Creating livable streets and communities starts with street design that makes walking, cycling and transit use desirable while providing a mix of land uses built at a human scale. Livable street design can be applied to both new and existing development. One way to apply the livable design concept to existing neighborhoods is through traffic calming. The City of Winston-Salem adopted a traffic calming policy in 2003 to promote safety for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians while enhancing the appearance neighborhoods. Is Winston-Salem’s current traffic calming program working?
What land use and transportation strategies should be developed to create pedestrian-friendly, livable communities that increases transit use?
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17 comments:
What traffic calming - 4 way stops?
I have reduced my need to travel to other communities in Forsyth Co as they are even more characterized by sprawl than W-S.
Sidewalks
Reduce parking lots between sidewalks and structures.
Use transect based planning to develop mixed use walkable neighborhoods base on 1/4 mile walking distance
Reduce block sizes.
Reduce curb radius at intersections.
Provide safe islands in wide intersections
Street trees
A response emailed from Sarah Jackson:
Living on a connecting street, with a 25 mph speed limit, it would be desirable to think of ways to make people who use these streets to not speed. Installing speed bumps or raising the fine for speeding could possibly help this problem.
Get the City DOT to rethink the widespread use of 4 way stops at residential intersections. Cars pollute the most when starting and stoppingand all 4 way stops do is to irritate drivers and add a lot of additional air pollution to our residential areas that could be avoided easily with other alternatives. Remove all 4 way stops on collector streets.
The traffic calming on Lockland Avenue is definitely working. It ensures that drivers slow down on that street, even though it is used as a major cut-through in the Ardmore neighborhood. One thing that I have also noticed in the Ardmore neighborhood, in the short time I have been in Winston-Salem, is that many times drivers aren’t aware that they are coming up to a four way stop. When driving on a road where you pass street intersections, typically three-way intersections, and you don’t have stop signs on your street, you may be unaware that the next intersection is a four-way stop. I have seen drivers fail to stop in this situations numerous times. One suggestion is to put the stop signs in islands at these intersections or bump out the curbs so that the stop signs are more pronounced. Another suggestion is to put stamped concrete, raised pavement or both at the cross walks to ensure drivers slow down.
Another thought is in new developments and, where possible, in existing neighborhoods, create a bike/pedestrian path instead of sidewalks. This will help to encourage the use of bicycles, but at the same time, not force children to ride bikes in paths which are actually part of a traffic lane.
Please explicitly incorporate the transportation strategies developed by the Creative Corridors Coalition in their Visionary Master Plan and Design Guidelines to create pedestrian-friendly, livable communities that increase transit use.
Smaller parking areas behind buildings with buildings closer to the street. Get rid of center turn lanes on Country Club, Peace Haven, POlo and other connector roads, except where needed at intersections. Use the space for bike lanes, which have a traffic calming effect while increasing capacity without pollution. Give priority to traffic calming around schools.
Municipalities along major arteries should be encouraged to work with PART to build Park Ride lots. Help get people out of cars and into quality buses before they sit in the traffic congestion that will surely exist when we have 120,000 more people living here.
WS has traffic problems for short periods in the morning and evening (rush hours). The simplest way to solve rush hour traffic may be to stagger work shifts.
Not sure if WS's program is working. Lewisville's Public Safety Committee provides funding to assist neighborhoods with traffic calming options should they be requested.
We need sidewalks on streets like Kirklees Road. No one halloweens there and I have seen kids with skates and scooters on the road itself. It is not safe for children at home or going to school.
Build more sidewalks & bike paths
Create high-density, mixed use developments where people can live, shop, work & play without needing a car. Bring back neighborhoods with front porches where the cards are parked in the back in an alley.
Yes
Require sidewalks, trees, bike paths with all new development.
NO - Hanes Mall Boulevard and Stratford Roads are nightmares.
It's helping where implemented, but projects are moving too slowly.
Traffic calming can be improved.
No: 4-way stops everywhere! These only increase noise & pollution in residential areas.
Make streets walkable & put small parks where people can rest.
More trees.
Please read Dom Nozzi’s book, Road to Ruin for guidance.
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