Santa Clara officials propose layered traffic-calming steps after neighborhood safety concerns

City of Santa Clara traffic staff presented preliminary traffic-calming recommendations on Oct. 30 and again at a follow-up community meeting to address resident complaints about speeding and safety in the South of Forest neighborhood.

The presentation, led by Ajmal Puiaghar, senior traffic engineer, outlined data collection from June 2024 and updated monitoring through December 2024, showed which streets met the city's neighborhood traffic-calming criteria, and proposed a mix of "level 1" passive measures and "quick-build" physical changes. "Harold Avenue was the only street that qualified for level 2 and level 3 traffic calming measures," Puiaghar said, while Cypress Avenue met the speed and volume thresholds but is treated as a primary emergency response route and therefore ineligible for higher-level measures without fire-department concurrence.

Why it matters

The neighborhood contains a park, a preschool and multiple residential streets that residents say are used as cut-throughs to avoid congestion on parallel arterials. Residents and parents told staff they fear for pedestrian safety at key intersections, particularly Harold and Forest, citing repeated collisions and limited sight lines.

What the city proposed

Steve Chan, Santa Clara transportation manager, and associate engineer Chase Levasseur described a three-tier toolkit the city uses to match measures to street conditions. Level 1 options include radar speed feedback signs, pavement messages and high-visibility crosswalks; level 2 measures are less intrusive physical controls such as chokers and chicanes; level 3 includes more intrusive devices such as speed humps, traffic circles and diagonal diverters. The staff's data shows the city's program uses the 85th (presented as 80th/85th in the meeting) percentile speed and an average daily volume threshold (1,000'3,500 vehicles per day) to determine eligibility for level 2 or 3 measures. The city noted the program's speed trigger is approximately 33 mph on a 25 mph street.

For the South of Forest neighborhood staff recommended: permanent vehicle speed feedback signs (radar) at select locations; converting some two-way-yield intersections to two-way stops where warrants are met; quick-build painted bulb-outs with plastic delineators at some intersections to shorten pedestrian crossings; and, on Harold Avenue, a neighborhood-wide approach that could begin with radar signs plus quick-build chicanes or chokers while considering whether more permanent level 3 measures might be needed later.

Residents press for stronger fixes

Several residents urged the city to install physical measures now. Cindy Baldonzi, who owns two properties on Harold Avenue, said she opposes placing a new radar sign between her houses because she believes it will prompt drivers to accelerate and she described repeated crashes at Harold and Forest. "I pushed for a 4-way stop based on the accidents, the speed, the lack of visibility," Baldonzi said. Anuja, a Harold Avenue resident and new mother, said she was "terrified" for her child's safety and frustrated that Harold qualified for higher-level measures but would receive mostly level 1 treatments under the staff plan.

Staff responses and limits

Staff repeatedly emphasized the difference between perception and the collected counts. Chase Levasseur described specific reductions reported in the literature and in local quick-build installations: radar feedback signs typically show an initial 2'to'7 mph reduction; painted quick-build bulb-outs showed about a 1'to'4 mph reduction in one referenced installation; chicanes were described as producing larger reductions (roughly 3'to'9 mph) but often require removal of on-street parking.

The city said some measures require additional approvals or constraints: Cypress Avenue was ruled out for level 2 or 3 measures because the fire department does not support those measures on a primary emergency response route; installation of level 2 or 3 measures also requires 100% concurrence from property owners within 100 feet of a device under the city's traffic-calming policy, and final approval from the Santa Clara City Council. Staff also said radar feedback signs can collect time-stamped speed and volume data (newer signs), which the police department can use for targeted enforcement; older signs may lack that capability.

Next steps and community process

Staff asked the neighborhood to narrow its preferred measures so the city can circulate a mailed or emailed survey to affected properties and then collect the resident concurrence required for level 2/3 installations. Staff said they will coordinate with code enforcement about vegetation that affects sight lines and refer lighting requests to Silicon Valley Power for consideration. The city also said it will post a Q&A summary from the meeting online and follow up on unanswered questions in the meeting chat.

Quotes from the meeting

"Harold Avenue was the only street that qualified for level 2 and level 3 traffic calming measures," Ajmal Puiaghar, senior traffic engineer, said during the presentation. "We hear you on reducing it to 2 (mph), like you know, from 34 miles per hour to 32 is still not satisfactory," Steve Chan, transportation manager, said in response to residents.

What was not decided

No formal action or vote occurred at the meeting. Staff presented recommendations and asked for resident feedback and concurrence; final designs and any level 2 or 3 installations will require resident approval, fire-department review and City Council action.

Ending

Staff said they will send a neighborhood survey with more realistic images of proposed treatments, collect resident concurrence where required, and continue to coordinate data collection and enforcement with the police department. Residents asked for quicker, physical measures such as speed humps; staff said they want to start with less-intrusive measures, monitor effects and proceed to higher-level treatments only after community approval and the required administrative reviews.