NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT: A PERSPECTIVE ON IMPLEMENTATION

Neighborhood Traffic Management (NTM) has become a key part of a typical local Traffic Engineer's responsibilities. Although contrary to their traditional training, engineers are now required to reduce speeds and volumes, in order to reduce the associated impacts on local streets. The City of Huntsville, Alabama, implemented an NTM Program to deal with these effects. After close review of prior neighborhood projects, some dating back 50 years, the authors concluded that several of these projects were actually common traffic practices. However, with the ever-increasing demands on the local government to control the speed and volume of through neighborhoods, simply dealing with the problems in the political arena was not the solution. It became critical to develop a standardized method of handling complaints, prioritizing, and implementing these calming devices. This reports gives an overview of the City of Huntsville Program, the pros and cons of implemented projects, common comments, and lessons learned.