The City of Buffalo is implementing traffic calming measures in various parts of the city, in an effort to make neighborhoods safer for everybody. The new joint traffic-safety initiative is being instituted by the Department of Public Works and Buffalo Police.
Mayor Byron Brown and North District Council Member Joseph Golombek, Jr. recently announced that the addition of portable electronic speed read-out signs would be instrumental in curbing chronic speeders. The City identified speeding “hot spots” by measuring the number of complaints made to the 311 Call and Resolution Line.
In addition to the signs, police will also be stepping up enforcement in those designated areas. It just goes to show that placing calls to the 311 Call and Resolution Line does yield results in some cases, so keep making those calls Buffalo. From missing trees to drug deals, The City is listening and acting, as we can see in this particular case. The more calls that come in, the more these issues are on The City’s radar.
In total, the City has ordered 6 speed read-out signs and 10 temporary speed humps, which will be placed in strategic locations citywide based on requests from residents.
“Since the beginning of our Administration, we’ve been committed to taking action to further enhance roadway safety,” said Mayor Brown. “We need to address speeding in the city. We’ve been hearing that a lot from different neighborhoods and the speed read-out signs we are announcing today will target areas known for chronic speeding in a continued effort to make the streets of Buffalo safer, not only for drivers and their passengers, but also for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.”
The City has ordered its own speed read-out signs and materials, which are being delivered. In the meantime, it is borrowing useful items from the NYS Thruway in order to get the ball rolling. Hopefully The City will continue to be even more progressive in coming years, by incorporating more bike lanes, crosswalks, bumpouts, sharrows, etc., as warranted, when overhauling urban streets. There is plenty of room for improvement at this time.
North District Council Member Golombek, Jr. stated, “I am happy to be working with Mayor Brown and the Department of Public Works and Buffalo Police on this very important issue. They really understand the uniqueness of each neighborhood, and because of that, we have been able to tailor the plan in a way that best addresses the needs of individual streets. One size does not fit all when it comes to traffic calming and we have a great team right now that really understands that.”