Clark County outlines Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, funds $500,000 and two staff to support local traffic calming

Clark County Public Works on presented the county's new Neighborhood Traffic Management Program to the Curtain Creek Neighborhood Association, describing how residents can request traffic-calming projects and how the county will evaluate and implement them.

My name is Susan Poizner, and I'm a transportation specialist with the community planning program with Clark County, Poizner said, introducing the program and the staff who will run it. She told attendees the county council approved a half-million-dollar allocation for neighborhood-oriented street improvements and that the NTMP is intended to be a countywide, repeatable process.

The program aims to "enhance neighborhood livability and safety," Poizner said, and to give residents and neighborhood associations a clear application and evaluation process so the county can prioritize feasible, local projects. Poizner said the county hopes to have the program "up and running in 2026, in early 20 26, hopefully January," and that a program website and application materials are being prepared.

David Jardine, traffic engineering section manager, described the technical side of implementation and the limits of current tools. "The sheriff's office is, you probably, have tried to call in and say, hey. We've got a parking issue. We've got a speeding issue," Jardine said, explaining enforcement resources are limited and that the county must rely on engineering and other measures for many neighborhood complaints.

Presenters described the NTMP cycle as a yearly four-step process: (1) resident requests submitted through neighborhood associations (recommended submission window January'February), (2) county data collection and eligibility evaluation, (3) community engagement to pick the appropriate combination of measures, and (4) implementation within the same calendar year for projects selected and funded that cycle. Poizner said the county will prioritize interior local-access streets; the program does not apply to collectors or arterials.

Examples of traffic-calming measures discussed included small traffic circles, curb extensions, median and pedestrian refuge islands, speed humps and speed cushions, raised crosswalks, signage and striping, optical speed bars, and pedestrian-activated beacons (RRFBs). Jardine noted the county's existing tools include speed-feedback trailers and post-mounted speed signs, and that short-term data collection typically uses pneumatic tubes or similar devices for more accurate counts.

Presenters cautioned that data from speed-feedback trailers can be incomplete and is therefore not always reliable for rigorous analysis. Jardine described the county's evaluation needs as: traffic counts, speeds, and turning movements to determine where low-cost interim measures versus larger capital improvements belong.

On funding and staffing, Poizner said the $500,000 allocation approved by the county council includes partial funding for two full-time County positions to administer the program: a traffic engineer and an engineering technician. "The two full time employees do come partially out of that fund," Poizner said. She said the staff additions are intended to shift the program toward proactive, community-engaged solutions rather than ad hoc reactive responses.

Residents asked how the NTMP would address high-volume corridors such as 90th Avenue and 94th Street; presenters reiterated the program's focus on interior local streets and clarified that major arterials and collectors are outside the NTMP scope. Community members raised concerns about long-standing problems and expressed frustration that studies sometimes do not lead quickly to construction or mitigation; presenters responded that the application and evaluation forms and the new program structure are intended to give the county and neighborhoods a shared, transparent process for prioritization.

Poizner provided printed sample application and staff evaluation forms at the meeting and said the NTMP website will include guidance pages explaining eligibility criteria and how to increase the likelihood a proposed project will be supported. She encouraged neighborhood associations to coordinate and submit prioritized lists of candidate locations during the January'February submission window.

The meeting organizer said the NTMP team will return for a focused neighborhood meeting on traffic and roads so residents can bring maps, photos and graphs to support applications and to ask follow-up questions. Poizner and Jardine provided county contact information and said additional links and the PowerPoint would be posted for later reference.

Ending

The NTMP presentation closed with an offer to return for a longer, traffic-focused meeting and instructions to submit requests through neighborhood associations when the application portal opens. Project funding and staffing were previously approved by the county council; the program team said it expects to begin accepting applications in early 2026 and to implement selected projects within the same calendar year.