Traffic calming

The goal of traffic calming is to reduce collisions and injuries to motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.

Road diet is a term for a project that reduces the number of regular travel lanes on a roadway
A typical road diet would see four lanes reduced to three lanes
This is considered when traffic demand does not necessitate four lanes of traffic. An example in the Region of Waterloo occurred on Frederick Street between Bruce Street and Edna Street.
- Since this project was completed, collisions have been reduced by approximately 44%

Rarely are traffic signals installed for the purposes of improving traffic safety
Most traffic signals are installed to minimize unnecessary delay
An evaluation of intersections showed that collisions increased between 11% and 40% after traffic signals were installed
Angle collisions which are far less frequent but tend to be more severe in terms of resulting injury were reduced between approximately 3% and 28%

Drivers in a traditional channelized right-turn lane are forced to look over their shoulder for approaching vehicles while veering their vehicle to the right, taking their attention away from the road
Smart channels help reduce this angle so drivers can focus more of their attention to the road and vehicles in front of them
Smart channels have shown an 86% reduction in all rear-end collisions and a 73% reduction in rear-end collisions causing injury
They also help to create a better environment for pedestrians as the design helps to reduce vehicle speeds

Pedestrian countdown signals give a visual indication of how much time is remaining to cross
This helps to reduce the number of collisions involving pedestrians by approximately 30%
There has been no significant change in the number of collisions involving vehicles

A review of intersections on Region of Waterloo roads replaced with roundabouts indicates that collisions involving injuries or fatalities have been reduced by approximately 51%
Collisions in general increased slightly by approximately 35%

Detectors are embedded into the road to detect waiting vehicles at signalized intersections
Setting them back from the stop bar allows a traffic signal to skip a left-turn advance signal phase when there is little demand or no vehicle present
The traffic signal can reassign more time to the main green signal which will better service thee majority of motorists waiting to go straight through the intersection
Skipping left-turn phases may seem to contradict the purpose of traffic signals however our studies suggest that traffic signals that serve demand more effectively can result in improved safety
This initiative has reduced collisions involving left-turning motorists by approximately 19%

Despite many beliefs, advanced left-turn signals typically do not make intersections safer
A study of 13 locations over a total of 39 study years (average 3 years per location) determined that there was no resulting safety benefit

Pedestrians cross roadways between intersections, despite knowingly taking on risk and increasing vulnerability.
Median or pedestrian refuge islands can be a place of refuge for pedestrians
Collisions involving pedestrians have been reduced by as much as 80% where installed

Approximately 100 people are hit every year at traffic signals
The majority of these collisions occur in crosswalks while the pedestrian has the right-of-way
To help reduce pedestrian collision at traffic signals, traditional crosswalks are being replaced with high-visibility ladder crosswalks
Where installed, collisions have been reduced by approximately 70%.

A right-turn overlap signal comes on at a signalized intersection during another conflicting movement
Enabling motorists intending to turn right to proceed without having to stop for a red light
Analysis of this operation has shown that collisions involving right-turning motorists have been reduced by approximately 25%

Speed limits are set as close as possible to the observed average speed travelled by motorists
By doing this the frequency of tailgating and unsafe passing is reduced
Collision analyses have determined that collisions have been reduced by 66% where speed limits have been increased from 60 to 70 kilometres per hour to better reflect average observed speed of motorists. Alternatively, total collisions increased by 63% when decreasing speed limits from 80 to 70 kilometres per hour in cases where speed limits were set lower without consideration of observed average speed

All-way stops are installed at locations either to minimize unnecessary delay or to reduce higher than normal angle or turning related collisions
All-way stop intersections installed for safety reasons have reduced collisions by 72% on average
All-way stops have proved to be a very effective way to improve safety
It is important to avoid overuse of all-way stop-controlled intersections to maintain their effectiveness and driver compliance

About 100 pedestrians are struck in crosswalks at traffic signals in the Region every year
The most common pedestrian collision happens at signalized intersections from motorists turning left
Left-turning motorists typically scan for a gap in opposing traffic, commit to the turn and turn into the path of a crossing pedestrian stepping off the curb
Offset crosswalks relocate traditional crosswalks a little further back to provide left and right turning motorists additional time and space to observe and react to pedestrians
The offset crosswalk also provides motorists an area to stop beyond the pathway of oncoming vehicles should they yield to a pedestrian after committing to a turn

Region of Waterloo
150 Frederick St.
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 4J3
Telephone: 519-575-4400
Fax: 519-575-4481