The City Traffic Engineer retains the authority to address individual neighborhood traffic issues apart from the policies and procedures laid out in the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. The NTMP is prompted in large part by requests from an increasing number of neighborhoods to do something about traffic speed and volume on the City's local streets. Projections of population growth, vehicle use, and levels of congestion suggest that requests for neighborhood traffic management projects are likely to increase. Because these requests are likely to exceed available resources, a system must be put in place to prioritize requests as they come in and to make implementation decisions based on relative ranking of proposed projects. Priority is given to projects where problems with vehicle speed and traffic volumes are severe.
Priority is given to areas with a large amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Implementation of the ranking system involves establishing measurements of these factors and coming up with a formula by which to rank projects as they come in. Traffic Engineering staff along with the NTTC will use the traffic calming projects already underway to establish these measurements. These weighing formulas will be included as an attachment to future versions of this policy. Once a project is prioritized and selected, staff will work with neighborhoods and the NTTC to arrive at a preferred strategy or series of strategies that address the traffic issues faced by the neighborhood. Selection of these strategies will be based on the following five criteria.