Positive community support is necessary for a successful implementation of traffic calming. Residents in a community have strong opinions and emotions about any government actions that affect the appearance and condition of streets in their neighborhood.

As stated in Read Ewing's book on traffic calming,

1. Develop a local traffic advisory committee (3)

A local traffic advisory committee is a standing committee composed of a group of people in local jurisdictions that assist with implementing traffic calming. The committee should consist of: (3)

• Municipal or county engineer,
• Municipal or county planner,
• Representative from the governing body,
• Representative from emergency services,
• Local citizen in favor of traffic calming, and
• Representative from public works.

2. Develop a neighborhood civic advisory committee (8)

A neighborhood civic advisory committee serves as a liaison between the community and the municipal staff (traffic engineers, planners, and other personnel). A civic advisory committee has the following traits: (9)

• Interest groups are represented,
• Meetings are held regularly,
• Comments and points of view of participants are recorded,
• Consensus on issues is sought but not required, and
• The civic advisory committee is assigned an important role in the process.

The individuals on the advisory committee should understand the interests of the local community as a whole and communicate them to the municipal staff. When developing an advisory committee, it is good practice to recruit members representing different areas of the community and different interest groups to help create a committee that accurately represents the community. It may be possible to form the advisory committee from the individuals who attend the first meeting(s) concerning traffic calming in their neighborhood. The civic advisory committee elects its own leader. Advisory committees can assist in creating a traffic calming plan by: (8)

• Participating in consultant selection, where appropriate,
• Identifying transportation-related issues as early in the process as possible,
• Assisting in determining study area boundaries,
• Assisting in locating community volunteers for data collection when needed,
• Assisting in organizing, publicizing, and facilitating community events,
• Reviewing materials intended for presentation or distribution to the community,
• Reviewing preliminary traffic calming plans, and
• Providing input on draft reports.

3. Develop a permanent neighborhood transportation committee (8)

A permanent neighborhood transportation committee serves as an ongoing liaison between the neighborhood and the municipal staff. The group can assist with follow-up research after action has been taken, new issues and concerns that arise in the community, and other problems related to transportation in the community. The committee should consist of individuals who already have an understanding of the traffic calming process and know the municipal staff.

4. Hold Public Meetings

Public meetings are a great way to communicate information to the community, enable the community to express their concerns, and to encourage public discussion. Public meetings are usually arranged by the municipal staff, but can be organized by a committee. Municipal staff representatives should be present at the meetings and have a prepared agenda with material available free to the public. When the meeting is concluded the staff should provide to the public a written summary of the meeting, noting areas of agreement and disagreement. To attract people to a meeting, it is a good idea to have a Media Strategy (see next section). Meetings can help the municipal staff monitor community reactions to traffic calming ideas by observing and listening to the comments of the citizens. In some cases it might be a good idea to have the municipality staff or community establish ground rules for the meetings. Some suggestions are: (9)

• Recognizing the legitimacy of others' concerns,
• Accepting responsibility for coming to a meeting prepared for discussion,
• Listening carefully and sharing discussion time with others,
• Encouraging everyone to participate,
• Discussing with intent to identify areas of agreement, clarify differences, and search for common understanding, and
• Establishing a speaker's time limit.

Some ideas on when to hold meeting are as follows.

• Kick-off meeting (3) : At the beginning of the traffic calming process, it is a good idea to hold a meeting and invite all households and businesses that could be potentially affected by the traffic calming plan. The local government's traffic engineer, planner, or personnel should direct the meeting. The meeting should be a time for the municipality staff to gather information from the community, so the traffic calming plan can be developed to focus on the needs of the community.
• Periodic Meetings: When a decision needs to be made with public input, or a major milestone has been passed in the traffic calming project, it might be a good idea to involve and inform the public with a meeting.
• Ending Meeting: Toward the end of the traffic calming process, a meeting could be arranged to present to the community the preliminary and final drafts of the traffic calming plans. It is a good idea to present the community with an overall single plan and allow the public to offer opinions and feedback on specific locations within that plan. It is necessary to recognize that public meetings may not always be the best way to communicate information to the community when it is anticipated that individuals will have strong differing convictions and emotions. This setting has the potential to create a confrontational destructive environment that could lead to an unjustified decision about traffic calming. Also public meetings usually attract a very small percentage of the public, so other ways of gathering information and informing the community should be employed along with public meetings.(3)

