TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES - DESCRIPTIONS

 

Signing and Pavement Markings-Additional speed limit signs can be installed.  Pavement markings such as striping on-street parallel parking spaces can be installed to reduce the travel width of the street.  Both of these measures have a minimal effect in reducing speeds.

 

Speed Tables-A raised area of street pavement, three to four inches in height.  Speed tables are different from speed bumps and humps.  Speed bumps are abrupt and are generally use in parking lots.  Speed humps are more gradual and not as severe as speed bumps.  Speed tables are even more gradual, usually with a flat top and in the range of 22 feet in length across the entire street.  To be effective these measures are typically placed in series rather than singularly with a spacing of approximately 300-500 feet.

 

Raised Crosswalks-Flat raised pavement areas covering only the pedestrian crosswalk areas.  The crosswalk areas can use grooved asphalt, colored paving stones or brick.

 

Raised Intersections-Flat raised areas covering entire intersections, with ramps on all approaches and often with brick or other textured materials in the flat section.  Raised pavement can use grooved asphalt, colored paving stones, brick, or for ultimate effectiveness, cobblestones.

 

Textured Pavements-Streets surfaces paved with brick, concrete pavers, stamped asphalt, or other surface materials that produce constant small changes in vertical alignment.

 

Traffic Circles-A raised circular island in the center of the intersection.  Generally used in residential areas and may be as small as 16 to 25 feet in diameter.  Forces motorists to slow or alter their speed.  This design requires vehicles to keep right and travel through the intersection in a counter-clockwise direction around the island.

 

Roundabouts-An intersection design that uses a circular island rather than traffic signals or stop signs.  This type of design encourages lower speeds as vehicles drive through the intersection.  Generally installed on higher volume streets.

 

Chicanes-Curb extensions that alternate from one side of the street to the other, forming S-shaped curves.  They are also referred to as deviations, serpentines, reversing curves, or twists.

 

Realigned Intersections-Changes in alignment that convert T-intersections with straight approaches into curving streets that meet at right angles.  A former “straight-through” movement along the top of the T becomes a turning movement.  They are sometimes called modified intersections.

Neckdowns-Curb extensions at intersections that reduce street width curb to curb.  They are sometimes called nubs, bulbouts, knuckles, or intersection narrowing.

 

Chockers-Curb extensions at midblock that narrow a street by widening the sidewalk or planting strip.  They are sometimes called pinch points, midblock narrowing, or constrictions.  They can maintain two lanes of traffic or reduce traffic down to one lane.

 

Full Closures-Barriers place across a street to close the street completely to through traffic, usually leaving only sidewalk or bicycle paths open.  The barriers consist of landscaped islands, walls, gates, side-by-side bollards, or any other obstructions that leave an opening smaller than the width of a passenger car.  Full closures are the most commonly used cure for cut-through traffic.

 

Half Closures-Barriers that block travel in one direction for short distance on otherwise two-way streets.  They are also sometimes called partial closures or one-way closures.  Half closures are the most common volume control measure after full closures.

 

Diagonal Diverters-Barriers placed diagonally across an intersection, blocking through movement.  They are also called full diverters or diagonal road closures.  Diagonal diverters are usually staggered to create circuitous routes through neighborhoods. There are also half diagonal diverters.

 

Forced Turn Islands-Raised islands that block certain movements on approaches to an intersection.  They are sometimes called forced turn channelizations, pork chops, or right turn islands.