Lately in St. John's there's been a lot of talk about traffic.
There are more cars on the road, the drive to work seems longer,
and the news seems to have more stories about accidents and
Let's start with the first issue that comes to mind when we hear
the word "traffic": namely, that there's too much of it. With lots
of new development in the region, we've got more vehicles on the
road, and we're starting to see the first signs of gridlock and
This issue gets everyone frustrated -- no one likes to sit in
traffic when they're trying to get from one place to the other.
Cities try to alleviate this kind of problem by getting traffic to
flow better. Roads are widened, special lanes are added, and new
highways like the Outer Ring Road are built.
Accidents are the second major issue we tend to think of when we
talk about traffic. It's one thing to free up traffic so that it
flows more freely, but when cars and trucks are moving faster,
they're more likely to hit things with fatal results.
What causes accidents? Lots of different things: impaired
driving; inexperienced drivers; distractions like texting or
adjusting the radio; poor road conditions due to ice, rain, or snow
storms; wildlife; and many other factors.
But the main issue in the news today is speeding. Let's take a
First, it's important to distinguish between two types of
speeders. There are some who wilfully disrespect and ignore the
legal speed limit. These are the drivers who need law enforcement
to show them that speeding has consequences (hopefully before that
consequence is a collision).
Then there are those -- likely in the majority -- who drive
"faster than conditions dictate." When road conditions are less
than perfect (e.g., when it's raining or it's dark), they sometimes
drive at a speed that doesn't give them enough time to react should
something happen on the road in front of them. Maybe they're not
paying attention to the speedometer as they talk on the phone, or
maybe they haven't noticed the road has suddenly become a whole lot
This second group of drivers are those who are most likely to
respond to reminders or warnings about speeding. These are the
folks for whom education -- like road condition reports and speed
limit signage -- go a long way.
Enforcement and education are two ways that we can help reduce
speeding, but there are other ways that we can make traffic safer
for everyone. Many of these ideas involve changing the design of
our roads to better manage the flow of traffic, a strategy called
Traffic calming measures are things like speed bumps and
roundabouts -- they force drivers to pay attention to the road and
alter their speed or driving behaviour. Speed bumps are usually
what's offered as a solution to residential street speeding, but
are they really the best approach?
There are lots of options for traffic calming, and the city is
starting to explore them. These include different versions of the
speed bump called "speed humps" or "traffic tables," which are
raised sections of road that aren't as jarring as speed bumps.
Other options include modifying the landscape of the street,
like making lanes narrower or building curb extensions. These
changes in the environment make us more attentive as drivers, and
so we naturally adjust our speed to safe levels.
There are many other ways that we can help calm traffic, and the
staff at St. John's City Hall are testing a lot of them right now
on Old Topsail Road. So take a quick scan of
this readable document about traffic calming from Sunnyvale
California, or search online to find out what other cities are
doing to help curb speeding.
What do you think? Have you noticed speeding or other traffic
issues near your home or on your drive to work? What solutions do
you think are most likely to reduce speeding in our city?