Carol Goodman lives in a 55-and-older community just three-tenths of a mile from two shopping centers.
Roughly 200 of the residential units are designated as senior (55-plus) housing.
The posted speed limit is 30 mph.
Many residents of the Townes want to walk to the restaurants and stores across the street.
Retailers everywhere want people to shop locally.
Once residents get into their cars, they can easily bypass the closest stores and shop further afield.
“Nobody championed it,” she explains.
DeWitt describes herself as tenacious.
“My mother is a city girl.
She’s accustomed to walking places.
Those conversations took place in July 2016.
If there aren’t enough cars to go with a signal, other traffic calming tools are used.
To conduct the study, the county placed a rubber strip on the roadway for several days.
Each time a car ran over the strip, it was counted.
DPW also mounted a camera on a nearby pole to watch pedestrian interactions for the day.
“I feel it’s always nice to acknowledge people even when they’re simply doing their job.”
He agrees that DeWitts ongoing interest in the project was an asset.
“Carla was good about keeping up,” Flores says.
FINDING A SOLUTION
The survey results: 6,000 cars and 26 pedestrians used the intersection each day.
Data about excessive speeds along the route were delivered to the local police.
(Read about a community that did succeed in having a traffic light installed.)
Flores worked with DeWitt to share the ideas with residents by organizing a public community meeting.
To gather an audience, DeWitt hung flyers on community bulletin boards and emailed residents.
All who completed the survey did so in support of Option 1.
Two days before Christmas in 2016, DeWitt got word from the county that the project was approved.
A temporarypedestrian island(see the photo above) was installed in June 2017.
The permanent island (shown below) was installed that fall.
We have capital funding for these kinds of neighborhood traffic control devices.
This cost around $10,000 to $15,000 to complete, Flores said.
THE HURDLES
Knowing the jurisdictional differences between federal, state, county and municipal roadways and officials is key.
The local police department can help identify which roads belong to which jurisdiction.
Next up is to reach the right department within the government agency, and then the right person.
This is when tenacity pays off, says DeWitt: “Don’t give up.
Keep calling, keep emailing, keep trying.”
We install it and, if needed, keep tweaking as we go along.”
Define the problem(s)
2.
Document the problem(s)
3.
Define the desired result(s)
4.
Define the constraints(s)
5.
Decide on a plan
7.
Develop community consent
8.
Do it (aka: implement the plan)
9.
