Speed management is an essential tool in ensuring the improved safety of users of urban roads, particularly vulnerable users. It relies on several measures: awareness campaigns, speed control, as well as the development and operation of the road infrastructure. Municipalities are increasingly resorting to the development of traffic calming measures. They are facing numerous questions concerning the installation and effectiveness of traffic calming measures but are unable to easily find answers in French-language documentation. To respond to this need, the ministère des Transports du Québec has begun publishing a series of fact sheets on a variety of traffic calming measures including: speed humps and speed cushions, raised crosswalks and intersections, neckdowns (curb extensions at intersections), the reduction of the width of streets, centre islands and chicanes. A general fact sheet introduces all of the measures and notably outlines the procedure for pre-implementation analysis. Each fact sheet dedicated to an individual measure outlines the implementation context, advantages and disadvantages, geometric characteristics, effectiveness at reducing speed, and maintenance requirements, including winter maintenance. The presentation will introduce the first two published fact sheets: the general fact sheet and the fact sheet on speed humps and speed cushions. The fact sheets as well as examples of measures implemented in municipalities are available on the ministère des Transports website at www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca under Partenaires – Municipalités – Sécurité routière. Speed control is a key factor in road safety. It is for this reason that the ministère hopes to support municipal initiatives related to the use of traffic calming measures. By publishing these fact sheets, stakeholders will have easy access to pertinent information as well as concrete examples to help them design the solution best suited to each situation. The fact sheet on neckdowns (curb extensions at intersections) will be available shortly
