No matter where you live in Scottsdale, every neighborhood has concerns about traffic. It may not only be a safety issue, but a quality of life issue too.

For the past few years, Scottsdale’s Transportation Department has been working with neighborhoods throughout the city to address traffic concerns on a case by
case basis through its Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP).

The NTMP is separated into a two-step process; a Speed Awareness Program and traffic calming phase. In order for a neighborhood to be considered for the traffic calming phase, residents must first complete the Speed Awareness Program. 

Scottsdale’s Transportation Commission recently revised the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP) at their Oct. 2010 meeting.  The main revisions to the NTMP include policies to:

• Criteria to qualify for traffic calming
• Neighborhood support phase
• Exceptions to the policy
• Removal of devices
• Created an additional section on prioritizing new projects

Also, projects will now only be heard by the Transportation Commission twice each year.

Read or download the updated NTMP policy.

There are still two ways to demonstrate Neighborhood Support for a project:

1. Through a series of neighborhood meetings or

• Download the flyer describing the process for the neighborhood meeting route here.

2. By circulating a petition

Download the flyer describing the process if a petition is circulated here.

To read about previous project updates, click here.

CURRENT PROJECTS

68th Street (Shea Blvd to Cholla St.)
Camelback Road (82nd St. to Granite Reef Road)
68th Street (Cactus Road to Cholla Street)
Pinnacle Vista Drive (56th to 64th streets)
Granite Reef Road & 86th Street

SPEED AWARENESS PHASE

The Speed Awareness phase of NTMP is implemented by the city’s Citizen and Neighborhood Resource Department, which works closely with the Police and Transportation Departments.

This phase focuses on educating drivers and raising awareness throughout the neighborhood about traffic concerns, usually speeding and cut-through traffic.
Some of the strategies used to help educate drivers and raise awareness include:

• Holding neighborhood meetings to discuss concerns
• Providing speed awareness trailers equipped with driver feedback on speeds
• Citizen radar tracking – residents monitor and track traffic in their area
• Installing neighborhood signs provided by the city

Sometimes, this type of heightened awareness is all it takes for most Scottsdale neighborhoods, but some areas may need the help of the Police Department to
monitor and issue citations.

Learn more about the Speed Awareness Program or call to get started at 480-312-CARS (2277).

TRAFFIC CALMING PHASE

After completing the Speed Awareness phase, if residents still feel their quality of life is impacted by traffic, they can fill out a Neighborhood Traffic Management Interest form. This form must be signed by at least ten different residents along the same street.

Once the form is completed and approved, the request is placed on a list for traffic evaluation. Speed and volume data is collected by the Transportation Department and compared to the city’s approved criteria for traffic calming, provided there is support in the neighborhood.

If the data collected meets the city’s criteria, then the street qualifies for possible installation of traffic calming devices. In most cases, the city pays for the devices.

To determine if your neighbors support the installation of traffic calming devices you have two options:

• Through a series of neighborhood meetings, or
• By obtaining signatures from 70% of the area’s most affected residents on a petition.

PREVIOUS UPDATES

As a follow up to the September 2009 City Council Study Session on the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP), the Transportation Commission is undergoing a review and update of the current NTMP policy.  The first of several presentations was given at the July 15, 2010 Transportation Commission meeting.  This presentation included:

• An overview of the adopted NTMP qualifying criteria for traffic calming projects
• A summary of the current program. Since the policy was adopted in November 2007: 17 streets did not qualify and 13 streets were allowed to move forward (6 of these were as granted exceptions to the qualifying criteria)
• The Transportation Department has worked with over 50 neighborhoods to address speeding and cut through traffic concerns through the Speed Awareness Program and/or the traffic calming phase
• The original program goals for reducing speeds and cut through traffic have been met
• Speeds have decreased on average by 11 percent and volumes have decreased on average by 14 percent with the number of vehicles travelling over 35 mph being significantly reduced
• Some suggested areas of improvement to the current NTMP policy were discussed including: modifying the qualifying criteria, clarifying resident involvement in the Neighborhood Support phase, granting of exceptions to qualifying criteria, and prioritization of projects.
• A second presentation and further discussion regarding possible changes to the policy will take place this fall.

On Tuesday, September 15, 2009 the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program was discussed at the City Council Study Session.  The following items were discussed:

• Council noted the Transportation Commission granted exceptions to the criteria for six of the twelve approved projects.  Concern was expressed that the higher than average number of granted exceptions indicates the criteria and policies should be reviewed.
• Transportation Director Dave Meinhart reported staff has been collecting data on all current traffic management projects and will provide written information to the Council.  Staff will be working with the Transportation Commission to review the data and explore revising the program with policies and criteria.
• Council asked for clarification regarding public participation and meeting notification processes. Transportation Commission Chair Howard explained that Transportation staff advises applicants that they can participate in public meetings or submit petitions signed by neighbors.
• Council asked if there was a process for removing traffic calming devices.  Chair Howard replied that process for removing traffic control devices is the same for installing the devices.  He added the Commission would probably evaluate the physical evidence to determine if other traffic calming measures might be used if a traffic calming device was removed from an area.

For general questions on the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, call 480-312-7696 or contact one of our Traffic Engineer

Click here for a printable brochure of this information.