Traffic Calming
Traffic calming can be defined as physical measures to alter motorist behaviour on a street or street network. Traffic calming also includes traffic management, which involves changing traffic routes or flows within a neighbourhood.
Traffic calming is intended to improve the quality of life for residents on traffic calmed streets, achieve slower speeds for motor vehicles, and increase the safety and the perception of safety for non-motorized users of the street. Traffic calming is also intended to promote increased pedestrian, cycle and transit usage in an effort to help reduce the negative effects of motor vehicles on the environment.
The objective of traffic calming is to achieve uniform driving patterns at reduced travel speeds. That objective is consistent with resident expectations on roads where lower speeds are desired to enhance safety and livability in communities and neighbourhoods. That objective is not tenable on roads where higher speeds are desired. Consequently, physical traffic calming should not be used on roads intended for higher speeds or to move large volumes of traffic such as arterial roads.
Speed cushions and radar speed advisory boards are two temporary traffic calming measures that have proven to be effective in curbing negative driving behavior.
Proposed Locations for Speed Cushions and Radar Speed Boards
| Ward |
Speed Cushion Location |
Radar Speed Board Location |
| 1 |
Codrington Street between Duckworth Street and Puget Street |
Johnson Street |
| 2 |
Peel Street between Rose Street and Wellington Street East |
Rose Street between St. Vincent Street and Bayfield Street |
| 3 |
Stanley Street between Livingstone Street and Hanmer Street |
Ferris Lane |
| 4 |
Kozlov Street between Lyfytt Crescent and Lyfytt Crescent |
Shirley Avenue between Wesley Street and Aleda Street |
| 5 |
Letitia Street between Leacock Drive and Anne Street |
Miller Drive |
| 6 |
Cumming Drive between Stapleton Place and Ferndale Drive |
Summerset Drive between Wright Drive and Hawkins Drive |
| 7 |
Girdwood Drive between Clute Crescent and Wessenger Drive |
Athabaska Road |
| 8 |
Finsbury Street between Lockhart Road and Glenhill Drive |
Little Avenue between McConkey Place and Springhome Road |
| 9 |
Raquel Street between Dean Avenue and Esther Drive |
Dean Avenue |
| 10 |
Tollendal Mill Road between Hurst Drive and Cox Mill Road |
Crimson Ridge Road |
| Frequently Asked Questions |
|
| Where can I learn more about the City’s overall approach to traffic calming? |
Answer |
|
|
| How can I get a speed cushion installed on my block? |
Answer |
Please refer to the Traffic Calming map to determine if your street would qualify for the temporary traffic calming and then contact your local councilor. |
| Do passenger vehicles tend to use the center of the road when speed cushions are installed? |
Answer |
|
If speed cushions are installed properly, passenger vehicles will not be able to avoid them.
|
| How do speed cushions impact emergency vehicles? |
Answer |
|
When placed properly, cars cannot straddle them but emergency vehicles with wider custom chassis can.
|
