Traffic Calming: State of the Practice, ITE/FHWA, August 1999

Ewing, R · 1999 · ROSA P / United States. Federal Highway Administration

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Summary

This 1999 report, produced jointly by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), synthesizes the state of traffic calming practices in the United States and Canada. Motivated by shifting transportation priorities under legislation like ISTEA and TEA-21, which emphasized multimodal planning and community preservation, the report addresses growing public concerns regarding speeding, cut-through traffic, and neighborhood livability. It aims to provide transportation professionals with balanced, evidence-based information to inform decision-making, rather than advocating for or against specific measures. The methodology involves a comprehensive data collection and synthesis of experiences from numerous jurisdictions. The report draws detailed information from twenty featured communities, which were selected for their innovative or complex institutional challenges, and surveys thirty additional communities less extensively. It also incorporates findings from a parallel Canadian effort by the Canadian ITE and Transportation Association of Canada, as well as data from an ITE District 6 survey of 153 western U.S. cities and counties and a University of California, Berkeley literature review. The scope defines traffic calming primarily as physical, self-enforcing measures that reduce speed and volume, distinguishing them from regulatory enforcement or route modification, though it acknowledges broader definitions used by some localities. Key findings highlight the evolution of traffic calming from simple residential speed humps to diverse physical measures applied to major thoroughfares and rural transitions. The report documents significant benefits, including reduced traffic speeds, volumes, and collisions, as well as improved air quality and noise levels. Case studies illustrate broader impacts: in San Jose, CA, resident satisfaction with safety and noise improved significantly; in Dayton, OH, street closures and humps contributed to a 50% reduction in violent crime; and in West Palm Beach, FL, traffic calming supported urban redevelopment and private investment. However, the report also identifies substantial political and legal challenges. Many jurisdictions faced lawsuits, moratoria, and public opposition, particularly regarding impacts on emergency response times and the diversion of traffic to adjacent streets. The significance of this report lies in its documentation of traffic calming as a maturing field within U.S. transportation engineering. It underscores the transition from isolated residential treatments to areawide strategies and the integration of traffic calming into broader goals like crime prevention and urban revitalization. By detailing both the technical effectiveness of various measures and the procedural, legal, and political hurdles encountered by municipalities, the report provides a critical baseline for future policy development. It highlights the need for standardized warrants, clear legal authority, and robust public involvement processes to sustain traffic calming programs amidst growing controversy.

Key finding

Traffic calming measures reduce vehicle speeds and volumes, resulting in decreased accident rates, improved neighborhood livability, and reduced local crime in specific implementations.

Methodology

dataset

Provenance

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Topics

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• speed management
• perceptual countermeasures