After a 19-year hiatus, the city is restarting its traffic calming program to combat the growing pedestrian death crisis.
Almost two decades after Salt Lake City’s last traffic calming projects, a rise in pedestrian deaths has prompted the city to revive its traffic calming program. Jordan Miller details the city’s plan in an article for the Salt Lake Tribune.
A 2019 study assessed the city’s most dangerous roads and potential solutions for improving traffic safety. “The study’s final report identified 403.5 miles of roadway within Salt Lake City for possible improvements and divided those streets into 113 prioritized zones — based on crash data, speed data, demographics and community assets like schools.”
Program components include three versions of speed bumps, raised crosswalks to improve pedestrian visibility, pedestrian refuge islands, and roundabouts. Many of these treatments function best when combined: pedestrian refuge islands and raised crosswalks, for example, provide the most added safety when combined with other speed deflection measures.
See the source article for projected costs and more details on each type of project, the extent of which will depend on future funding.
FULL STORY: In Salt Lake City, here’s what kind of ‘traffic-calming’ projects could be coming to your street
Washington Focuses Road Safety Efforts on Individuals, Neglecting Design
Legislative efforts to reduce traffic deaths could move the needle toward Vision Zero, but state leaders failed to commit infrastructure funds to making structural improvements.
Vision Zero Success Story: Fremont, California
While traffic fatalities continue to rise nationwide, Fremont has drastically reduced its crash rates in the five years since it launched its Vision Zero project.
Report: Austin’s State Roads Deadlier Than City Roads
Traffic fatalities and serious injuries grew on state-owned roads in the Texas capital, even as city-owned streets saw death rates plateau.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
