A temporary project to slow traffic on St. George Street in Port Moody was mostly successful, says a staff report presented to council on Tuesday (April 11).
But to truly achieve safer streets for all users and get the public to buy in to traffic calming measures, they should be more fun, said one councillor.
Amy Lubik said she’s encouraged the report found barricades placed on St. George, from Buller to Albert streets, in 2021 as a pilot project succeeded in slowing drivers and restricting the number of cars travelling down the neighbourhood street.
But challenges remain.
Among those cited in the report were:
- people driving around the barriers with impunity
- lack of maintenance as the barriers were sometimes dismantled
- unsafe maneuvers by drivers, like U-turns, to avoid the barricades
- an increase in traffic on neighbouring streets, like St. Andrews and Hope
Lubik suggested for traffic calming to truly be effective and respected, it needs to remind motorists that families live along those streets.
“Effective traffic calming brings people along,” she said. “We have to look at innovative ways for traffic calming to not only slow down cars but also remind people this a place where their neighbours live.”
Lubik said elements like street art and placemaking installations, such as murals and pop-up spaces, can help slow drivers and reduce incidents with pedestrians.
They’d also enhance Port Moody’s reputation as the City of the Arts.
Coun. Samantha Agtarap said she’d be on board.
“Musical rumble strips would be kind of fun.”
In the report, Port Moody’s outgoing transportation engineer Geoffrey Keyworth — who’s leaving for a new job in Ontario — said while speed humps can be an effective way to slow traffic, they don’t reduce the number of cars going along a neighbourhood street.
And access restrictions through the use of barriers can be unpopular because of concerns about fairness, enforcement and safety.
He said future traffic calming measures should:
- be semi-permanent so they can’t be easily removed
- restrict the volume of cars by making the driving experience less comfortable while still allowing access for drivers who need to use the road
- provide a community amenity
“Ideally, new measures may become more than just traffic calming devices,” Keyworth said, suggesting large planters could fit the bill.
He added anything more than speed humps will require “comprehensive public engagement.”
