Are you tired of people speeding through your neighborhood near where the kids are playing? Are you frustrated by the fact that drivers on your street completely ignore your personal “Slow Down!” sign in your front yard?

Well, a brand-new initiative from the City of Greensboro might be just what the doctor ordered.

On Monday, June 24, the Greensboro Department of Transportation launched a program that’s meant to help make neighborhoods safer.

City officials describe the “Neighborhood Traffic Management Program” as follows: [The program] partners residents, neighborhood associations and homeowner’s associations with Greensboro Department of Transportation engineers to create tailored plans to reduce motor vehicle speeding and make residential streets safer for all users.”

And the city is taking requests. You can apply to have your neighborhood or street checked out for any safety concerns. The deadline for applications is Saturday, Aug. 31.

Residents, neighborhood associations and homeowner’s associations that would like to apply to have their residential streets considered for “traffic calming efforts” may apply online at www.GSONTMP.org.

The applications will be judged on a needs-based analysis that takes into account things like speeding, number of cars passing through, and traffic accidents that have occurred in the area in the last three years. City traffic engineers will also study pedestrian and bicycling needs as well as proximity to elementary and middle schools.

For those accepted for the program, city traffic engineers will work with residents to develop a plan that fits that neighborhood’s specific needs.

The highest-need areas will be addressed first by the city’s Department of Transportation.

If you want to learn more about the new initiative, you can attend Traffic Management Plan Overview and Application Workshops on either July 8, July 23 or August 31.

The city will also help you with the application process during open office hours in August. (Those hours are 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Tuesdays, August 6 – 27 at the Development Services Conference Room on the UG Level of the Melvin Municipal Office Building at 300 W. Washington St. in downtown Greensboro.  During those hours they can also accommodate Zoom drop-in calls.)

You can visit www.GSONTMP.org to get more information and apply online.        Greensboro Department of Transportation Director Hanna Cockburn is encouraging those who feel that their streets and neighborhoods are unsafe to apply.

“Throughout the city, diverse neighborhoods come to GDOT with similar traffic concerns and speeding issues that make their residential streets feel unsafe,” Cockburn said this week. “With the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, we’ll tackle this problem together. I encourage residents to collaborate with their neighbors to develop their application, as community involvement will be a critical piece of this program.”

Some traffic calming measures may include the installation of mini-roundabouts, elevated crosswalks and, of course, the ever-popular speed humps.

This program is meant for two-lane roads lined with residential properties and a speed limit of between 25 to 30 miles per hour.

City officials note that it isn’t for larger, higher-traffic roadways.

Also, all recommended changes will be reviewed to make sure they don’t interfere with the ability of police, fire or emergency medical services to reach a neighborhood quickly in case of an emergency.

The Traffic Management Program Workshops will take place….

  • 2 p.m., July 8, via Zoom. This meeting will be recorded and shared online on the web page for those who can’t take part at that time.
  • 4 p.m. July 23, Barber Park Event Center at 1502 Barber Park Dr. in Greensboro.
  • 10 a.m. August 31, Central Library in the Nussbaum Room at 219 N. Church St. in Greensboro.

There are also Zoom options for taking part in the July 23 and August 31 meeting if you can’t make it in person.