Traffic Division

Street Address
209 Water Street
Johnson City, TN  37601

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 2150
Johnson City, TN  37605

Phone: (423) 975-2732

Email: anthonytodd@johnsoncitytn.org

Traffic Calming

Johnson City’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program

 

In 1994 Johnson City became one of the first jurisdictions in Tennessee to develop a traffic calming program for neighborhood streets.  The program has grown to many neighborhoods throughout the city and has been a very popular program.  Citizen input in the program has always been the central emphasis of the city to ensure that the neighborhood is more than just involved; citizens must pursue the program in their neighborhood or no action will be taken.

 

                 

Traffic calming utilizes physical changes to a street to force motorists to drive in a manner appropriate for a neighborhood.  Residents often complain that they are afraid to walk along the streets in their neighborhood (even in neighborhoods where there are sidewalks) or allow their children to play in the front yard for fear that a vehicle that is moving too fast will leave the roadway and strike them or their children.  Some neighborhoods have also benefited from a reduction of through traffic.

 

Traffic calming is not a program to promote children playing in the street.  Anyone near the road at any time assumes some risk from an errant vehicle, even in neighborhoods where traffic calming has been installed.  Managing those risks and maintaining a heightened awareness of vehicles along the street can produce a more “livable” environment inside neighborhoods.

 

                  

Efforts are being made at the Planning Commission level to calm traffic without the need for retrofitting traffic calming into a neighborhood after it has been completed.  By using preplanned traffic calming, the developer has more options than are available in established neighborhoods.

 

Johnson City has a policy approved by the City Commission with eligibility requirements and design parameters that must be met.  The current program includes two measures.  The most popular, due to the greater flexibility of placement, is speed humps.  The second, which is limited to intersection placement is the traffic circle.  Both devices have been shown to reduce speeds and/or traffic volumes through neighborhoods.

 

Detailed information on the parameters and steps for traffic calming and the necessary forms are available in “pdf” format by choosing the appropriate link on this page.

Click Here for More Documents and Information on Traffic Calming.