Council adopts revised neighborhood traffic‑calming program with new scoring and faster timeline

Harrisonburg City Council on July 8 adopted a revised neighborhood traffic‑calming program intended to speed up evaluations, make prioritization transparent and expand equity considerations for selecting streets for low‑cost traffic‑calming measures.

Public Works staffer Tom Partman presented the revised program, which replaces a more laborious earlier process that depended on neighborhood committees and in‑person petitioning. The new approach allows citizens to submit streets for review, shifts initial screening and data‑collection tasks to staff, and uses a scored prioritization matrix to rank candidate streets. The scoring gives 50% weight to observed vehicle speed and volume, with the remaining points distributed to roadway features, pedestrian generators, housing density and additional considerations (including environmental justice and LMI indicators) to help break ties and address equity.

Key program features approved by council: an annual intake period (staff set a first intake deadline of Oct. 1, 2025 for this transition year, returning to Aug. 1 in subsequent years); a three‑year active period for any street on the prioritized list (streets must be resubmitted after three years); staff screening for eligibility and an expedited administrative path for evident safety issues; a community engagement step prior to finalizing measures; and implementation of traffic‑calming measures based on funding and staff resources. Staff noted the budget contains modest funds for the program’s initial year.

Partman told council the intent is to be transparent about why particular streets are selected, accelerate responses to safety‑critical situations and deploy a mix of lower‑cost measures (e.g., signage, curb adjustments) and larger engineered changes (raised intersections, speed tables) depending on the street’s score and available funding. If a street demonstrates acute safety problems (high crash rates, severe hazards) staff retain authority to act administratively without waiting for the full intake/priority cycle.

Council approved the program by roll call; members expressed support for the scoring approach and the faster timeline. Staff will publish the program guide and FAQs online, accept submissions through Oct. 1 for this first year, score eligible streets and return a prioritized list to the Transportation Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) and council for funding decisions in early 2026.