A traffic calming pilot project in Calgary’s northwest community of Country Hills is being heralded as a success by Coun. Jyoti Gondek.
The project uses pylons and barricades to reduce the number of lanes on Country Hills Drive from four to two.
Gondek said people in the area were seeing too many drivers speeding through the playground zone near Country Hills Heights.
Gondek said she worked with Calgary’s roads department to come up with a low-cost solution.
“What we didn’t want to do is come in with a permanent solution that would cost a lot of money until we knew whether it would work,” said Gondek.
She added that while the project is still in the early stages, she’s already seen a huge improvement.
“Cars are actually going the speed limit. People aren’t trying to pass each other and people aren’t trying to use this as a quick and easy route to get from Country Hills Boulevard to 96th Avenue,” said Gondek.
“People are actual respecting the fact that it’s a playground zone and people actually live here.”
There is no end date for the pilot project, and Gondek said she is working with the roads department to put the same sort of low-cost traffic calming measures along other problem spots.
Urban planning
Gondek wants the Country Hills project to shine a light on how future neighbourhoods can be better designed.
She added that more forethought could have prevented Country Hills Drive from becoming a problem spot.
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