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Roswell council debates traffic-calming matrix and Waveree pilot amid equity concerns
Summary
Council members discussed a neighborhood traffic-calming pilot (Waveree), the scoring matrix used to rank candidate streets, and whether poverty weighting and HOA prevalence bias results; staff said $400,000 is budgeted for temporary measures across 11 neighborhoods and more data will be collected before permanent work is considered.
The committee discussed Roswell’s neighborhood traffic-calming program and a pilot on Waveree that staff have begun to test.
Transportation presenter Mr. Wiggler summarized a previously approved matrix that ranks candidate streets based on speeding, traffic volume, sidewalk presence, local amenities (schools, parks, retail) and poverty rate. He described a three-step pilot approach: data collection, temporary installations (30–60 days) to measure effectiveness, and potential permanent installations only where temporary measures prove successful.
Council members pressed staff on several points. Multiple members questioned the use and weight of poverty rate in the matrix, saying it appeared to under- or mis‑weight cut‑through streets and pedestrian exposure. Council Members argued the matrix should better capture arterial cut‑throughs and pedestrian frequency (for example, school walking routes), and some councilors expressed concern the list disproportionately included higher‑resource HOA neighborhoods.
Staff said Waveree was selected as the pilot site and that preliminary counts (average daily traffic and 85th-percentile speeds) suggest the initial assessments are roughly validated; staff also said some pre-selection estimates relied on cell-phone-derived data. The 2026 budget earmarked $400,000 for temporary measures across the top 11 neighborhoods and funded a traffic‑analyst position to support data collection; staff clarified that the $400,000 is aimed at temporary installations and data work and does not guarantee funding for permanent construction without future budget requests.
Council asked staff to re-examine the weightings in the matrix, consider including pedestrian counts and cut‑through rates, and return with additional data and any recommended changes to scoring criteria. Because this was a discussion item, no formal council action was taken; staff will report back with further analysis and recommended next steps.
