Traffic Calming

As part of City Council’s priority of community safety, and addressing speeding and aggressive driving, the City uses many traffic calming measures and road safety practices to keep our community and streets safe.

Traffic calming is the installation of physical measures to alter negative motorist driving behaviour. The objective: achieve uniform driving patterns at reduced speeds on roads where lower speeds enhance safety and livability in neighbourhoods. Traffic-calmed streets improve residents’ quality of life and increase safety for active transportation.

Traffic Calming Policy

The Traffic Calming Policy outlines City’s overall approach to traffic calming. As a next step to the 2021 road safety public consultation, City staff are working on a review of the City's traffic calming policy to develop a strategy in addition to traffic calming measures. This will include a review of posted speed limits within residential local roadways in consultation with Barrie Police Service.

Traffic Calming Methods

Effective traffic calming measures used throughout Barrie include radar speed advisory boards, police officer cut outs, road diets, speed cushions (temporary and permanent), temporary planters and flexible bollard islands. In 2023, the City also added two automated speed enforcement cameras.

Permanent speed cushions on City streets are located at these locations:
- Ward 1 – Cheltenham Road - West of Sydenham Wells
- Ward 2 – Codrington Street – 146/150
- Ward 3 – Hanmer Street East (resurfacing 2022) – 149/151
- Ward 4 – Hanmer Street West – 133/135
- Ward 5 – Pringle Drive – 51/61
- Ward 6 – Summerset Drive – 150/152
- Ward 7 – Mapleton Avenue – 12/14
- Ward 8 – Holgate Street –57
- Ward 9 – Loon Avenue – 88/90
- Ward 10 – The Queensway – 105/107
Considerations for Emergency Vehicles, Buses, and Plows
When speed cushions are placed properly, cars cannot straddle them but emergency vehicles with wider custom chassis can.
When determining the location of speed cushions throughout Barrie, transit routes are one of the considerations in the overall assessment. Where possible the City will not install speed cushions on transit routes. However, in a case where installation is deemed necessary for traffic calming, buses would slow down and approach the bumps just as a car would.
Like other vehicles, plows must reduce speeds over permanent speed cushions during winter maintenance activities on Barrie's roads. The slope is gradual, so plows can slide over the asphalt cushions and follow the contour without having the edges dig in. The City's Operations department has ensured the safety of staff and also confirmed there are no concerns regarding damage to municipal vehicles.
Flexible bollards are placed to narrow travel lanes and encourage motorists to slow down. They are used in two ways:
1. To create lane narrowing features, flexible bollards are placed adjacent to the curb lane and on the centerline of the road.
2. To create curb bump outs, flexible bollards are placed adjacent to the curb.
In 2024, Traffic Services staff are piloting collapsible bollards at pedestrian walkways to bring enhanced awareness to pedestrians crossing the roadway.
View Latest Bollard Locations
Planters are placed to narrow travel lanes and encourage motorists to slow down. They are used in two ways:
1. To create median islands, planters are placed on the centerline of the road.
2. To create curb bump outs, planters are placed adjacent to the curb.
To ensure motorist safety, associated traffic signs are installed with planters.
View Latest Planter Locations
Staff work alongside Ward Councillors and residents to determine exact radar speed board locations. These boards can be relocated throughout the year to help staff analyze traffic data and notify motorists of their speeds.
View Current Radar Speed Board Location Info
Radar speed boards provide a visual queue to educate motorists to help reduce their operating speeds. Statistics gathered from Barrie’s radar speed boards show that vehicle speeds are reduced by an average of 6–10 km/hr in areas where the boards are present.
The radar speed boards also allow staff to collect information regarding vehicle speeds and daily traffic volumes. This data can then be used to provide detailed information to assist in recommendations to address operational and safety concerns. This information and data can be provided to Barrie Police Service regarding peak hours for evidence-based enforcement to help increase efficiencies.
If you have speeding concerns in your neighbourhood, these can be reported via Barrie Police Service’s online reporting tool.