5. Conduct Workshops (9)

Workshops are meetings that are organized around a particular task, topic, or activity. (9) Workshops are a good tool to involve the community actively in the traffic calming planning process. They are held for community members and staff to tackle a specific agenda together. The workshop can be lead by a municipal staff member or community member. If lead by a community member there should be enough resource people to answer all questions. At any point in the traffic calming process workshops are useful for gauging public opinion, resolving a public concern, or formulating a plan of action.

6. Form Focus Groups (9)

Focus groups are conducted to gage and monitor public opinion. By carefully selecting individuals and employing professional leaders who engage and follow up on points made, focus groups can expose important public concerns and issues to the municipality. Focus groups should be informal and encourage a supportive, open participatory atmosphere. Well-organized focus groups should only take a few hours of the public's time. Focus groups have the following features: (9)

• A carefully crafted agenda, with five or six major questions at most;
• Emphasis on gathering perspectives, insights, and opinions of participants through conversation and interaction;
• Identification of major points of agreement and divergence of opinion;
• Minimal presentation of material to set context and subject;
• Gathering, not shaping, opinions or perspectives;
• Eight to twelve participants; and
• Understanding that each participant's role is to give personal insights and perspectives.

7. Hold Open Houses (9)

An open house is usually a colloquial setting where community members are given information about traffic calming and the traffic calming plan. Many times the open house is conducted at a community member's home. Municipal staff should be present to answer any questions the public might have. Unlike a meeting, there is no formal agenda at an open house and there are no formal discussions. An open house is a forum for the staff to interact face-to-face and one-on-one with community members. It is an opportunity for the staff and the public to provide opinions, comments, and listen to each other. Many times, the one-on-one interaction produces a higher quality discussion, and the drop-in atmosphere creates a greater public representation. Sign-in sheets, survey questionnaires, and current displays and information about the local traffic calming project should be provided by the municipality staff. Take-home information should also be available.

Open houses can be used at any point in the traffic calming process. They are a good way of raising interest and awareness among the public initially and prior to decision making. The media should be invited to open houses and a Media Strategy (see next section) should be employed.

8. Conduct a Visual Preference Survey (2)

If a particular traffic calming program has different alternatives available or different measures are viable options, ask the community which they prefer based on visual impressions. One way of accomplishing this task is to create a survey that contains side-by-side pictures of two viable alternatives and ask the community which they prefer.

9. Use Computer Imaging (2)

Computer imaging can be used to gage the public's preference by showing how an area will appear after traffic calming measures are implemented.

10. Conduct Guided Tours of Neighborhoods With Traffic Calming Already Implemented (2)

If a community is considering employing traffic calming and questions what the area might be like after traffic calming measures are employed, municipal staff or a committee could conduct a guided tour through a development that has already employed similar traffic calming solutions successfully.

11. Conduct a Walkabout (8)

A walkabout is a 1-3 hour tour through a neighborhood that is considering employing traffic calming measures. The tour is open to community members, municipal staff, and committee members and should be organized by municipal staff and/or committee members. Early on in the traffic calming process a walkabout is a good way to expose the community and municipal staff to the existing traffic situation and improvement opinions. If the community or municipality already has improvement options in mind, the walkabout can serve as a way to show all parties involved how improvement measures fit into their community. The walkabout is one way for everyone involved to see each other's ideas, and it might also serve as a good media event if reporters are involved. (see Notifying the Public)

12. Train Community Members to Assist in Data Collection (8)

To save money and empower the community, local community members can be trained to collect data on current road conditions. The specific data collection needs (i.e. peak time, location, etc.) should be determined by the municipality before the community volunteers are contacted.

