Another Green Monday: Red Light Cameras fund neighborhood traffic calming projects
At last week's City Council meeting, the big news was the unanimous vote for the Coal Train resolution. Another significant item on the docket that night was a contract to construct traffic calming projects funded by dollars collected through the City's Red Light program. It also passed unanimously.
This approval means eight traffic calming projects in eight neighborhoods will be constructed later this year for $285,000 collected from the traffic enforcement program.
“This is a great program which takes money collected from aggressive driving infractions and then turns government upside down by going to the neighborhoods and having them decide where and how to spend this money to calm traffic and make their community safer for everyone,” said Council Member Jon Snyder, who chaired the City's Photo Red/Traffic Calming Subcommittee.
In 2010, neighborhoods were asked to submit recommendations for locations that they identified as potentially dangerous due to high-volume or high-speed traffic. The neighborhoods were also asked to identify potential solutions for traffic calming. Since those applications were received, they have been approved by Council and designed by the City’s Engineering Services Department.
The fully designed projects were sent out to bid early this year.
The projects include:
• District 1: Logan neighborhood - bike and parking lanes on Illinois. Minnehaha neighborhood - sidewalks on Myrtle
.• District 2: Cliff/Cannon neighborhood - sidewalk bumpouts on Maple/Ash between 8th and 9th avenues. East Central neighborhood - curve sequence lights on Thor and Hartson. Lincoln Heights neighborhood - sidewalk bumpouts at 17th and Mt. Vernon.
• District 3: Emerson Garfield neighborhood - sidewalks on Post. Five Mile neighborhood - sidewalks on Five Mile Rd. North Hill neighborhood - sidewalks on Courtland.
This successful program is a win-win. Not only are their safety benefits to Red Light cameras but the fact that revenue is specifically allocated to traffic calming improvements in every neighborhood makes it even better.
