This paper was presented at the `Effective Public Consultation in Transportation Planning' session. Many communities in Canada and the U.S. are feeling the effect of too many cars travelling at too high speeds. Such traffic has a profound negative effect on street life. To reduce this effect municipalities are turning to traffic calming. Traffic calming is a combination of policies and physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motorized vehicle use in a community. The key to successful traffic calming lies in changing the design and role of the street in such a fashion that drivers will want to slow down. Depending on the problem on the street, a wide range of traffic calming measures can be applied. The selection of these measures is best done by public consensus. Traffic calming is community-based planning and public participation is essential to its success. This paper looks at ways to solicit and encourage public participation when looking at traffic calming implementation. (A)
Abstract