Traffic Calming

Traffic Calming is a set of roadway design strategies and physical measures intended to reduce vehicle speeds, discourage cut-through traffic, and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and residents in neighborhoods and commercial districts. Common devices include speed humps, raised crosswalks, curb extensions (bulb-outs), chicanes, traffic circles, and road narrowing, all designed to create visual and physical cues that encourage drivers to slow down. GISGISGeographic Information Systems (GIS) enable users to analyze and visualize spatial data to uncover patterns, relation...-based analysis supports traffic calming programs by mapping speeding complaints, crash data, pedestrian activity, and school locations to identify priority corridors. Before-and-after studies use speed data and collision records to evaluate the effectiveness of installed measures. Network-level analysis ensures calming devices on one street do not divert traffic to adjacent residential streets, creating new problems. Applications include neighborhood traffic management plans, school zone safety improvements, and commercial district revitalization. Traffic calming has been shown to reduce vehicle speeds by 5-15 mph and cut pedestrian crashes by 30-40% on treated streets. Cities increasingly integrate traffic calming into broader complete streetsComplete StreetsComplete Streets are roadways designed and operated to enable safe, comfortable access for all users regardless of ag... and Vision Zero programs that aim to eliminate traffic fatalities through design-based safety interventions.