The Town has received an increased number of requests to study speeding in neighborhoods and make changes to street designs in 2023. We agree! That’s why the Town Engineering, Transportation Planning, Street Operations, St. Vrain & Boulder Valley School Districts, Rocky Mountain Fire, and the Police Department are jointly launching a process to create the Neighborhood Speed Management Program (NSMP) with Erie residents.

Did you know that driving just a few miles-per-hour below or at the posted speed limit in a neighborhood can make a difference in crash reduction and severity? This can result in lower fatality rates, reduced traffic noise, better conditions for your neighbors walking with pets, and reduce the Town of Erie’s annual infrastructure costs for street maintenance. For more information visit the external links on recommended best practices and research:

• CDC’s report on pedestrian safety
• AAA’s research on impact speeds
• Institute of Transportation Engineers
• National Association of City Transportation Officials

The Neighborhood Speed Management Program is part of the Town of Erie's commitment to transportation safety and neighborhood livability, aimed at improving quality of life. The program is a structured system of policies that allocate resources and apply a combination of education, enforcement, engineering, and evaluation to mitigate the effects of speeding traffic while considering equity and emergency response.

By implementing these measures, vehicle speeds on residential streets can be reduced, enhancing safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Slower traffic also encourages more walking and biking, making neighborhood streets safer and more accessible for all users.

How the Program Works

Town staff collaborate with residents to address speeding concerns through traffic calming measures, selected based on resident support and feedback. While some streets may be included in broader Town initiatives, most projects will originate from resident requests.

Residents, neighborhood groups, or homeowners' associations can submit concerns about speeding traffic through the online application process. Town staff will evaluate successful applications to determine whether the project can be addressed within available resources or if it requires capital project consideration.

The program specifically targets speeding traffic on residential streets and does not address issues such as high traffic volumes, traffic signals, or pedestrian crossings. Requests outside the program’s scope will be directed to the appropriate Town staff for review.

Eligibility Criteria

Due to limited staff and funding, program resources are reserved for significant speeding concerns. Applications that pass the project identification phase must meet the following criteria:

• The roadway must be entirely within the Town of Erie. Projects extending beyond Town boundaries are not eligible.
• More than 50 percent of adjacent land use must be designated as residential, a public park, or school property (public or private).
• The roadway must be classified as a local or collector road. Arterials and highways, heavily used by emergency responders, are not eligible.
• Applications must include signatures from either 10 households or 25 percent of the block’s households for each requested roadway segment.
• The roadway must have an 85th percentile speed at least 5 mph over the speed limit, based on data collection.
• The roadway must have an average daily traffic volume of at least 500 vehicles.

Project Prioritization

Eligible projects undergo a prioritization process to determine funding requests for the following construction season. Projects that are not funded in a given year will be reconsidered in subsequent years.

Projects are prioritized based on:

• The extent to which the 85th percentile speed exceeds the speed limit.
• Traffic volume, indicating potential vehicle-pedestrian conflict.
• History of speed-related crashes.
• Proximity to key pedestrian areas, such as schools, parks, playgrounds, recreation centers, places of worship, and neighborhood commercial areas.
• Inclusion in the Town of Erie’s Transportation Master Plan.
• Existing pedestrian and bike facilities, including sidewalks, pathways, and marked crosswalks.

Each year, the Town funds and constructs as many prioritized projects as the budget allows.