City of Vancouver, WA - Transportation Services

Traffic Calming

TRAFFIC CALMING... Making your neighborhood safer and more livable!
Traffic Calming is any device or program that is designed to discourage speeding, enhance livability and improve overall neighborhood traffic safety. The City of Vancouver Transportation Services is committed to helping you and your neighbors improve traffic safety and livability conditions in your neighborhood. Speeding, cut-through traffic and other safety concerns can be addressed through traffic calming. You can be instrumental in making your neighborhood more livable where pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists can move about the streets in harmony. Traffic management can be addressed at many different levels, both with short and long term solutions.

TRAFFIC CALMING TOOLBOX...
Tools that can be used to help slow traffic!

CURB EXTENSION/BULB-OUT
A sidewalk bulge at an intersection or mid-block that narrows the street to reduce crossing distance for pedestrians, improve visibility for pedestrians and drivers, slow traffic and protect parked cars. (Ex. 39th St. and Kauffman Ave.)

LANDSCAPE TREATMENTS
Using landscaping, especially trees and shrubs, to provide separation between pedestrians and motorists, reduce street width and slow traffic.

PEDESTRIAN REFUGE ISLAND
A concrete pad located in the middle of a street that provides protection for pedestrians crossing the street and slows passing vehicles. (Ex. W 39th St. and Daniels St.)

PINCH POINT
A narrowing of the street where planter strips (grassy areas along curbs) or curb extensions serve to slow traffic. (Ex. Main St., south of Fourth Plain)

LANE NARROWING
Travel speeds can be reduced by narrowing the travel lane by adding striping. Adding bike lanes or extending sidewalks are just two ways to narrow a street. (Ex. 160th Ave., south of Mill Plain)

MEDIAN
A narrow island in the middle of a wide street that increases pedestrian safety and separates and slows traffic. (Ex. SE 196th Ave., north of 34th St.)

ROAD DIET
Reducing the number of travel lanes so that the prudent driver sets a safe pace. The additional space allows for other alternatives such as medians, center turn lanes, wider sidewalks or bicycle lanes. (Ex. Fourth Plain, west of I-5)

SPEED HUMP
A traditional traffic calming device consisting of a mound of pavement providing a physical impediment to speeding motorists. These are different from speed bumps, which are sharper obstacles found in parking lots. (Ex. Neighborhoods throughout Vancouver)

RAISED CROSSWALK
A speed hump combined with a sidewalk. In some cases, etched colored asphalt creates a brick appearance. (Ex. McLoughlin Blvd., near Hough Elementary School)

TRAFFIC CIRCLE
A circular, raised island in the middle of a
traditional four-way intersection, essentially replacing two-way or four-way stop signs. Approaching vehicles yield to traffic already flowing counter-clockwise in the circle.
(Ex. SE 196th Ave., north of 34th St.)

SPEED CUSHION
A split speed hump that allows fire engines and buses to pass unimpeded. (Ex. Evergreen Blvd., west of Blandford). The cushions are strategically placed and sized to allow vehicles with wider axles to pass over them without slowing down.

THINGS YOU CAN DO
Talk with your Neighbors Express your concerns to a neighborhood speeder and make a friendly request that the speeder drive more slowly. Call Mediation Services for assistance, (360) 619-1140. Participate in your Neighborhood Association Meet with your Neighborhood Association to discuss concerns about your street. Call the Office of Neighborhoods for more information, (360) 619-1152. Check out a Radar Reader Board Reserve a Radar Reader Board to heighten awareness of speeding in your neighborhood. Call Transportation Services to schedule, (360) 696-8290, ext. 8867.		Call the Traffic Complaint Hotline Use the Vancouver Police Department’s Traffic Complaint Hotline to report traffic problems in your neighborhood, (360) 619-4101. Research More Information Research traffic calming information on the Internet or at your local library, where a copy of Dan Burden’s Streets and Sidewalks, People and Cars (The Citizens’ Guide to Traffic Calming) can be found. Plant Vegetation Street trees and shrubs tend to slow motorists by narrowing the field of vision and beautifying the street. Call the City’s Forester for assistance, (360) 619-1128. Trim Vegetation Trim and maintain hedges near intersections to increase visibility. Call Transportation Services for more information, (360) 696-8290, ext. 8234. Drive Less Complaints of driver speeding and traffic volumes can be reduced over time as more of us adopt other ways of getting around. The City of Vancouver offers information to those who would like to try walking, biking, car sharing, carpooling or taking the bus. Call (360) 696-8290, ext. 8657.

THINGS WE CAN DO

Assist in Identifying the Issue
Transportation Services can help you identify your specific traffic concern. We ask that residents observe and clearly define the problem.

Verify Data
Transportation Services can verify road conditions, traffic speeds and traffic volumes on a specific street.

Install Signs
Traffic signs can improve safety by warning motorists of approaching parks, schools and crosswalks. Please note that stop signs are not intended for use as traffic calming devices.

Stripe Roadways
Installing crosswalks and bike lanes can enhance road safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Help with the Next Steps
Transportation Services can assist you with the next steps to implement a specific traffic calming device through the annual Neighborhood Consolidated Funding Grants process. This process is very involved and can take several years, based on available funding.

Talk with your neighbors and Neighborhood Association to define and verify the problem.
Obtain a copy of the grant application by contacting Office of Neighborhoods,
(360) 619-1152.
Complete the required petition process and obtain necessary documentation of Neighborhood Association support.
Submit your grant application for the yearly review process, due May 31 of each year.

Let's work as a team to improve traffic safety!

For more information,
please contact Transportation Services:
Phone.....360-696-8290
Fax.....360-696-8588
Address.....1300 Franklin Street, 4th Floor
E-mail.....vantrans@ci.vancouver.wa.us

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This page is maintained by City of Vancouver Media Services
in cooperation with Transportation Services.

Last revised: August 23, 2004