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                                                     Advocates for Calm Traffic 

                                                                Norwalk, Connecticut

  

                                                              

Traffic Calming Guidelines for Norwalk

 

The following criteria are in use by our Public Works Department (DPW) -- and were influenced by the South Western Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA)) Traffic Calming Guidelines.  The entire Traffic Calming Toolbox that was developed by SWRPA in 1998 is available for reference at the DPW office at City Hall.

 

Click here for the March 18, 2002 ACT Report to the Police Commission

 

TRAFFIC CALMING DEVICES

 

Speed reduction

enforcement, public awareness, speed bumps, entrance treatments, pavement treatment

Volume Reduction

diverters, cul-de-sac, choke points, one way operation

Pedestrian Safety

pedestrian refuges, curb extensions, raised crosswalks

 

SPEED BUMP CRITERIA     

 

bulletSpeed bumps are rounded raised areas of pavement typically 12 to 14 feet in length with a height of 3 inches, placed

           in a series and spaced 250 to 600 feet apart.

bulletSpeed bumps are to be considered only after traffic studies are done to document traffic volumes and speeds. Streets

           that experience significant "cut-thru" traffic will receive priority for speed bumps. Dead end roads generally would not

           warrant speed bumps.

bulletStreets under consideration will generally be local residential streets with average daily traffic volume of 3000 vehicles

          or less. Installation may be warranted on higher volume streets with special justification. Collector Streets that are not

          designated on the Emergency Response Route Map may be considered.

bulletStreets are to have no more than two travel lanes, with a width of less than 40 feet and road grades of less than 8

          percent approaching the speed bump.

bulletSpeed bumps should be installed only where the minimum safe stopping sight distance can be provided. Bumps are to

          be avoided in horizontal curves of less than 300 feet centerline radius.

bulletNeighborhood support is required with no less than two-thirds (66%) majority of the residents in favor of the speed

          bumps.

bulletStreets that would not qualify for installation of speed bumps with city funding due to low traffic volumes may petition

          the city to install speed bumps under the Freeholders Procedure. The residents would be assessed the cost of the

          work which would be included in the tax bill in the year following the installation.

 

 

The DPW currently has funds in its budget for traffic calming measures.  To get speed bumps for your street:

 

  1. Contact the DPW at 854-7791.  Ask to speak with Dick Linnartz if the person you speak with on the phone is unable to answer your questions or take your information.  One thing to ask is if someone has already put in a request for speed bumps for your street.  No need to do the work more than once.

  2. Circulate a petition to the homeowners on your street to find out from the start whether you have the support or if there are considerations that you had not recognized.

  3. Submit a letter to the DPW requesting speed bumps.  Attach the petition with residents signatures if you have it.  This petition is not the official record of 66% of the street residents.  That tally will be done by the DPW later in the process. Your petition just indicates that there is support on your street for speed bumps.

  4. Await a traffic study. If your street is not a designated emergency route, or automatically ruled out for another reason, the DPW (Frank Mauro) will schedule your street for traffic counts to determine if your street meets the criteria for speed bumps as listed above.

  5. Contact Frank or Dick periodically to see where your street is in the process. The list of streets that have requests in to the city for speed bumps is growing and is currently 70 plus.  Many do not meet the criteria but still need other traffic calming measures that may come out of the same budget as do speed bumps.  Funding has been available for about ten streets per year.

  6. Come out and support funding in the city's capital budget each year for traffic calming.  The time to phone, email, write and speak at public hearings starts in January of each year and extends into April when the budget is approved.  The current mayor has been extremely supportive of providing funding for traffic calming but it can't hurt to add your voice.  In addition to the Mayor the Planning Commission and the Common Council are the government bodies that vote on the capital budget.

  7. Continue to keep your neighbors informed. When your street is next in line for speed bumps the DPW will send a letter to all property owners on your street.  The letter will request that the property owner indicate 'yes' or 'no' to speed bumps on the street.  The letter is to be returned to the DPW. This is the time that you will need to be the most involved.  Even those that have let you know in the past that they want speed bumps will need to be contacted to be reminded of the reasons and that it is essential that they return the letter to the DPW with a 'yes' vote.  Call the DPW regularly to check how many letters have been returned and how each person has voted.  You can then get extra copies of the letter from the DPW to take to individual households for those that cannot find their original letter.  A number of the streets where speed bumps were approved because  66% of the residents returned letters with a 'yes' vote had street residents individually contacting each resident on the street and then hand-delivering  the signed letters to the DPW office at city hall.

  8. Await word that the DPW has the 66% approval for your street.  Next the city will put the job 'out to bid' and once the contractor is chosen the work will be scheduled.  Bump signs and then the bumps will appear one day.  The cars will slow down. Your street will be safer.  Congratulations! 

 

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