Hartford's Citywide Traffic Calming Master Plan is a National Award-Winner

Urban’s master plan for citywide traffic calming in Hartford, Connecticut, has received a National Recognition Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies as part of its Engineering Excellence Awards Program. Entries, which comprise the winners of state chapter contests across the country, are displayed in Washington, DC at the ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards Gala where they are judged for uniqueness and originality, and technical and economic and social value, among other criteria.

Urban’s plan represents the nation’s first citywide plan to slow traffic and encourage a multi-modal transportation environment for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles.

The project objectives were to:

• Develop traffic calming techniques to slow traffic to the desired speed limits.
• Enhance the character and physical environment of the study area.
• Create pedestrian and bicycle access and street crossings.
• Discourage traffic from cutting through residential areas.

Safety benefits are already being realized from traffic calming device deployments made to date. In a recent study, road diets or reductions in the number of travel lanes were shown to have reduced crash rates on some arterials in Hartford by as much as 57%.