Public Works Department

Traffic Division
  

TRAFFIC CALMING

Traffic calming is the reduction in traffic speeds or traffic volumes in a residential neighborhood to provide the residents an acceptable level of comfort, safety, and livability. Traffic calming devices generally involve changes in street alignment, installation of barriers, or installation of other physical features to reduce traffic speeds or cut-through traffic in the neighborhood, without impacting other neighborhood areas. Traffic calming is the combination of mainly physical measures to reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter behavior and improve conditions for residents and non-motorized street users.

Traffic calming goals include:

  • increasing the quality of life;

  • incorporating the preferences and requirements of the people using the area along the street or at intersections;

  • creating safe and attractive streets;

  • helping to reduce the negative effects of motor vehicles on the environment; and

  • promoting pedestrian, bicycle and transit use.

Traffic calming objectives include:

  • achieving slow speeds for motor vehicles,

  • reducing collision frequency and severity,

  • increasing the safety and the perception of safety for non-motorized users of the streets,

  • improving the parking supply for residents,

  • reducing the need for police enforcement,

  • enhancing the street environment with landscaping or street features,

  • increasing access for all modes of transportation, and

  • reducing cut-through motor vehicle traffic.

CITY OF BURBANK PROGRAMS.  The City of Burbank has several successful programs to improve the living environment of our residential neighborhoods. The programs include:

  • Neighborhood Protection Program

  • Neighborhood and Preferential parking programs

  • Speed Hump Installation program

The type of features installed in each neighborhood depends upon the issues found in the neighborhood. Each of our established programs begins with canvassing the residents to determine the issues in the neighborhood, so that appropriate control features can be determined. The parking and speed hump installation programs are begun by a petition process initiated by the neighborhood, investigated by the Public Works Department, and implemented through concurrence of a majority of residents affected by the program.

The Community Development and Public Works Departments jointly investigate the Neighborhood Protection Programs. An area is defined, generally comprised of ten to twenty blocks, and traffic issues are identified. A program of projects is worked out with the entire neighborhood to improve livability without adversely impacting any particular street in the neighborhood. Thus far, programs have been established in four Burbank neighborhoods.

For more information on traffic calming, call the Traffic Division at (818) 238-3915.

   
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