New traffic calming device invented right here at The City of Calgary

Creating safe streets for Calgarians to walk, bike and drive on is a top priority at The City of Calgary. The traffic calming program is meant to address existing and measurable traffic problems in a community. Community traffic studies are conducted to determine what traffic management measures can be taken to encourage safe driving by slowing down the speed of motorists.

Senior Traffic Safety Engineer
 Tony Churchill

All too often though, Senior Traffic Safety Engineer, Tony Churchill was getting requests for traffic calming in communities across the city that he was unable to fulfill for a variety of reasons including cost.

“There are a lot of traffic calming measures such as curb extensions, small roundabouts and median islands that become quite cost-prohibitive due to pavement work, drainage issues and underground utilities,” Churchill said.

So, Tony decided to come up with a solution. He looked at the geometry of many common traffic calming measures and developed an oval shaped, low profile concrete unit that could be placed in a variety of ways to create the same results of other, more expensive, traffic calming measures.

These new traffic calming curbs are a cost-effective method that can be used to quickly address traffic calming issues.

“The goal of the traffic calming curbs is to change the geometry of the road in a way that feels safer and also results in fewer collisions resulting in injury or fatality for all of Calgary’s road users,” Churchill said.

Traffic Calming Curbs being installed on
Child Avenue N.E. in Bridgeland.

The curbs will be used to provide temporary traffic calming measures in communities where permanent solutions have not been budgeted for. They have been designed to withstand exposure to the elements and snow and ice control materials like salt and gravel and weigh over 1,700 pounds to prevent them from moving. They are also made out of yellow cement to make them easier to see and more visually appealing.

The traffic calming curbs are currently being piloted for effectiveness. For now, The City will begin using them on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit where issues have already been identified and traffic calming is required but cannot be immediately installed due to budget or other construction constraints. Once the pilot for the curbs has been completed and standards for their use have been determined there may be more opportunity for citizens to request them in their communities.

For more information on The City’s traffic calming program visit Calgary.ca.