Whaddya know? A guy attempts a little DIY traffic calming on his own street and gets attention from the cops. No, it's not because he was
pointing a radar gun at passing cars, but because of the pink tricycle he planted on the side of the road. Hmm.
If you have a problem with speeding cars on your street, I'll concede it's not really practical to stand out there all day with a radar gun anyway. So here are some suggestions that might really work to solve your traffic issues once and for all.
1. Invest in a brightly colored
"kids at play" driveway sign. I'm willing to bet these signs are more effective than the presence of actual children. Why? It's because the signs are designed to be all official-looking. Responsible drivers react automatically when they see a "go slow" reminder.
2.
Give drivers a smile and a friendly wave. Really. It's an effective way to remind them: hey, this is a neighborhood, not a highway.
3. Call your city and get to know whoever is in charge of traffic calming. Ask him or her to come out for a visit. Be calm but persuasive in laying out your case for a traffic slowing strategy. Ask about the options, which might include speed bumps and signs.
4. Request a traffic survey from your city. Your requests for change will almost certainly come to nada unless you have numbers to back you up. So get talking and emailing: ask the city to send out traffic monitoring equipment. Keep up contact and understand it'll probably take many months before any action is taken.
5. Ask the police to watch your street and issue speeding tickets. Be persistent yet polite. If they can't spare any cars, ask if they'll send an electronic speed sign trailer from time to time.
6. Here's an interesting strategy to try:
park on the street. Apparently it'll make drivers go slow. Would your neighbors be prepared to do the same? Ask them.
7. Check out this helpful
speeding advice page from Walking Info.
8. Remember: persistence is key. My neighbors got speed bumps installed on our street, but it took phone call after phone call, letter after letter. If you are committed to a long-term campaign, chances are you will get results.
Living Together: Balancing His-and-Hers Style
Paint Your Home With An iPhone
Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
for #5 may backfire, one day you will drive fast on other neighbor street and get the ticket. Should not away point at them and not self. Drive slow in my neighbor will only work if everyone do the same.
Replyfor #6, bad idea, car park on the street block the view of driver, kid tense to slip out between car.
add #8 drive slow in other neighborhood.
add #9 have the kid play in the backyard and volunteer your time to do something more useful and benefit other then yourself.
To me all this is nonsense, the house owner does not own the street, the city and every citizen owns it.
I know I shouldn't feed the troll, but you have no right to drive twice the speed limit. Stop watching "The fast and the furious" and get a clue; is getting to the mall five minutes earlier worth injuring or killing someone?
ReplyI totally agree with you!!
Some great ideas! Many cities have radar speedcheck signs (those displays that tell passing drivers how fast they are going) they can temporarily - or better yet, permanently - install on your street. They really work! Better still, they slow cars without big brother tactics of taking your picture or issuing tickets. And unlike speedbumps, they don't impede emergency vehicles, increase traffic noise, wreck your car's suspension or divert traffic to your neighbor's street. Many of these speedcheck signs also come with built-in data collection features so you can prove that they are effective. There is a nice collection of links to government studies on traffic calming at www.informationdisplay.com. Also, a great place to get ideas on how to slow traffic in your neighborhood can be found on www.stopspeeders.org.
Reply