Hamilton uses radar signs and speed humps to combat high crash rate.
Combatting Collisions
Hamilton, ON uses SafePace speed signs as well as rubber speed humps to combat the city’s almost 8,000 annual crashes on its streets.
The City
Located on the western tip of Lake Ontario, Hamilton, ON is a densely populated Canadian port city. The 9thlargest metropolis in Canada, Hamilton is home to a plethora of industrial plants, a wide array of neighborhoods, and hundreds of schools. The city is working to combat the 7,900 annual collisions on its streets and to address ongoing speed-related complaints from residents. Realizing that constant police enforcement was not realistic, the city wanted solutions that would calm residents and keep streets safe.
The Challenge
Hamilton’s busy streets and speeding drivers are the cause of close to 8,000 crashes each year. Residents in its many neighborhoods complained of speeding vehicles while parents expressed concerns for dangerous driving in school zones. While many of these concerns turn out to be substantiated, Hamilton traffic professionals found that some were not.
The city realized that addressing these issues with constant traffic studies and police enforcement was not feasible. They wanted solutions that would addressspeeding concerns, keep residents happy, and make Hamilton’s streets safer without creating too much extra work for the streets department.
Hamilton needed solutions for its roads that could:
- Alert drivers to slow down by displaying their speeds along with the posted speed limit
- Be used for permanent use or rotated from location to location for temporary use
- Identify where speeding was actually an issue and where it was only a perceived issue
- Offer insider info to interested residents on who is speeding and when
- Operate with minimal maintenance and be programmable remotely
- Offer the option for alternative powering options
The Solution
The Traffic Logix SafePace 100 and 450 signs equipped with SafePace Cloud, along with Traffic Logix rubber speed humps, offered the multi-pronged approach to safer streets that Hamilton, ON was looking for. The city has already installed 80 of the SafePace signs on residential roads and in and around school zones, all connected to the SafePace cloud. Most are operated on solar power but the city is also trying out AC power. Speed humps are installed across the city as well to slow drivers and help ensure safer streets.
- The compact, entry-level SafePace 100 signs are purchased by the city and distributed to city councilors based on the needs in their ward.
- When and where to place the signs is left completely up to their discretion, minimizing the city’s work andmaximizing local impact.
- Once locations are chosen, the city installs and monitors the signs.
- Brightly lit LEDs display driver speeds in 11” digits while a posted speed limit reminds drivers of the speeds they should be driving at
- The SafePace 450 signs are used on city streets that are determined by Hamilton traffic engineers to be problematic or a cause of significant residential concerns.
- The signs are left in place for 2 months and then moved to new locations.
- Data is collected by the sign for the city to assess when and where speeding issues are a concern
- While many streets have shown that perceived speeds were lower than actual speeds, the signs have been successful in alleviating neighborhood speeding concerns.
- Brightly lit LEDs display driver speeds in full size 15” digits while a posted speed limit reminds drivers of the speeds they should be driving at
- The SafePace cloud offers remote management for all of Hamilton’s signs and allows for remote data download and the ability to generate a variety of reports for analysis.
- A public web portal is being developed to give Hamilton residents the ability to see top or average speeds on any sign in the city
- The Traffic Logix rubber speed humps are installed around the city on roads where physical traffic calming is determined to be appropriate.
- They compel drivers to slow down to meet local speed limits.
- Constructed of recycled rubber, the speed humps are an environmentally friendly solution.
- Embedded with highly reflective highway tape, the humps are easy to see, even at night.
The Benefits
The SafePace signs and speed humps have been met with enthusiasm by the city’s traffic professionals and its residents. Simply alerting drivers to slow down creates drivers awareness and reduces speeding, creating safer neighborhood roads. Residents are pleased that their concerns are being addressed, including reducing speeds and the ability to login and see speed data themselves. The city traffic department is happy they can monitor speed data and manage the signs remotely right from their desks. As Traffic Operations Superintendent David Ferguson noted, the signs are “surprisingly successful at slowing drivers down.”
The SafePace signs and speed humps have:
- Limited the need for police enforcement as signs improve awareness while speed humps slow drivers down. Speed data can direct the city to specific areas as well as times of day or week when further enforcement may be necessary.
- The portable SafePace 450 signs are being installed throughout the city and relocated from street to street while the smaller SafePace 100 signs are being chosen for placement where they’re needed most by city councilors. The rubber speed humps are installed throughout the city as well and can be removed and relocated as well.
- The ability to monitor the signs remotely, download sign data, and even offer residents a portal into speed trends allows for dynamic, smart speed management.
