Polk Street and 24th Avenue Traffic Calming Construction
The City of Eugene constructed traffic calming speed cushions on Polk Street and 24th Avenue. On Polk Street, between 24th and 28th avenues, four speed cushions were installed to replace worn rumble strips. On 24th Avenue, between Chambers and Friendly streets, seven speed cushions were installed to address speeding traffic.
For years, the traffic calming chicanes on Polk Street formed by rumble strips, tubular makers, and concrete planters were in a state of disrepair. Since the original installation, traffic calming techniques evolved to allow for new tools that help reduce speeding traffic while maintaining access for emergency vehicles on some of our more heavily traveled neighborhood streets.
On Polk Street, speed cushions were proposed at the locations of the four existing chicanes. Speed cushions are 3-inches high, 14-feet long for the width of the street, and also have cut-outs for the wheel-path of emergency vehicles. Rumble strips would be removed and replaced with speed cushions while the concrete planters would remain.
Choosing the Design
There was a test of three speed cushion designs on 24th Avenue to evaluate which best meets the needs of Lane Transit District buses and emergency vehicles. Following the test, permanent construction of the traffic calming on both 24th Avenue and Polk Street occurred.
Community Meeting
On October 19, 2016, a community meeting was held to review a proposal for traffic calming on Polk Street (between 24th Avenue and 28th Avenue) and 24th Avenue (between Chambers Street and Friendly Street) to address speeding traffic. At the meeting, traffic calming proposals were reviewed and comments received. Review the Presentation Materials.