Traffic Calming

What is Traffic Calming?
Traffic Calming is the deliberate slowing of vehicles by narrowing the roadway, constructing speed humps, or otherwise channeling the traffic to encourage safe speeds in
residential areas. Traffic calming objectives involve reducing vehicle speeds,
reducing crashes, and improving bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Roadways that are defined as local or residential streets are covered under this policy. The
purpose of local streets is to provide access to residential properties, often within a subdivision
with closely spaced blocks. The streets must be accepted for Town maintenance in order to be
considered for this policy. NCDOT maintained roadways or private streets are not covered under
this policy. 

Procedure for Initiating a Traffic Calming or Traffic Control Study
In order to initiate an engineering study to determine if traffic calming or additional traffic
control devices are warranted on a neighborhood street, the Town must receive a petition from
at least 75% of the property owners on the candidate blocks or a letter from the President of a
Homeowners Association (HOA). The number of residents on a respective block is irrelevant as
75% is an accepted industry standard to indicate consensus for a potential traffic improvement.

In the case of speed hump requests, the Town must receive and verify the petition from 75% of
the property owners, and a letter from the HOA will not be accepted. Once the petition has been
verified, The process will take Town staff approximately 6-8 weeks to complete, and involves the
collection and analysis of traffic count data, speed data, crash data, and the location (if
warranted) of the proposed traffic calming devices. 

The final approval will be required by the Town Board of Commissioners at a scheduled meeting
before the device(s) can be installed.

This process will usually take 30-60 days following the approval by the Town Board of
Commissioners. If a traffic calming or traffic control device is not warranted, then the Town
must wait at least one year before conducting any subsequent engineering studies on the
affected block or intersection. 

Please read The Neighborhood Traffic Calming and Control Device Policy for more information.

Types of Traffic Calming Measures
  • Enforcement
  • Speed Humps
  • Bulbout
  • Center Island Median
  • Chicanes
  • Chokers
  • Mini-Roundabouts
  • Raised Crosswalk
  • Raised Intersection
  • Speed Limit Reduction