How do Home Zones differ from other traffic calming techniques, such as speed bumps?
The Home Zone model offers a holistic solution to the problems associated with traffic in residential neighborhoods. Home Zones aim not only to curtail unsafe speed but to convey the message that the street is an extension of people’s homes and cars are guests. Streets are designed to be shared places for people and drivers through gateways, shared surfaces, traffic calming measures and landscaping. In addition to physical traffic calming measures, the visual evidence of neighborhood activity helps slow drivers down, such as the presence of pedestrians, bicyclists, playground equipment, and parked cars. Design changes alone will not result in a Home Zone – it is the collaborative efforts of a community, combined with physical changes to the residential environment, which create a safe area for active living.