13. Charrettes

To address large issues and problems that arise in the traffic calming process, a charrette can be used. A charrette is a meeting with a specific goal, specified time limit, and defined leader. The objective of a charrette is to, "challenge people to rapidly, openly, and honestly examine the problem and help potential adversaries reach consensus on an appropriate solution." (9) Anyone can participate in a charrette, and it can be used at any point in the traffic calming process. In the beginning of the traffic calming process, it has the potential to provide the municipality with concerns and ideas from interest groups and the affected public. Later on in the process, a charrette can be used to resolve a deadlock between groups.

To hold a successful charrette, it is necessary to have an experienced leader and to compile extensive background information. In some cases it might be necessary to hire a charrette leader. The information should be prepared in a way so the meeting participants can comprehend the problems quickly. The charrette should be scheduled to last at least four hours, depending on the size of the group and the scope of the issues at hand.

The usual components of a charrette are: (9)

• Definition of issues to be resolved;
• Analysis of the problem and alternative approaches to solutions;
• Assignment of small groups to clarify issues;
• Use of staff people to find supporting data;
• Development of proposals to respond to issues;
• Development of alternative solutions;
• Presentation and analysis of final proposal(s); and
• Consensus and final resolution of the approach to be taken.

1. Media Strategies (9)

A media strategy is a well thought out plan to inform the public about the issue at hand. The strategy can employ many techniques for reaching the public. A few communication techniques are listed below. (9)

A media strategy could be as simple as distributing flyers and brochures to a targeted area or as complex as airing television advertisements. The media strategy should be developed at the beginning of the traffic calming process. Having a media strategy allows the municipality to deliver a "uniform message to alleviate the spread of misinformation that often becomes a barrier to understanding or implementation." (9) To assist in the process, the media strategy could be created jointly by one of the committees and the municipality staff. The media strategy should be comprehensive and needs to be evaluated continuously, before and after implementation. Here are some questions to ask to assist in the evaluation: (9)

• Breadth of techniques to use - How many and what kinds of techniques are appropriate?
• Effectiveness - How many people were reached and how did they react to particular media?
• Ease of implementation - How easy or difficult is it for the agency to implement the various elements? Is an outside consultant needed? and
• Cost - What are the costs and benefits in view of constrained resources?

2. Press Release (8)

A press release is an inexpensive way of distributing news after the local press decides to cover the stories. It is advantageous to distribute press releases to all forms of media including, print, radio, and television. The press release should contain a list of contacts so the reporters can easily expand or follow up on the story.

3. Newspaper Advertisements

Newspaper advertisements are a simple way of updating the public on the progress of the traffic calming initiative. Advertisements can be placed in local and community newspapers as well as in larger city papers.

4. Flyers & Brochures

Flyers and Brochures are a good means of notifying the public through mail (see mailing lists), schools, door-to-door, on poster boards, and face-to-face in public areas. Flyers and brochures should use color when possible, be concise, and offer contact information for individuals who want to get involved or have questions.

5. Mailing Lists (9)

Mailing lists can be used to inform the public and to keep track of public involvement. Mailing lists can include organizations, residents, media, elected officials, abutting neighbors, agency personnel, interest groups, and others. Lists of all property owners to be affected by an action can be compiled from tax maps. At each meeting or event held, the names, addresses, municipality, phone number, and any other useful information from the attendees should be recorded. These individuals likely are more interested, involved community members and might be candidates for advisory committees. It is important to recognize that mailing lists are not always a complete representation of the community. How the list is constructed can affect greatly the list's community representation. It is a good idea to employ other efforts of informing the public along with mailing lists.

Once compiled, mailing lists can serve many purposes. The lists can help the municipality by demonstrating an agency's or group's outreach efforts, it allows easier communication to everyone or to selected groups of individuals, and can be used to distribute surveys.

