A Streetsblog Reader Wins Traffic Calming Improvements

Here is a contribution from Sean Roche, a Streetsblog reader in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb just west of Boston.

I wanted to share my own small traffic calming victory with you. The other night the City of Newton Facilities/Public Safety Committee authorized and funded a redesign of the intersection at the end of my road. In the attached picture, the view is looking westbound from Jackson Street to Daniel Street. Currently, westbound traffic barely slows, making my street a bit of a race track. The picture shows a sandbag trial of the new curb. It is clear that it will dramatically slow traffic. They are going to turn the sandbags into granite curbing in the spring building season.

A small, but important step.

I thought you would like the picture. It is incredibly satisfying to me that the city owns and deploys a sign that advertises a traffic calming trial. It speaks volumes. And, I wanted you to know that Streetsblog, despite its New York City focus, has an impact beyond. I have a much broader set of analytical tools to bring to bear to my small problem and the larger bike and pedestrian issues that I am beginning to become involved with.

Very cool. Thanks Sean. I would love to see more of these fast, cheap, ad hoc street design experiments here in New York City. Clearly, we have something to learn from Newton.