertical
deflection device that is included in this program is the speed lump.
Speed lumps are similar to speed humps, except they are divided into
three lumps with one foot of space between each lump. The space between
the lumps is specifically designed to accommodate the axle width of
fire trucks. All other vehicles with smaller axle widths have to go
over the humps from at least one side of the vehicle. Speed lumps
are typically 12 feet to 14 feet long and three inches high. One of
the concerns associated with speed lumps is the potential increased
noise in the immediate area where the speed lumps are installed because
of braking and accelerating vehicles. It is important that residents
immediately adjacent to the speed lumps concur to their installation.
C.
Diverters, street closures and turn restrictions.
(1)
Diverters, street closures and turn restrictions are measures that
alter the existing transportation circulation system. In developing
a solution it is important not to shift the problem to another neighborhood.
Turn restrictions and street closures can cause a tremendous amount
of traffic diversion over a wide area. These types of measures have
impacts that would need to be evaluated in a greater scope than just
within a particular neighborhood. The impacts would include the environmental
impacts due to changing the transportation circulation system. Many
other boroughs have policies that ban or discourage street closures.
For these reasons, diverters, closures and turn restrictions are not
to be used as traffic calming measures. However, the use of diverters,
street closures and turn restrictions may be used outside of this
program and should be evaluated as part of a larger area-wide study
if their use is to be considered.
D.
Stop signs.
(1)
Stop signs are not traffic calming devices. Residents, however, often
request stop signs in an effort to calm traffic. Although residents
believe that stop signs will reduce vehicle speeds, studies have shown
that vehicle speeds after the vehicle has passed through the stop-controlled
intersection are as high, and occasionally higher, than without a
stop sign, as motorists try to "make up" time lost at the stop sign.
The acceleration and deceleration near stop signs generate noise and
adversely affect air quality.
(2)
Inappropriate use of stop signs also creates significant adverse
impact to emergency vehicles. Emergency vehicles are required to verify
that a stop-controlled intersection is clear of vehicles prior to
entering. Many times this means that the emergency vehicle must nearly
come to a stop. The delay to an emergency vehicle at a stop sign is
similar to that caused by a vertical deflection device.
(3)
Stop signs are traffic control devices that should be used when appropriate
to assign right-of-way to conflicting traffic movements, not to calm
traffic. Stop signs should be installed only at locations where conditions
meet established criteria, which has been the past practice of the
Borough. Studies have shown that stop signs that do not meet established
criteria (known as unwarranted stop signs) have a higher violation
rate. Unwarranted stop signs also create disrespect of traffic control
devices in general and affect behavior at other stop-controlled intersections.
It is for these many reasons that unwarranted stop signs are not to
be used in this program.
A.
Many traffic calming devices alter the geometry of the roadway. Poorly
designed traffic calming devices could interfere with street sweeping,
snow removal and other existing maintenance activities. This could
have a negative effect on the appearance of the neighborhood and the
residents' quality of life.
B.
Maintenance policies:
A.
General.
(1)
This program is focused on residential areas since the purpose of
the program is to improve quality of life of residents. Only local
residential and residential two-lane collector streets will be considered
in this program. Arterial streets are specifically excluded from this
program because the nature of arterial streets is to move large numbers
of vehicles in a relatively free-flowing manner. Actually, non-neighborhood
traffic is encouraged to use arterial streets in order to reduce cut-through
traffic in the neighborhoods.
(2)
Diverted traffic must also be considered when evaluating traffic
calming measures. In developing a solution for one traffic problem,
it is important not to shift the problem to another neighborhood or
other residential streets within the neighborhood. Therefore, it is
necessary to identify a neighborhood boundary to study the effects
of proposed traffic calming devices.
(3)
Neighborhood participation is important in order to develop a consensus
of the issues that adversely affect the neighborhood, evaluate the
pros and cons of the various traffic calming measures and ensure that
the issues are adequately addressed. It is essential to consider a
wide range of perspectives and observations in addition to engineering
data. The program is designed so that residents can become actively
involved in defining the problem(s) and in the decision-making process
in order to have a sense of ownership of the outcome.
(4)
In addition to neighborhood participation, it is important that the
process reflects the opinions of a majority of the residents and not
just a few vocal residents. This is implemented through the use of
a petition that must be signed by at least 80% of the households within
the neighborhood to initiate the traffic calming process. A preliminary
neighborhood meeting will be held to discuss the traffic calming program
prior to requiring the 80% petition. Another petition is required
to implement the proposed traffic calming devices. This second petition
is needed in order to be sure there is enough support for approval
of an assessment district. This is discussed in more detail under
funding.[1]
B.
Residential focus policies:
(1)
Policy No. 12: Traffic calming measures will only be considered on
local residential and residential two-lane collector streets.
