Starting January 22nd, the City of Palm Coast will begin implementing a Traffic Calming Pilot Study, an initiative prioritized by City Council to enhance roadway safety and improve neighborhood quality of life.
The study’s first phase will begin on January 22, 2025, with the installation of speed cushions on Cimmaron Drive and Florida Park Drive. These streets were selected based on the 2024 Residential Speed Study findings, which identified these locations as areas with speeding concerns and crash risks.
Additional traffic-calming treatments will be implemented in various locations across the city as the Traffic Calming Pilot Program progresses. Chicanes, which create slight curves in the roadway to encourage drivers to slow down, will be installed on both Farmsworth Drive and Forest Grove Drive. Lane narrowing, a method that reduces the width of driving lanes to naturally decrease vehicle speeds and improve safety, will be applied to Woodbury Drive and Sea Trail. These measures are tailored to address the specific traffic concerns of each roadway, enhancing safety and improving neighborhood livability.
The installation dates for Farmsworth Drive, Forest Grove Drive, Woodbury Drive, and Sea Trail will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
Once these traffic-calming devices are installed, residents can share their thoughts on how these measures impact safety and traffic flow in their neighborhoods through a dedicated feedback area on the City’s website. The city will also utilizing these surveys by sending them to residents in these pilot areas using geo-fencing software and the resident’s email address associated with their utility account.
This webpage will provide regular updates on the progress of the Traffic Calming Pilot Program and serve as a central hub for residents to offer input on the devices installed at each location. Community feedback will be collected and shared with City Council Members to determine whether the devices will remain in place or be removed after the program concludes in April 2025. This collaborative approach ensures the program addresses community concerns and preferences while improving neighborhood safety.
“This program is a top priority for the City Council because it’s all about making our neighborhoods safer and more enjoyable for everyone,” said Mayor Mike Norris. “Please take the time to answer the surveys about how these traffic-calming treatments work so that we can partner together on finding the best path forward.”
The City of Palm Coast is dedicated to installing these traffic-calming devices efficiently and with safety as our top priority. We greatly appreciate the community’s understanding and participation as we work to enhance roadway safety for everyone. Residents are encouraged to visit the Traffic Calming Pilot Study webpage to share their feedback on the program and learn more about our ongoing efforts to make Palm Coast neighborhoods safer and more vibrant.
Thomas Rivera says
Having come from a much larger city where some of these measures were enacted I can say from experience that the narrowing DOES NOT WORK and caused more accidents as drivers intentionally sped up to get ahead of the car or vehicle in the continuation lane. BAD IDEA Louisville had to go back, remove barriers, etc.
JimboXYZ says
Not hard to see what the problem is, the Parkways at the North & South ends that flow East to West are pretty much 45 mph to Florida Park Drive & then once the residents turn onto that road, they aren’t willing to slow it down to the 30 mph that Florida Park Drive is as an end to end residential street. They can’t control themselves, so this has to be the solution for them.
Skibum says
I’m glad to hear that this pilot program is about to begin, and I will be interested in learning which method(s), if any, show positive results in calming traffic. My biggest concern is with the lane narrowing method that will be implemented in two locations. Many of our local streets already need to be shared with pedestrians and bicyclists due to a lack of sidewalks, so I’m of the opinion that this method should only be used where there are walkways along those streets to allow both pedestrians and those riding bicycles to do so safely and out of traffic.
celia pugliese says
Thank You Mayor Norris, Councilmen Ray Stevens and Vice Pontieri. It was time that our residents road front and adjacent to Florida Park Drive Cimarron and any other street needed have now safety and quality of life preserved in Palm Coast!.
We been asking for 15 years for these traffic calming items, Resident Steven Carr at the helm of the Friends of Florida Park Drive group won this battle. I am sorry for those excellent neighbors that moved away (Mary Kay and others) over speeding unmonitored traffic ,before we were able to achieve this goal, you also lobbied hard for this! TY.