Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program
The City of Alexandria’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program (NTCP) incorporates engineering, education, and enforcement in decreasing speeding, improving the street for pedestrians and bicyclists and generally protecting the quality of life in City neighborhoods.
The City developed the NTCP to provide residents with the opportunity to raise neighborhood traffic concerns and to participate in the selection of strategies that promote safe and livable conditions for residents.
Program goals
- Provide protection to residential neighborhoods from traffic operating at excessive speeds and excessive volumes of traffic.
- Keep neighborhood street use, to the greatest extent possible, within the classification defined in the transportation chapter of the Master Plan (i.e. local streets, residential collectors, primary collectors).
- Increase access, safety, comfort and convenience for pedestrians and bicyclists by changing the culture of neighborhood street use from “cars first” to “people first.”
- Base the expenditure of public resources on need.
- Foster a collaborative working relationship between City Staff and neighborhood residents in the development of traffic calming measures.
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Traffic calming projects
Current projects include:
Past projects include:
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is traffic calming?
Traffic Calming is defined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers as the combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. In other words traffic calming are physically ‘self-enforcing’ devices that require drivers to slow down and change their behavior without police enforcement.
These devices include such things as speed humps or cushions, traffic circles, bike lanes and pavement markings, bump-outs, road narrowings, raised medians and a series of other devices.
Other than traffic calming projects, what else can I do in my neighborhood?
Education
Write an article for your community newsletter. If your community already has a newsletter, write an article encouraging your neighbors to drive cautiously and obey the speed limit. If there is no newsletter, create one yourself. Place yard signs on your front yard. Show motorists you care about your community, so they should show some respect too by abiding by the speed limit.
Enforcement
If you feel that motorists are driving unsafely on your street, call the Alexandria Police Department Traffic Unit at 703-838-4241. The Police Department can enforce the speed limit with radar units, speed displays, and ticketing.
Change Behavior
Leave your car at home. Encouraging your family and friends to take Metro, ride the bus, bicycle or walk will reduce the traffic volume and speeding in your neighborhood.
Visit the Local Motion program Web site or contact the City’s Transportation Demand Management Coordinator at 703-838-3800 for articles, presentations, and materials for education and behavior change.
How do I request traffic calming for my neighborhood?
In the City of Alexandria we receive more requests for traffic calming than we have funding. Therefore, requests for traffic calming will be prioritized based on a series of criteria including speed, volume, crash data, proximity of schools, existing sidewalks etc. as described in the Guide. Streets not selected for traffic calming for the upcoming fiscal year may apply for funding in future years. The Traffic and Parking Board determines which projects will be funded.
There is no deadline for communities to send in the application, rather, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please read the Guide before applying. To learn more about the NTCP program and how your community can request traffic calming measures implemented in your neighborhood, read the NTCP Guide.
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Resources
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Contact Us
Sandra Marks, Traffic Calming Coordinator
301 King Street, Room 4200
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-838-4411
Fax 703-838-6460
sandra.marks@alexandriava.gov
