Definitions of traffic calming vary, but they all share the goal of reducing vehicle speeds, improving safety, and enhancing quality of life. A comprehensive traffic calming program includes the three "Es," engineering, enforcement, and education.
Engineering
A structural modification is made to the roadway environment that encourages vehicles to drive at reduced vehicle speeds. St. Paul has implemented engineering measures such as bump outs, traffic circles and speed humps as part of our traffic calming program. To read more about traditional traffic calming methods click here.
The idea behind traffic calming design is that you can enhance a city’s quality of life by slowing vehicle speeds and increasing driver awareness of pedestrians and other vehicles. While the more familiar traffic calming measures (such as those pictured above) have all proven effective at the task of reducing vehicle speed, they often lack visual appeal.
Enforcement
Increased levels of law enforcement may encourage motorists to drive at the posted speeds and penalize those who do not. This approach is effective when consistently high levels of enforcement are implemented, but is a costly response to the problem.
Education
Public education can be an effective tool to help change the attitude and behavior of drivers. Educational efforts aim at addressing the possibility that residents of the affected neighborhood and the city are not attentive to the speeds that they are driving at and that modifications of their own driving behavior may solve the problem.
An Art Show on the Boulevard?
Steven Woodward, the City’s former Artist in Residence, approached Public Works to design new traffic calming “art signs” that serve the traffic calming mission, yet provide a pleasing visual aesthetic. The Art Signs are an attempt at educating drivers that they are driving on city street in a residential area and the driver should obey the speed limit. Often drivers become accustomed to existing signing and conditions on a street and speeds tend to increase.
The art signs will provide a change of conditions and hopefully a reminder to drivers to that there are residents, school children, bicyclists, and pedestrians which share the public right of way. The hope is that this novel approach will educate drivers on the streets where signs are placed, but also bring a citywide awareness of speeding and driver behavior issues. The art signs are not intended as substitute for standard traffic regulatory signs; those will remain in place.
City residents should also bear in mind that this project constitutes an experiment on the City's part. Accordingly, the signs will only be posted on select streets for a period not to exceed ten weeks. A period of evaluation will follow the posting of the signs during which Public Works Engineers will determine whether the signs are effective traffic calming devices.
For inspiration for this project, Steven relied heavily on the ideas of David Engwicht, who has visited St. Paul twice over the past few years. To learn more about Mr. Engwicht's work, click here.
Current Locations
The art signs have been taken down for the year. No date has been set for display of signs for 2010.
Cost of the Program
So as not to burden the City's operating budget, the cost of this program is being underwritten by the City's non-profit partner, Public Art Saint Paul, drawing additional support from a STAR (Sale Tax Revitalization) Program grant.
To learn more about Public Art Saint Paul and its support of the Artist in Residence program click here. For more information about the STAR program click here.
To hear more about the Art Signs project and how it relates to traffic calming, call our Traffic Calming hotline at (651)-266-6216. You can also email Paul St. Martin, Public Works Traffic Engineer, at if you have comments in regard to the project.
Channel 18 Special Report
To see the video "The Art of Traffic Calming" featuring interviews with Mr. Woodward and Mr. St. Martin, click here. This video is currently airing on Saint Paul's Channel 18 cable access channel.
A Sneak Preview
Here are some of the art sign designs that have been approved for display.
For more information about Steven Woodward click here.
