Traffic Calming
Sandy Springs’ convenient location in the metro area can sometimes have a negative impact on neighborhoods when residential streets become alternative routes for drivers looking to avoid traffic on major thoroughfares.
Traffic calming techniques may offer ways to help restore neighborhood streets by influencing motorists to drive more slowly, to drive with more care, and in some cases, to divert to more appropriate routes.
Traffic calming techniques are generally classified as physical devices or psychological devices. Physical devices interrupt the flow of traffic by changing the street’s direction or by breaking the road into smaller visual units using techniques such as chicanes, splitter islands, roundabouts, mini-roundabouts and traffic circles. Psychological devices change the psychological feel of the street using different surface types, vertical landscaping, or narrowed lanes create space for a more pedestrian-friendly environment. These changes give motorists clues that they are no longer on a major roadway, but are in a different environment that is shared with pedestrians and bicyclists.
