FAQs

Traffic calming can be defined as a group of physical enhancements that can be installed along a corridor or at an intersection to improve safety for all modes of travel. Some examples of traffic calming measures include bulb outs (or curb extensions). The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) define the purpose of traffic calming as a means to support the livability and vitality of residential neighborhoods and commercial areas through improvements in non-motorist safety, mobility and comfort. 

Applications are available at the Public Works window at Civic Center but will also be available online if an applicant prefers to complete the application form electronically.  Once received, City staff will begin evaluating the location with respect to several metrics (see question 5. for details on the metrics) 

Englewood Traffic Calming Application

Neighborhood and resident input is incorporated through two phases of public engagement. 

During the application phase, residents may demonstrate neighborhood support by including signatures from nearby neighbors on the sponsorship statement submitted with the traffic calming application. 

Following project prioritization and design, affected property owners and residents will be notified and engaged to help assess community support and determine whether the proposed improvements should advance to construction. Residents along an affected block (in the case of mid-block treatments), or within 1 block of an affected intersection (in the case of intersection specific treatments). 

This program establishes a process for evaluating and implementing traffic calming measures on local and collector streets. It does not limit the City's ability to incorporate traffic calming measures on higher-classification roadways through other initiatives or Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects. 

Consistent with the city's Safety on the Move initiative, traffic calming and other safety improvements may be incorporated into CIP projects where appropriate, based on the project's scope, context, and identified transportation needs. Traffic calming elements may also be evaluated as part of pedestrian crossing improvements, multimodal corridor projects, and other transportation improvements when they support the project's safety and operational objectives. 

Traffic calming applications are evaluated using a combination of safety, operational, and contextual factors. Staff will consider the following criteria when prioritizing potential improvements: 

• Operating speeds relative to the posted speed limit 
• Crash history
• History of crashes involving vulnerable roadway users (people walking and bicycling) 
• Proximity to pedestrian-generating destinations, such as parks, schools, community centers, and recreation centers 
• Traffic volumes and congestion on local streets 

Neighborhood support is an important part of the traffic calming process and helps demonstrate that residents recognize and support the need for improvements. However, the degree of neighborhood support is not included in the prioritization score to ensure applications are evaluated consistently, fairly and impartially. 

Because funding and staff resources are limited, the City prioritizes projects based on objective, data-driven criteria such as operating speeds, crash history, traffic volumes and proximity to pedestrian-generating destinations. his approach helps ensure that traffic calming measures are implemented first where they are most likely to improve safety and address the greatest transportation needs. Excluding neighborhood support as an evaluation metric helps ensure that decisions are not influenced by differences in individual neighborhoods’ capacity to organize and advocate for improvements. 

The 85th percentile speed is a standard traffic engineering metric used to evaluate operating speeds on a roadway. It represents the speed at or below which 85 percent of drivers are traveling, providing a consistent measure of typical traffic conditions while also reflecting the upper range of everyday driver behavior. 

Unlike maximum recorded speeds, which can vary due to isolated events or individual drivers, the 85th percentile speed provides a more stable and representative measure for comparing locations and evaluating changes over time. Using this metric helps the city consistently assess traffic calming applications and can help measure the effectiveness of improvements through before-and-after analyses.