Traffic Calming

Aerial view of intersection in Hoboken, New Jersey with crosswalks, bulb-outs, and blue home plate painted in middle of intersection, surrounded by mid-rise multistory apartment buildings.

Vision Zero at Work: Hoboken Celebrates Seven Years of Zero Traffic Deaths

The New Jersey city implemented simple yet impactful changes to eliminate traffic fatalities.

November 29, 2023 - Jalopnik

Cyclists riding on green painted bike lane protected by flexible post delineators in Chicago, Illinois.

Chicago Had a Banner Year for Bike Infrastructure

The city built more bike lane miles in 2023 than in any previous year.

November 5, 2023 - Streetsblog Chicago

View of palm tree-lined boulevard in Miami, Florida with white PT Cruiser driving by.

Florida to Adopt ‘Safe System’ Traffic Safety Approach

The concept focuses on road design and policy that reduces the likelihood of severe injuries and deaths.

October 27, 2023 - WUSF

Aerial view of downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin at sunset

A Look at Milwaukee’s Vision Zero Efforts

The city is making slow but steady progress on reducing traffic deaths. Some advocates say changes aren’t being implemented fast enough to save lives.

October 17, 2023 - WUWM (Milwaukee Public Radio)

Green parking-protected bike lane in Philadelphia with old church in background

Philadelphia Traffic Calming Initiative Pays Off

City officials say serious crashes are down by 34 percent on streets that were the target of Complete Streets projects.

October 12, 2023 - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Yellow and black "SLOW SPEED HUMP" sign on residential street

Philadelphia Continues Traffic Calming Program

The city is installing ‘vertical deflection devices’ such as speed tables on some of its most dangerous streets.

October 4, 2023 - WHYY

Cyclist with dog passing through a small neighborhood traffic circle in Denver, Colorado.

Denver Could Put Pause on New Traffic Circles

The city’s fire department has asked for a moratorium on new traffic circles, installed as a traffic calming mechanism.

October 3, 2023 - The Denver Gazette

Striped crosswalk with yellow pedestrian crossing signs and grassy pedestrian island in Boston, Massachusetts

Boston Launches ‘Safety Surge’ Traffic Calming Initiative

The new program targets neighborhood streets for safety improvements such as speed humps and intersection redesigns.

May 24, 2023 - Streetsblog Mass

View of wide residential street in Dallas, Texas neighborhood with one white car parked at the curb and large tree with yellow fallen leaves around it

Texas State Bills Would Let Cities Lower Speed Limits

The proposed legislation would give cities the ability to reduce neighborhood speed limits without having to produce expensive traffic studies.

April 18, 2023 - The Dallas Morning News

Pedestrians in zebra crosswalk with green bike lane in downtown Seattle, Washington with three-story brick building in background

Washington Focuses Road Safety Efforts on Individuals, Neglecting Design

Legislative efforts to reduce traffic deaths could move the needle toward Vision Zero, but state leaders failed to commit infrastructure funds to making structural improvements.

February 1, 2023 - The Urbanist

25mph speed limit sign with "Your Speed Limit" digital sign under it

Oklahoma City Updates, Expands Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program

The city announced a new cost-sharing plan and an expanded set of speed reduction devices available to neighborhoods wanting to improve traffic safety.

January 25, 2023 - Oklahoma City Sentinel

Crosswalk in Chicago with newly installed yellow delineators and speed bumps

Chicago Left Turn Traffic Calming Reduces Crashes

The city installed reflective posts and speed bumps at dangerous intersections to induce drivers to take left turns more slowly and carefully.

January 24, 2023 - Axios

Streets and buildings in historic Oxford, England.

What Draws Conspiracy Theorists to Traffic Calming Plans?

Proposals for road diets, ‘15-minute cities,’ and other traffic reduction programs often meet with unfounded conspiracy theories claiming that the plans are nothing short of steps to world domination.

January 15, 2023 - The Guardian

View of pedestrian suspension bridge over waterway surrounded by green grass with small apartment buildings in background

Pedestrian Deaths Spike in King County Cities

Eight cities in Washington’s King County saw sharp increases in traffic fatalities, signaling a need for more robust road safety and traffic calming policies.

January 11, 2023 - The Urbanist

Two-lane street with pedestrian crossing island

What Is a Road Diet?

A road diet ‘trims down’ multilane roadways by reallocating street space to uses other than car traffic, improving safety for pedestrians, encouraging multimodal travel, and enhancing overall livability.

January 9, 2023 - Diana Ionescu

Roundabout

The ‘Quiet Roundabout Revolution’ Sweeping U.S. Cities

Roundabouts, which can dramatically improve traffic safety, have been slowly proliferating across U.S. cities over the last two decades.

December 5, 2022 - The Washington Post

Woonerf street with no curbs and trees in Lodz, Poland

What Is a Woonerf?

The woonerf, a type of road design that encourages multimodal transportation and blends pedestrian and vehicle space, was born as a reaction to the car-centric development that began dominating American and European city planning in the mid-twentieth century.

October 5, 2022 - Diana Ionescu

New York City Pedestrians

Which Road Safety Interventions Work Best?

Data from New York City show that traffic safety projects that give pedestrians the most space are the most effective in reducing fatal crashes and injuries.

September 19, 2022 - Governing

Chicago Transit Authority

The Role of Segregation in Traffic Deaths

Research from Chicago suggests that the city’s traffic calming infrastructure is concentrated in the most affluent neighborhoods, contributing to higher rates of road deaths in lower-income neighborhoods.

September 16, 2022 - WTTW

An intersection is adorned with paint depicting the Italian flag in St. Louis.

St. Louis Had Enough of the Federal Government’s Crosswalk Paint Policy

St. Louis is not the only city to decide that the Federal Highway Administration’s policies against brightly painted crosswalks. The evidence is on the side of the resistance.

September 6, 2022 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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