Stafford council directs staff to draft residential traffic-management program for neighborhood speed remediation

The Stafford City Council discussed a proposed residential traffic-management program on Sept. 17 and directed staff to draft a program modeled on other cities’ neighborhood traffic-management practices.

City Engineer Bob Jones and Director Chris Riggs outlined legal limits (including state laws that constrain measures on state-controlled roads) and operational trade-offs for traffic-calming tools such as speed humps, small roundabouts and stop sign placement. Jones urged caution about placing devices that could make intersections more dangerous if improperly sited and emphasized the need to consider emergency-vehicle access and traffic redistribution to parallel streets.

Councilmembers said residents across multiple subdivisions have requested relief from speeding. Mayor Pro Tem Bostic and others said they favor starting with a pilot in residential neighborhoods and then implementing a written program so the city can evaluate and prioritize requests equitably.

Legal staff and the engineer agreed the city already has some ordinance authority and public-works authority, but lacks a defined administrative program to accept petitions, conduct speed/volume studies and prioritize limited funds. Council instructed the city attorney, Director Riggs and the city engineer to produce a draft residential program (similar to Houston’s neighborhood traffic-management program) for council consideration. The motion to direct staff passed by voice vote; council asked staff to return with a defensible, budget-aware program and recommended petition and data thresholds for installation.