Drivers may soon be moving slower in some Charlotte neighborhoods. The City Council unanimously agreed to change its Neighborhood Traffic Calming Policy to make it easier for residents to request safety measures Monday night.
Residents will no longer have to fill out a petition when requesting that neighborhood speed limits be lowered to 25 miles per hour. The changes lower the minimum traffic threshold needed to request a speed bump, from 1,000 vehicles a day to 600, and make it easier to meet the traffic thresholds to add a stop sign at intersections. Under the changes, the requirements for a successful petition to change a traffic issue have also been relaxed.
Councilman Greg Phipps said the changes are needed updates to the policy, which was first implemented in 1997 and was last amended more than a decade ago.
“I think we’ve made some good progress,” Phipps said. “We’ve updated our policies and streamlined them in a way I think the community would appreciate in terms of more efficiency, and I’m going to support it.”
Several council members said traffic safety is among the top concerns they hear from constituents. Last year, 27 pedestrians were hit and killed by vehicles in Charlotte. This year, there have been 25 pedestrian deaths. The city’s Vision Zero initiative aims to eliminate pedestrian deaths by 2030.
