Highland council directs quick rollout of traffic-calming measures on Canal Boulevard

The Highland City Council instructed staff on Tuesday to install a set of near-term traffic-calming measures along Canal Boulevard and to hold any formal speed-limit increase on the corridor until those measures are in place.

Council members and residents focused on crashes, narrow sidewalks and accelerating traffic on the road as the city grows. Residents urged faster action at public comment, saying parked cars, yard damage and racing are recurring problems. “It’s time to really do something,” Canal Boulevard resident Barb Lam told the council, describing multiple vehicle crashes into yards and trees.

Staff presented a consultant evaluation that placed Canal Boulevard in the high end of a “medium urgency” tier for traffic calming. Because full, landscape medians would cost well above the city’s traffic-calming line item, staff recommended a phased approach: install optical speed bars (painted transverse markings), buffered bike-lane striping, two radar feedback signs, additional rapid rectangular flashing beacons at key crossings, and one painted/temporary bulb-out at a trail crossing in the midsection. City staff said two of those items are already paid for and another can be painted in-house.

Council members stressed starting with lower-cost “passive” measures and evaluating results, rather than immediately building major medians. “I think it should be a guideline more than a policy,” Councilmember Ron said, urging staged implementation and measurement. Mayor and other council members said they would not approve raising the posted speed on the east section of Canal Boulevard until the new devices are installed and operating.

The council directed staff to proceed immediately with the low- and moderate-cost items (optical speed bars, buffered striping, radar feedback signs and additional flashing beacons) and to bring back firm timing and cost estimates for the bulb-out and any larger infrastructure. Staff said these near-term items fit within the city’s current traffic-calming budget and could be installed this summer; the larger landscape median would require separate budgeting and probable grant or phased funding.

Residents who stayed through the meeting welcomed the direction but asked for faster deployment. “If you want a bulb-out, put it in,” one resident said. Councilmembers asked staff to report back on measured speed and accident counts after the initial measures have been in place for several weeks.

The council also adopted the city’s new speed-limit guideline (see separate article) to guide future decisions about posted speeds across Highland.