Installing traffic calming measures in five Vaughan neighbourhoods
If you live in New Kleinburg, Sonoma Heights, Vellore Village, Carrville Corners or Lakeview Estates, you may notice City of Vaughan crews installing temporary traffic calming measures in your area. As we continue advancing the Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plan, we’re sharing everything you need to know about the pilot project.
The temporary traffic calming measures being installed are “quick-build” designs. They can be deployed easily and cost-effectively to test how they work before undertaking expensive, more permanent installations. This will help us refine which measures are best suited for Vaughan.
Examples of quick-build measures include:
- road signs (e.g. roundabout, driveway or intersection ahead).
- radar message boards that support customized messaging.
- flexi posts.
- pavement markings (e.g. 40 kilometres per hour).
- planters and/or bollards (sturdy posts or poles typically made of metal or concrete that are placed in strategic locations to control and direct traffic).
- rubber speed cushions and curbs.
- tiger tails at stop signs (alternating stripes placed below a stop sign to capture driver attention).
The quick-build measures for this pilot project were selected based on:
- community and stakeholder (e.g. York Regional Police, Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service, York Region Transit, Members of Council) feedback.
- data collected on driver behaviour (e.g. speeding, lack of compliance with stop signs).
- data collected on existing road conditions.
- evidence-based best practices.
- national guidelines for traffic calming (i.e. Transportation Association of Canada and National Association of City Transportation Officials).
To view the full design of what’s planned for each of the five pilot neighbourhoods, visit vaughan.ca/NeighbourhoodPlan. Access to residences will remain available while work is being completed
These temporary measures will stay in place until November 2023, when most will be removed to accommodate the City’s extensive winter maintenance program. However, select measures that do not interfere with snow removal operations (such as some flexi posts and tiger tails at stop signs) will remain in place until next spring. Pavement markings will remain over the longer term. From the time the measures are installed until spring 2024, the City will work closely with key stakeholders, including community members, Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service, York Region, and road safety partners, such as York Regional Police, to evaluate and monitor the measures.
Want to provide feedback on measures in your area? You can give input and follow updates in the following ways:
SitePodium
Ongoing feedback can be provided through SitePodium. This innovative platform provides real-time updates, so you can follow along as crews install the measures in your area. You can also share feedback through comments and interactive functions, such as a “thumbs up” button. Registration or login is not required to use the app. Download it from the Apple Store or Google Play.
You can email the project team at traffic.services@vaughan.ca with the subject line “Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plan” and identify which community you live in to share your feedback on the measures installed.
The Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plan is aligned with MoveSmart, the City’s progressive Mobility Management Strategy. MoveSmart directs the City’s vision to provide a transportation system that is safer, more efficient and sustainable. The strategy was informed by the public, which identified road safety and effective traffic management as top priorities to help meet the existing and evolving needs of the community. MoveSmart consists of four programs; the Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plan falls under the Road Safety Program.
The Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Plan aims to establish a set of updated guidelines for implementing traffic calming measures along new and existing roads in Vaughan to create a high-quality, people-oriented and sustainably built environment that continues promoting a culture of road safety. The data from this project and the updated Neighbourhood Traffic Committee Policy and Procedures will be presented to Council in late 2024.
For more information, visit vaughan.ca/NeighbourhoodPlan.
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