Traffic engineering outlines traffic‑calming tools and a phased school speed‑camera rollout for 2026

Orange County's traffic engineering staff presented a detailed overview of traffic‑calming techniques and the county's planned school speed‑camera pilot during the TransMAC meeting on Sept. 11.

Gerald Marks of the traffic engineering division described a menu of tools — speed cushions, mini‑roundabouts, raised intersections, high‑visibility crosswalks, rectangular rapid‑flashing beacons (RRFBs), radar feedback signs and targeted rumble strips — and explained how the county balances vehicle‑speed reduction against emergency‑response delay. "For every one of the devices that we put in the road, there's a certain delay that's associated with that," Marks said, and he described earlier estimates that conventional speed humps could delay a large fire apparatus by about "30 seconds per device," a figure the county sought to reduce by switching to redesigned speed cushions with wheelbase gaps for emergency rigs.

Marks described the county's traffic‑calming process: residents or commissioners submit requests (311 is the preferred intake method), staff evaluates engineering criteria (with exceptions for school zones), and, if a physical device is warranted, staff conducts a homeowner…