Traffic Calming Implementation Process

The first step is to submit a petition signed by other residents on your street. A minimum of 60 per cent of households within the petition boundaries must be in favour of traffic calming in order to proceed to the next stage.

Email trafficcalming@oakville.ca with your address and contact details to receive a petition template and boundaries for the petition area. Once we receive your petition, we'll review to determine if it is eligible to proceed and will provide further instructions within two weeks of receipt of your request. 

• If the petition does not meet the 60 per cent threshold, the request does not proceed further.
• If the petition meets the threshold, it moves to Step 2 of the traffic calming process.
• Staff will provide the next steps and timelines to the petition representative within two weeks.

A speed study is required to determine if a street meets the required thresholds to qualify for implementing traffic calming measures. Speed studies are typically conducted in the spring or fall. If the request reaches step one in November, the speed study will be conducted in the spring of the following year.

In order to qualify for traffic calming, the traffic conditions of the street must meet one of the following criteria:

1. How fast the vehicles travel on the street

A speed study is conducted to determine if the 85th percentile speed is more than the thresholds listed below. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at which 85 per cent of vehicles are travelling at or below. This is an industry standard used by transportation professionals across Canada.

This means that 15 per cent of motorists on the street would have to be driving more than:

• 5 km/hour over a posted speed limit of 40 km/hour
• 6 km/hour over a posted speed limit of 50 km/hour
• 7 km/hour over a posted speed limit of 60 km/hour

Staff will provide results of the speed study to the petition representative within two weeks of completion of the speed study. 

• If the 85th percentile speed is below the threshold, the petition representative will be notified that the roadway does not meet the speed threshold criteria for traffic calming. The request for traffic calming does not proceed further. 
• If the 85th percentile speed is above the threshold, the roadway qualifies for traffic calming and the petition representatives are notified about the next steps and timelines.

Or:

2. How many vehicles travel on the street?

• For local streets, there needs to be more than 1,500 vehicles travelling on the street per day
• For minor collector streets, there needs to be more than 5,000 vehicles per day

Streets with less than this do not qualify for traffic calming. These volume thresholds do not apply to arterial and major collector roads.

To check if a speed survey has already been conducted on your street, please review the Residential Speed Survey map.

At the design step, town staff will develop a traffic calming design feasible for the street and consult with area residents on the final design to seek feedback on whether they agree to proceed or not proceed to the construction step. Broader community residents are provided two weeks to offer a response. 

• If less than 30 per cent of surveyed households respond, no further action is taken, and the request for traffic calming does not proceed further. It may be requested again in two years.
• If more than 30 per cent of households surveyed respond, and more than 50 per cent of the respondents are in favour of proceeding to the construction step, the petition representative is notified about next steps and timelines.

Construction notices are sent to immediately affected residents prior to the start of traffic calming construction. 

Construction of traffic calming measures typically occurs between May and November. If the request reaches step four in December, construction will begin the following spring or summer.