Why Go Slow, Mendo? Because slower traffic speeds make safer more inviting neighborhoods. Because we all want to feel safe in our front yards. Because we want the small town atmosphere that is destroyed by racing cars. Because we want our kids to be able to play in the street and walk or bike to school. Because we want to stop and talk to our neighbors and be able to hear them without having to wait for the roar of passing cars to temporarily stop
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can adopt traffic calming measures and work with one another to learn new habits. Thirty years ago, drunk driving was common. A group of parents formed Mothers Against Drunk Driving and established a new social norm wherein driving under the influence is not OK. We can do the same with traffic speeds. We hope you’ll join the conversation.
How Can We Do It?
Engineering * Enforcement * Education * Encouragement
We can slow car drivers and make our streets safe and efficient for all users, including drivers! There are a plethora of engineering tools available to us to make our streets safe for all. Narrow streets with lots of trees and things to look at slow speeds and help create great neighborhoods. Modern street design tools include speed tables, traffic cushions, bulb-outs, pedestrian refuges, chicanes and more.
The most common suggestion for slowing car drivers is more enforcement. Unfortunately, most evidence suggests that enforcement by itself is ineffective at calming our streets. The effect of enforcement is usually time limited and it is too costly to perform at the required level over the long run. Of course we want to work with law enforcement, and they are willing partners but still remain just one piece of the puzzle.
we feel that
Education and Encouragement are the underutilized methods where we can really help. None of these tools will solve the problem on its own, but together we can create the kind of neighborhoods we want. Stay tuned for more information on this site and on our
Facebook page.
