Narberth’s Public Health & Safety Committee discussed an initial traffic‑calming policy framework on April 11 designed to standardize how the borough receives, evaluates and prioritizes resident requests and borough‑initiated projects.

A staff member introducing the item said the draft is intended to provide a “clear, fair framework” for processing requests ranging from speeding and cut‑through traffic to pedestrian safety concerns. The draft would incorporate data the borough already collects — speed and volume counts, crash history — and align with the borough’s active transportation plan and Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC) resources.

Committee members recommended several priorities for the draft. Suggestions included: creating an online intake form or portal that explains criteria and starts the request process; publishing existing speed and volume data publicly; setting minimum time‑frame thresholds before repeating studies at the same location; and explicitly weighing resident support against objective data (for example, proximity to schools, parks, and recorded crashes). Several members emphasized that the borough cannot rely solely on traffic hardware such as speed bumps and must use the built environment, enforcement and community education to change driving behavior.

Members asked staff to identify the estimated cost and typical effectiveness of candidate solutions (speed cushions, bump‑outs, signage, curb extensions, street art and landscaping) and to include recommended implementation steps, timelines and budget considerations in the draft policy. Haverford Avenue and business‑district pedestrian safety were raised as higher‑priority corridors that the policy should explicitly consider in addition to residential streets.

The committee did not adopt a final policy at the meeting. Staff said they would solicit additional written feedback, seek MCPC templates, work with the police and public works departments, and return a draft for committee review.