Traffic Calming Projects

Brampton is a diverse, rapidly growing urban municipality. It has a large commuting population and one of the highest vehicle trip rates within the Greater Toronto Area. Faced with traffic congestion and delays on the main roads, people often look for quicker routes, which can lead to increased traffic volume, speeding and collisions on residential roads. This decreases the quality of life within a neighbourhood.

Design alternatives for new traffic calming measures are presented to area residents through Public Information Centres (PICs) as part of the public consultative process.

Recent Traffic Calming Assessments

Centre Street North - PIC presentation
Vodden Street West - PIC presentation
Royal Orchard Drive - PIC presentation

The City of Brampton held an online Public Information Centre meeting from August 10 – 24, 2020. This online forum provided area residents with the opportunity to learn about the project and be involved in shaping the neighbourhood.

Area residents were asked to provide their feedback on the preferred traffic calming solution before October 5, 2020. Thank you to everyone who returned their comments.

Purpose of the Neighbourhood Traffic Calming Assessment

Engage affected residents and respond to concerns about traffic in residential neighbourhoods
Assess and evaluate existing traffic behaviour
Implement measures, if required, to reduce speeds, discourage traffic, and minimize conflicts.
Review active transportation opportunities
Increase the safety of neighbourhoods: alter traffic patterns and/or driver behaviour to improve traffic safety
Improve the livability of neighbourhoods: minimize negative impacts (e.g. noise, pollution, traffic volume) to uphold and restore the sense of community.
Restore streets to their designed function: maintain the intended functions of local roads (to accommodate low to moderate volumes of traffic traveling at low speeds) and residential collector roads (to distribute traffic between residential local roads and main roads)
Preserve access and minimize impact to emergency service, public transit and maintenance providers: planning and consideration to not negatively impact these
services
Promote public participation and community support: encourage resident communication and feedback in order to define a livable solution
Support Active Transportation Master Plan: Implement possible cycling and walking infrastructure

Criteria used to Evaluate Traffic Calming Measures

Speed reduction effectiveness

The speed at (or below) which 85% of drivers are travelling should correspond much more closely with the posted speed limit.

Maintenance/construction costs

Provide the most cost-effective design, while achieving overall objectives

Priority routes

Consider minimum road width clearance and accessibility requirements for emergency and service vehicles, including Police, Fire, EMS, Transit, snow removal vehicles, etc.

Residential parking/bike lanes

Maintain on-street parking and/or provide bicycle facilities (signed routes, sharrows, bike lanes)

Operational concerns

Ensure ease of maintenance for street cleaning and proper drainage

Current Implementation

The following areas have been identified and approved for implementing traffic calming measures in 2021. Based on the public consultation process, the majority of area residents support the implementation of physical and non-physical traffic calming measures. These interventions are expected to reduce cut-through traffic and excessive speeding:

Speed cushion and bicycle lanes will be installed on Centre Street North between Queen Street and Williams Parkway
Speed cushion and urban shoulders will be installed on Vodden Street West between Isabella Street and Williams Parkway
Speed cushion and bicycle lanes will be installed on Royal Orchard Drive between Williams Parkway and Bovaird Drive

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an urban shoulder?: An urban shoulder is a space, delineated by an edge line that a cyclist may choose to ride in instead of riding in the vehicular shared curb lane where dedicated cycling facilities are not provided. An urban shoulder is not an alternative to a dedicated cycling facility.
What is a bike lane?: A bike lane is a dedicated portion of the roadway with pavement markings and signage exclusively for people riding bikes. Bike lanes make it easier for bicycles and vehicles to share the road. They also cut down on conflicts between cyclists and drivers, making streets safer for everyone.
What is the difference between an urban shoulder and a bike lane?: Urban shoulders and bike lanes both designate a portion of the roadway with pavement markings designed for a wide range of non-motorized road users, including cyclists, pedestrians and in-line skaters.

The main difference between the two options is that urban shoulders allow for on-street parking where bike lanes do not.
How do pavement markings decrease vehicle speeds?: Studies have shown that vehicle speeds are relative to the width of the travel lanes. Narrower travel lanes tend to promote lower vehicle speeds because motorists are less comfortable travelling at high speeds.
Why not just install more all-way stops?: The primary function of an all-way stop is to control the right-of-way at an intersection. All-way stops are ineffective at deterring vehicle speed. Studies have shown that unwarranted all-way stops have increased vehicle speeds between stop signs in some cases. Motorists attempt to make up the time they have lost at the stop signs and accelare to higher speeds.

The installation of unwarranted all-way stops can create additional noise and pollution while contributing to reduced stop sign compliance, rolling stops and potentially unsafe conditions for pedestrians crossing at the intersection. With these negative consequences in mind all-way stops are generally not implemented as a traffic calming device.
Why not install speed bumps all along the road?: Various traffic calming measures are introduced on this corridor to have a cost-effective design and achieve overall objectives of this project.
What happens next if these measures do not work?: We reassess the corridor after implementation of traffic calming measures. If the desired outcome is not achieved, additional countermeasures will be implemented.
What do you do with the feedback you receive?: We assess all the received feedback and thoroughly review each suggestion to determine if it is feasible to implement.