6. Telephone Techniques (9)

A telephone information number is another way of providing a connection to the public. The phone number should be included on all material distributed to the public. A telephone information number can be set up a number of ways. The caller can be connected to an auto attendant where the caller can select to hear different recordings directed at answering common questions, or a staff person and a message service can be used to answer questions and provide information on a more personal level. A telephone information number or a calling program can be used to gather public opinion and support for a project by conducting telephone surveys. Calls to an information number will likely be most frequent around the times of a meeting and news announcements.

7. Web Site (8)

A web site is a wonderful :) way to communicate with the community. If maintained actively it can provide up-to-date information about progress of the traffic calming plan, clearly explain the traffic calming process, allow the community to comment via e-mail, and serve as a way of building a mailing list. Although increasing rapidly, community access to the Internet varies depending on the area of study, and the extent of usage should be considered when deciding whether to allocate resources to composing a web site.

1. Determine the area affected by the traffic calming measures.

It is important to measure the support for traffic calming from all residents, businesses, and people located in the project area; everyone should be given the opportunity to state his or her view, get involved, and affect the plan. A neighborhood committee and/or the municipal staff should determine the project area. The project area should include both adjacent streets and the streets being treated with traffic calming measures. Support for traffic calming is typically greatest on streets where traffic calming treatment is occurring. Other areas adjacent to the streets being treated might be concerned about a migration of the problem to their area.

2. Measure support with petitions, ballots, and/or surveys.

After the project area has been defined, support for the project should be determined. One way of measuring the public's support is to distribute a petition where community members in favor of traffic calming action can express their support with their signatures. Typically community members gather signatures for the petition in person at community meetings, or by going door to door. It is important to recognize that sometimes those who sign a petition might do so under pressure or not fully understanding what they are agreeing to by signing. A good way to minimize confusion and to get an accurate result from the survey is to require the community members to vote "yes" or "no" next to their signature on the installation of traffic calming measures. Another way is to provide a clear map of the neighborhood streets, showing precisely where traffic calming measures are being placed, and require residents to certify that they have reviewed the map prior to signing the petition.(2) A petition is easier to administer than a mail in ballot or survey.

A mail in ballot is another option for measuring public opinion. This method does not have the same social pressure as signing a petition in front of an enthusiastic neighbor. The only problem is that residents must send back the ballots. In some cases 25% or less of the ballots are returned.

A survey is also a way to gauge the public's understanding of and interest in traffic calming. The municipality or neighborhood group can prepare a survey inquiring about the recipient's interest in traffic calming and the perceived traffic issues. The survey can be distributed to the project area by mail, telephone, door-to-door volunteers, or web site (see: Notifying the Public). Surveys take a much longer time to process than a simple vote, but have the potential to give the municipality and neighborhood committees a deeper understanding of the opinions of people in the project area.

The above three ways of measuring the public's opinion can be used separately or in combination. For example, Dayton, OH combined a petition process with a ballot process. After petitions are submitted to the municipality by the community to initiate the traffic calming process, ballots are sent to residents in the project area. "Two-thirds of all residents, not just two-thirds of all respondents, must concur before measures may be installed."(2) This example is very thorough. Many towns simply use the petition process to initiate the traffic calming process and then maintain good communication with the public throughout the process. Every traffic calming project and town is different, and the above ideas can be used to develop the correct process for your neighborhood.

3. Determine the level of support necessary to proceed with the traffic calming process.

When dealing with petitions and surveys, local governments should set the minimum margin of approval necessary before proceeding with traffic calming. Research indicates that a "minimum threshold at anywhere from 51 percent to 80 percent with the median at 70 percent," may be appropriate.(3) With ballots, it is a bit more complex, since only a fraction of the ballots sent out usually make it back to be tallied. Below are two different examples of measuring the margin of approval with ballots. Austin, Texas "…requires a simple majority of the ballots returned to be affirmative."(2) In Dayton Ohio, ballots are sent to all residents and "…2/3 of all residents, not just 2/3 of all respondents, must concur before measures may be installed."(2) For most towns, an appropriate margin of approval is likely somewhere between these two examples, but every traffic calming project and town is different, and it is important to devise ahead of time the appropriate margin of approval for your neighborhood.