Traffic Calming and Complete Streets Best Practices Toolbox
Study Overview
This project resulted in development of a Toolbox of planning principles and precepts for residential streets and local roads that reflects best practices. The Toolbox will apply to lower-speed (less than 40 mph) roads, streets functionally classified as “local” and will be based on consideration of safety and mobility of all users (i.e., motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, emergency responders), as well as environmental sustainability, economy of construction and maintenance, community cohesion, land use, and utility accommodation. Thus, the Toolbox and planning best practices reflect and are consistent with principles and recommendations for Complete Streets. The study started in August 2024 and was completed in March 2026.
The WestCOG Toolbox provides municipalities with a structured set of strategies for improving traffic safety and supporting multimodal transportation. It organizes solutions into two primary categories. The first category focuses on physical changes to streets, including traffic calming and geometric design measures that influence driver behavior. Examples include curb extensions, speed humps, raised crosswalks, lane reconfigurations, mini-roundabouts, bicycle facilities, and other treatments that reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety. These measures rely on “self-enforcing” design principles, meaning that the physical form of the street encourages drivers to operate at safer speeds rather than relying solely on enforcement.
The second category includes strategies beyond street design, such as policies, programs, and planning approaches that shape how streets function and how people travel. These strategies include Complete Streets policies, Safe Routes to School programs, access management, zoning and land use approaches, and other initiatives that support walkable communities and multimodal transportation networks. By combining infrastructure changes with supportive planning and policy strategies, municipalities can develop more comprehensive approaches to traffic safety and mobility.
The Toolbox was developed through a thorough research and engagement process. The project began with a regional inventory of existing municipal standards and a review of the best national and international practices. These insights were then adapted to the specific context of the WestCOG region, which includes a wide range of development patterns, from dense urban areas to rural communities. A Project Advisory Committee composed of municipal engineers, planners, and state transportation officials provided technical guidance throughout the process. In addition, focus groups were conducted with emergency responders, transportation operators, and other practitioners to ensure that the Toolbox reflects operational realities such as emergency access, maintenance considerations, and constraints posed by historic street networks.
Project Deliverables
Task 1 – Project Advisory Committee Meeting Materials (see below)
Task 2 – Status Quo Technical Memorandum
Task 3 – Best Practices Technical Memorandum
Task 4 – Completed Traffic Calming Toolbox (pending)
Project Advisory Committee
The Project Advisory Committee consisted of volunteer municipal staff from Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Norwalk and Redding, as well as WestCOG and CTDOT
PAC Meeting No. 1 – Presentation
PAC Meeting No. 1 – Meeting Summary
PAC Meeting No. 2 – Presentation
PAC Meeting No. 2 – Meeting Summary
PAC Meeting No. 3 – Presentation
PAC Meeting No. 3 – Meeting Summary
PAC Meeting No. 4 – Presentation
PAC Meeting No. 4 – Meeting Summary
Public Engagement
April 3, 2025 – Focus Group Meeting No. 1 – Presentation
April 3, 2025 – Focus Group Meeting No. 1 – Meeting Summary
June 16, 2025 – Focus Group Meeting No. 2 – Presentation
June 16, 2025 – Focus Group Meeting No. 2 – Meeting Summary
September 9, 2025 – WestCOG Technical Advisory Group (TAG) – Presentation
September 9, 2025 – WestCOG TAG – Discussion Summary
December 9, 2025 – Municipal/Community Toolbox Workshop – Presentation
December 9, 2025 – Municipal/Community Toolbox Workshop – Meeting Summary
February 19, 2026 – WestCOG Board Meeting – Presentation
OLD CONTENT:Overview
This project is intended to result in development of a Toolbox of planning principles and precepts for residential streets and local roads that reflects best practices. The Toolbox will apply to lower-speed (less than 40 mph) roads, streets functionally classified as “local” and will be based on consideration of safety and mobility of all users (i.e., motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, emergency responders), as well as environmental sustainability, economy of construction and maintenance, community cohesion, land use, and utility accommodation. Thus, the Toolbox and planning best practices will reflect and be consistent with principles and recommendations for Complete Streets.
Schedule
The study started in September 2024 and is scheduled for completion in December 2025.
