2011-05-24_PWETC_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

intersection counts and observations) and letters are sent to offenders. Other Options Education This technique can involve a range of activities from newspaper articles to flyers delivered to houses or flyers handed to motorists at specific locations. The Traffic Engineer or Public Works Director talks to many of the driver education classes at the high school and addresses neighborhood traffic problems during his presentations. Education could also include signing, such as advance warning signs for new devices. Some communities use additional signs such as "Neighborhood Speed Watch in Effect but this is sometimes viewed as excess signage or deemed unsightly. Arterial Improvement One of the main reasons people divert from the major arterials is that they save time by cutting through local streets. Some amount of cut- through traffic can be tolerated on most local streets, especially if motorists travel at reasonable speeds and observe other traffic laws. However, when they travel too fast or run stop signs or disobey other traffic control devices, they endanger the local residents. One way to minimize the cut through volume without taking specific measures in the neighborhood is to review the arterial street system to ensure that it is working as efficiently as possible. This means that traffic signal timing and phasing (left -turns arrows, etc.), lane use (left-turn lanes, right -turn lanes), and signal progression (the time relationship between adjacent signals) need to be reviewed regularly and adjustments must be made so that the traffic control matches the current traffic flow. Sometimes, minor widening is necessary to increase the capacity of intersections. These matters can be quite controversial as we struggle with balancing the need to move traffic through the City with the protection of the neighborhoods through which this traffic must pass. The cost of arterial improvement varies from several thousand dollars to perform the analysis and adjustment of traffic signal timing for a series of arterial signals to much more expensive projects, if intersection widening is needed. Obviously, we try to concentrate on those projects which can be accomplished with minimum expense. However, we do need to examine the feasibility of the more major projects. For more information on Traffic Calming and the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program in the City of Evanston, contact the Senior Traffic Engineer, Rajeev Dahal, at (847) 866 -2922 (VOICE) or (847) 448-8118 (FAX) orrdahal @cityofevanston.org. 12