Neighborhood Traffic Harmonization
Program
Troy’s Neighborhood Traffic Harmonization Program is part of the
City's commitment to the safety and livability of our neighborhoods. It
is a collaborative effort of City staff and local residents to reduce the
impacts of traffic on neighborhoods. Through active participation by you
and your neighbors, we can identify the problem, plan the approach, implement
the solutions, and evaluate the effectiveness. Traffic calming for
residential areas is a concept that seeks harmony between automobiles and
people.
How Does the Program Work?
Phase I identifies the
problem, provides for a complete explanation of the Program, gains the support
of a Core Group of residents, and collects data in the form of speed studies
and field review.
Residents with a traffic safety concern can contact the City at
the numbers/e-mail provided in this brochure.
In return they receive a Traffic Information Survey Form. You are requested to discuss traffic
concerns with your neighbors and/or the neighborhood association. If there is interest, the City will host an
informational meeting and present the program.
From the informational meeting, a group of residents or Core Group
will be formed to work with the City to gather information. Speed studies will be performed at locations
identified by the residents. In
addition, traffic counts will be taken and other operational areas will be
studied. All of the data gathering will
be done in partnership; City employees and resident volunteers working
together. This information, jointly
collected, will establish base data from which Phase II and Phase III of the
program will stem.
Phase II is the development
of a plan combining elements of educational, enforcement and engineering
measures. Based on the specific
findings of the field review, a plan will be agreed upon. Past enforcement activities in the City have
found that most violations of traffic ordinances within a residential area are
the residents of that area. Therefore,
much of the following activities will be directed towards friends and
neighbors.
EDUCATION
Three educational programs are
currently proposed. City staff and the
Core Group will determine the extent to which each will be used. They are:
A. THE NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC SAFETY
CAMPAIGN: This involves the distribution of brochures describing techniques
that pedestrians and parents can use to help address speeding issues and to
become better aware of their driving habits.
B. USE OF
THE SMART TRAILER (Speed Monitoring Awareness Radar Trailer): This program consists of a portable, unmanned trailer equipped
with radar speed detection equipment.
The unit obtains speeds of oncoming vehicles and displays them on a
digital display board visible to the passing motorist. The intent is to show motorists their actual
travel speed. The program can be
combined with the Troy Police Department enforcement activity.
C. THE OWNERSHIP LETTER CAMPAIGN: This program involves citizens collecting speed data for vehicles
in their neighborhood with City Staff assistance. After recording the speed and vehicle information, the City
obtains the registered owner’s name and address through Michigan’s Secretary of
State’s system. City staff then sends
letters signed by the Chief of Police to these motorists explaining the
community’s desire for a safe neighborhood and encouraging them to drive 25
mph. This program actively involves
citizens in addressing the speeding concerns in their neighborhood.
ENFORCEMENT
The enforcement plan includes the selective enforcement of
specific traffic controls and vehicle
movements by our Police Department.
Following current practice, the Core Group identifies specific time
periods and locations that the Police can target for specific ordinance
enforcement (i.e. speeding, disobeying stop signs, improper parking, etc.)
Once these measures are taken, the effectiveness is monitored and
a re-evaluation of the location is completed.
If the measures prove to be effective and the speeding problem is
reduced to an acceptable level, the Core Group will notify the neighborhood of
their success and encourage the continuation of safe driving. If, however, these measures prove
ineffective, the location then qualifies for consideration of Phase III of the
program.
ENGINEERING
In conjunction with the other components discussed above, the City
staff will conduct a complete engineering review of the neighborhood. The review will include consideration of
placing new or modifying existing traffic controls.
Phase III involves the
installation of actual physical control devices in the roadway. These devices are designed to make it less
comfortable for the motorist to speed and/or inhibit cut through traffic. But they are expensive and involve a measure
of liability to the City and may impact the ability of emergency services to
respond to the area, potentially resulting in an elevated level of risk to the
residents. So it is extremely important
that these devices only be installed after exhausting the alternatives provided
in Phase I and II. There are specific
criteria for the installation of each type of device, and their use is
determined by traffic engineering analysis.
The devices include: speed humps, traffic circles, slow points /
chokers, and entrance/ exit barriers.
Once the Core Group and City staff have determined a plan for physical
devices, it is presented to residents at a community meeting. Input from the
residents is incorporated into the plan.
Neighborhood support is absolutely essential during the entire process,
even more so if physical traffic control devices are to be installed.
The cost to install physical traffic control devices will be borne
by the neighborhood, shared by way of the City’s Special Assessment District
procedures. Support for installation
must be by petition of at
least 70% of residents in the affected area.
After petitions
have been received and verified, the City Council will be notified of the
recommended project. Implementation of
the plan is based on acceptance by City Council. Following this approval step, the device(s) will be designed,
bids taken and constructed.