Project Scope
WestCOG engaged Toole Design Group (TDG) to undertake development of the Traffic Calming and Complete Streets Best Practices Toolbox. The Study Scope consists of four main Tasks:
Task 1 – Project Management
Task 2 – Capture Regional Status Quo
Task 3 – Investigate and Evaluate Best Practices
Task 4 – Create Planning Best Practices and Planning Precepts
Stakeholders – Project Advisory Committee
A Project Advisory Committee (PAC) was established to guide the project. The PAC consists of municipal staff with transportation, school, emergency services and other responsibilities and includes representation from the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The PAC has met twice to date and will ultimately meet four times in the course of this project.
The first PAC Meeting took place in December 2024 and focused on the project background, goals and objectives. The project tasks and schedule and role of the PAC were reviewed, and open discussion took place. A summary of the meeting is available here.
Study Tasks and Activities
The first major task of the study was to inventory standards currently used by the region’s municipalities and prepare a summary. WestCOG staff assisted Toole Design Group in compiling standards and relevant regulations across WestCOG’s 18 municipalities. TDG then compiled the standards and organized them to identify considerations and requirements that inform street design and maintenance. The Regional Status Quo Memorandum was a deliverable for Task 2 of the study and was submitted to WestCOG and the PAC for review.
Gaps identified in this report helped to inform the effort on the next major task of the study. The Best Practices Review Memorandum was a deliverable for Task 3 of the study. This report summarized the successes and challenges of the current state of practice. Research was conducted into the current state of traffic calming guidance regionally and nationally. A number of Complete Streets and Traffic Calming measures were reviewed, pertaining to design elements, planning considerations, and treatments – physical, operational and programmatic – needed to support safer and more comfortable streets. This report was also submitted to WestCOG and the PAC for review. Findings of this report will inform the development of planning precepts for the Toolbox (Task 4).
The study team convened two focus groups to discuss traffic calming and operations from the perspective of specific user groups – traffic, public transportation, police, fire, human services, school operations, elderly transportation and emergency services. Numerous municipalities were represented. Those present discussed their experience with various traffic calming treatments and the issues they raised. The key takeaways from the Focus Group meetings were:
- The need to correct routing of traffic onto local roadways;
- Development of treatments for historic and/or narrow roadways;
- Preference for raised crosswalks;
- Coordination of tools/measures with new development in the region; and,
- Support for education campaigns and automated enforcement tools.
This discussion will inform development of recommendations and measures in the Toolbox. The Focus Group discussion also informed development of the Best Practices Review Memorandum.
The first Focus Group meeting occurred on April 3, 2025. The presentation to the meeting is available here and a summary of the meeting is available here. The second Focus Group meeting occurred on June 16, 2025. The presentation to the meeting is available here and a summary of the meeting is available here.
Toole Design Group gave a presentation about the Traffic Calming and Complete Streets Best Practices Toolbox at a meeting of the WestCOG Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on September 9, 2025. The presentation is available here. This was followed by active discussion on various topics. A summary of the discussion at the TAG meeting is available here.
Second PAC Meeting
The Second Project Advisory Committee meeting took place on October 3, 2025. The primary purpose of the meeting was to review and discuss the two Memoranda submitted for Tasks 2 and 3.
Feedback offered on the Regional Status Quo Memorandum included reference to additional plans and studies completed in some municipalities. The suggestion was also made that CTDOT District Offices should be included in conversations about the Toolbox, as they had expressed reservations about some of the potential tools.
Key takeaways from the conversation about the Best Practices Review Memorandum included:
- Context sensitivity is fundamental;
- Desire to expand and connect the active transportation network;
- Focus on transition zones as safety and placemaking priorities;
- Opportunity to evaluate shared right-of-way for broader use; and,
- Need to promote systemic solutions.
A preliminary version of pages from the draft Toolbox was shown, including graphics, organized content and general order of magnitude costs. This received a positive reaction from the PAC. A summary of the meeting is available here.
Deliverables
The Regional Status Quo Memorandum (Task 2) is available here.
The Best Practices Review Memorandum (Task 3) is available here.
Next Steps
A draft of the Traffic Calming and Complete Streets Best Practices Toolbox will be available in late November 2025. A third PAC Meeting will be convened in early December to review the toolbox, followed by gathering of additional feedback from municipal staff with planning, transportation and public works responsibilities. A final version and demonstration of the Toolbox will be presented to the PAC in mid-December.
Staff Contact
For information concerning the study, please contact Mike Wilson at WestCOG, 475-323-2074 or by e-mail at mwilson@westcog.org.