Implement traffic calming policy/measures, including lane conversions (road diets), roundabouts, low-speed streets, shared space and depaving, in at least one street redevelopment project.

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Implement traffic calming policy/measures, including lane conversions (road diets), roundabouts, low-speed streets, shared space and depaving, in at least one street redevelopment project.

Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
1 star Measures such as streetscaping, bump-outs, raised crosswalks, intersection markings, medians and narrower lane widths, and elimination of slip lanes (deemed inherently unsafe by FHWA) at 1 or more local/arterial intersections. Report temporary or permanent parklet installations under BPA 14.1.
2 star Measures such as roundabouts, and road reconfigurations (road diets) where 3 lanes replace 4 lanes of a road with under 20,000 average annual daily traffic counts; adopt a traffic calming policy; reduce posted speed limits paired with design changes that lower the design speed; conduct a city-wide pedestrian fatality study.
3 star Become a Vision Zero Community; pedestrian-centered road planning/implementation; measures from street reclaiming, naked streets, shared space, woonerfs, and Paint the Pavement approaches; implement lane width reductions as encouraged in MnDOT's training course: Advanced Flexibility in Design; diverging diamond interchange, J-turn lane, reverse diagonal parking; a multi-modal Level of Service metric developed and applied to road projects; conversion of underused/redundant roads to gravel roads, stormwater management, energy generation, etc.
Resources

Safety: 

Traffic Calming: 

  • Learn more about traffic calming 101 (Project for Public Spaces, 2008). 
  • The traffic calming database (Institute of Transportation Engineers, 2023) provides a series of factsheets for several traffic calming measures. 
  • The MN Dept. of Transportation provides resources on roundabouts.
  • Roundabout Database (Kittelson & Associates, 2023) is an online inventory tracking roundabouts since 1999 across the world. 
  • One approach to traffic calming relies more on changing the psychological feel, rather than the physical geometry, of the street. See MnDOT’s Demonstration Project Implementation Guidance and examples of quick-build/demonstration projects in Minnesota that allow agencies, partners and people walking, bicycling, taking transit, and driving to evaluate potential infrastructure improvements before potentially investing in permanent changes.
  • Retention of a gravel road (Strong Towns, 2016), or conversion of a paved road to a gravel road, usually has traffic calming and financial benefits but the effect on nearby surface water is site-specific and can negate the benefits. See gravel road maintenance resources from the Minnesota Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP).

Reduced Speed Limits: 

Road Conversions/Reconfigurations: 

  • Learn more about 4 to 3 lane conversions/road diets and see Minnesota case studies developed by the GreenStep Cities program for Albert Lea, Battle Lake, Parkers Prairie, Richfield, and Saint Paul/Ramsey County. 
  • Note also that streets with fewer than 1000 average annual daily trips at peak hour generally need only two lanes, and that generally no street handling fewer than 10,000 AADT should qualify for left-turn lanes or a center turn lane.
  • See MnDOT's Advanced Flexibility in Design workshop (2010). 
  • The Urban Street Design Guide (National Association of City Transportation Officials, 2023) is a blueprint for designing streets that are safer, more livable, and more economically vibrant.  
  • Imagining Livability Design Collection (AARP, 2015) provides a visual portfolio of tools and transformations. 
  • The Tactical Urbanist's Guide to Materials and Design (Street Plan Collaborative's, 2016) provides guidance for citizen-led demonstration and city-led pilot and interim design projects.
Order Number
6
Action Type
Finite