(2)
Policy No. 13: Traffic calming measures shall not be used on arterial
streets or nonresidential streets.
(3)
Policy No. 14: Minimize diverted traffic to other local or residential
collector streets.
(4)
Policy No. 15: Borough staff will identify neighborhood study areas
in order to evaluate the potential of diverted traffic.
(5)
Policy No. 16: Maintain or improve the aesthetics of the streetscape
through landscaping and hardscaping treatments.
(6)
Policy No. 17: Residents within the neighborhood should be encouraged
to participate in the identification of the issues as well as the
development of the solution.
(7)
Policy No. 18: Require a positive response from at least 80% of the
households within the identified neighborhood boundary to initiate
the traffic calming process and also to approve the permanent installation
of traffic calming devices.
A.
General.
(1)
The need to prioritize projects arises when the demand for traffic
calming exceeds Borough resources. This includes staff time to work
on the project as well as construction funding. A common approach
used by most other boroughs to efficiently utilize borough resources
is to prioritize projects so that the neighborhoods with the greater
problems are addressed first. Since most neighborhood traffic problems
involve speeding vehicles or a high volume of vehicles relative to
the street type, these criteria are weighted heavier in the ranking.
Another factor that is considered in defining the extent of the problem
is the average annual reported accidents. Also, the impact traffic
will have on a neighborhood depends upon the character of the street
in the neighborhood and the amount of pedestrian activity within the
neighborhood. Streets that have a greater percentage of fronting homes,
schools, parks or other public facilities are impacted more than streets
that are lined with backing lot treatments. Neighborhoods that have
a higher number of pedestrian generators, such as parks, schools and
other public facilities, will be impacted greater than those neighborhoods
without pedestrian generators. Due to the high concentration of school-aged
pedestrians and localized traffic congestion associated with elementary,
middle and high schools, these pedestrian generators are weighted
double that of other nonschool pedestrian generators. The prioritization
criteria are also used to determine how the project should be funded.
This is discussed in more detail under funding.[1]
(2)
In addition to prioritizing projects, it is necessary to provide
some minimum criteria that must be met in order for a neighborhood
to qualify for traffic calming measures. These minimum criteria ensure
that Borough staff and financial resources are used efficiently by
not spending resources on streets that do not have a significant traffic
problem and to avoid creating unmet expectations by having a long
list of projects that may never get built. These minimum criteria
are based on vehicle speeds and volumes.
(3)
For the purposes of the minimum and prioritization criteria, the
data collected will be rounded up to the nearest whole number.
B.
Minimum criteria and prioritization criteria policies:
(1)
Policy No. 19: The minimum criteria to be used to determine if a
street is eligible for traffic calming devices is as follows:
(2)
Policy No. 20: The prioritization scoring criteria allows 20 maximum
points and is as follows:
(a)
Speed:
|
85th Percentile Speed
(Critical Speed)
(miles per hour)
|
Points
| |
|---|---|---|
|
31
|
2
| |
|
32
|
4
| |
|
33
|
6
| |
|
34
|
8
| |
|
35 or more
|
10 maximum
|
(b)
Accident history: one point per accident susceptible to correction
by traffic calming device, using the average annual accidents over
past three years (five points maximum).
(c)
Fronting uses (including homes, schools, parks and public facilities):
|
Percentage of the Street
that has Fronting Uses
|
Points
| |
|---|---|---|
|
10% or less
|
1
| |
|
11% to 25%
|
2
| |
|
26% to 50%
|
3
| |
|
51% to 75%
|
4
| |
|
75% to 100%
|
5 maximum
|
A.
Administration costs. Administration costs include staff time to
collect and analyze data, prioritize requests, conduct neighborhood
meetings and design the traffic calming devices. These costs would
be covered under normal operating budgets using existing staff.
B.
Capital financing. The construction costs of traffic calming devices
will be budgeted annually as part of the Capital Improvement Fund.
The issue of traffic calming removal should not be dismissed as minor.
Some agencies that have had traffic calming programs for several decades
have now implemented traffic calming removal programs. The Borough
can stretch its budget to cover more projects to more neighborhoods.
C.
Operations and maintenance financing. The Borough will be responsible
for the operations and maintenance costs associated with the traffic
calming device.
A.
Although there are many policies and steps incorporated in the program
to avoid the scenario whereby a neighborhood requests to have traffic
calming devices removed, it is acknowledged that this may occur. In
order for traffic calming devices to be removed from a neighborhood,
the same process of neighborhood meetings and consensus requirements
should be met. A neighborhood meeting would be held to discuss the
issues and the impacts of traffic calming removal. A petition to garner
sixty-percent approval would need to be circulated within the original
neighborhood boundary that installed the traffic calming device initially.
The costs of removing traffic calming devices would be paid 100% by
the Borough.
B.
Removal policies:
