Raleigh council authorizes 15 traffic‑calming projects, sends policy update to committee

Raleigh City Council on Wednesday authorized construction work on 15 neighborhood traffic‑calming projects and referred proposed changes to the neighborhood traffic management program (NTMP) to the Transportation & Transit Committee for further study.

Transportation Director Will Shoemaker told the council the NTMP has seen rising demand: “we started with 20. We had 15 that met or surpassed all balloting thresholds,” and staff recommended authorizing construction for those 15, including a staff‑recommended waiver for Glenwood Forest because of its multifamily development pattern. Shoemaker also asked council to approve a 2026 priority list of 20 streets to begin engagement and design.

Staff described the program as an opt‑in safety tool used since 2009 to reduce speeds and crashes, and outlined the NTMP balloting rules: on‑street properties require 60% approval and the greater neighborhood requires a majority (>50%). Shoemaker summarized program results and tradeoffs for council: the city completed 17 projects in March, has about a 16% year‑over‑year increase in requests, and sees strong on‑street approval rates (near 89%) that fall as the ballot radius expands.

Council discussion focused on community engagement, equity and enforcement. Several members urged committee review to examine hybrid or automatic approaches that would speed delivery while preserving meaningful resident input. Councilor Patton moved to send the traffic‑calming policy updates to the Transportation & Transit Committee; the motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: staff will proceed with design and limited construction authorizations for the 15 projects that met thresholds and will bring the policy options to the Transportation & Transit Committee, which is scheduled to hear the item on May 28, according to staff.

Details: Staff described three policy options — no change, a two‑tiered automatic qualification for the highest‑priority streets, or fully automatic projects when specified warrants are met (for example, ≥8 mph over the 85th‑percentile speed or ≥4 speed‑related crashes in three years). Shoemaker said an automatic approach could shorten the current roughly three‑year design‑to‑construction timeline.

The council’s authorization enables staff to begin construction procurement and neighborhood coordination for the approved projects; any policy changes would return to council after committee review.