(The Center Square) – Vancouver, Washington, is looking to distribute approximately $300,000 in grants to projects that slow down local traffic.
The city is utilizing funds from its Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program, which receives revenue through a combination of its real estate excise tax, Transportation Benefit District fees and multiple other revenue sources, according to the city.
As part of the application process, the program evaluates and ranks proposed traffic calming projects based on criteria such as speed, volume, sidewalks, mobility lanes, proximity to schools, transit and school bus stops, and collision history.
Past projects that have received grant funding include street signing and surface striping, speed cushions, radar feedback signs and street trees.
The city saw a significant drop in traffic collisions from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, there were 2,078 collisions, whereas there were 291 in all of 2023, according to the City of Vancouver Collision Dashboard. That is an 86% drop.
In 2022 there were 12 fatalities caused by traffic collisions. That was halved to six in 2023.
Traffic calming project applications are being accepted through Feb. 29. Final project selection will occur in late October.
In March 2013, Vancouver and the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Alliance launched the revitalized Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program after the city phased out the original Neighborhood Traffic Management Program due to limited resources and budget shortfalls in 2010.
