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Committee backs lowering traffic threshold, maps neighborhood petition process for calming measures
Summary
Committee discussed a traffic-calming policy that sets eligibility (paved single-family streets under 35 mph), a 75% signatures petition, a traffic study with 30-day result turnaround and a recommended reduction of the excess-speed trigger from 10 mph to 5 mph for residential streets; funding options include cost-sharing or private funding.
Adrianne briefed the committee on a proposed traffic-calming policy intended to give staff and neighborhoods a clear pathway for non-infrastructure and infrastructure responses to speeding concerns.
The draft sets basic qualifications: the street must be paved and predominantly single-family residential, with a posted speed under 35 mph. The draft originally required that 25% of vehicles exceed the posted speed by more than 10 mph; after discussion committee members reached consensus to recommend a 5-mph threshold for streets with posted speeds below 35 mph, reasoning that smaller margins are more meaningful in low-speed residential zones. Once a petition with at least 75% of residents along the affected street is filed, staff will conduct a traffic and speed count, produce a report within 30 days, and recommend one of a range of responses: increased enforcement (level 1), intermediate treatments (level 2) or infrastructure (level 3, e.g., speed tables or speed bumps).
Members discussed who may petition (renters may count as residents), the geographic scope (multiple adjacent streets may be included when appropriate) and whether short-term rentals or nonresident drivers affect the petition calculus. Staff emphasized that any infrastructure installed would be town-maintained and that specifications must meet emergency-response and maintenance standards.
On funding, the draft lists options including a town-recommended 50% cost share or 100% private funding where neighborhoods prefer to accelerate installation; staff said there is no dedicated traffic-calming budget at present but noted the town may consider budget allocations next year and that potential sources include gas-tax (paving) funds or the general fund.
The committee also heard an update: Woodfin’s council adopted a resolution endorsing 'Lenny’s Law,' which the chair said the committee may present to neighboring municipalities and, if momentum builds, to the state legislature in 2027 to create bicycle-safety zones with increased fines. No formal adoption vote for the traffic policy occurred; staff will revise the threshold language and return the draft for a final committee review.
