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TRAFFIC CALMING <br /> Applicable Planning Principle: <br /> * Streets should be designed to efficiently and safely accommodate emergency fire and <br /> medical service vehicles. <br /> * Local streets should be designed to function efficiently and safely, yet minimize the need <br /> for extensive traffic regulation, control devices, and enforcement. <br /> * The local street circulation pattern should provide connections to and from activity <br /> centers such as schools, commercial areas, parks, employment centers, and other <br /> major attractors. <br /> * Local streets should be interconnected to provide for efficient provision of utility services <br /> and to provide for more even dispersal of traffic. <br /> * The function of the local street should be readily apparent to the user through its <br /> appearance and design. <br /> Discussion <br /> In many established neighborhoods throughout the City, excessive traffic speeds and volumes are <br /> a common source of complaint. In recent years, the City has begun to employ various techniques <br /> to slow traffic and/or shift traffic to more appropriate routes. These techniques are commonly <br /> referred to as "traffic calming" measures. <br /> Traffic calming concepts were first employed in Germany, Holland and Australia several decades <br /> ago. Over the past twenty years, an increasing number of cities throughout Europe, Australia, <br /> and the United States have used a variety of traffic control devices to improve street conditions in <br /> residential neighborhoods. Some of these devices are best employed in existing neighborhoods <br /> to address unsafe or undesirable conditions; others can be designed into streets when they are <br /> constructed to prevent or minimize the development of future problems. Table _ indicates which <br /> techniques are,suitable in each of those conditions. <br /> In existing developed areas, traffic speed and volume issues are sometimes slow to develop. <br /> Frequently, residents are able to tolerate the infrequent speeding vehicle, as long as traffic <br /> volumes remain low. However, as the city grows, residential areas which were once at the outer <br /> limits of the developed area, are affected by traffic generated from developments which are even <br /> further out. This plan proposes adoption of standards for applying traffic calming measures in <br /> established neighborhoods when it is likely that existing streets will be impacted by nearby new <br /> development. <br />