ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The City of Englewood is seeking public input on its traffic calming program aimed to address speeding and safety in neighborhoods across the city.
"Back in 2024 the citizens approved a sizable investment in our parks," said Englewood Mayor Othoniel Sierra. "We want to make sure that any families that are trying to get to either of those parks are able to do so safely."
Over the last year, the city has been collecting data from community members to find out which areas may need the most attention.
"We had set a map-based survey with the city in which constituents were able to categorize their concerns in one of three categories: areas where they observed high vehicle speeds, where they recognize unsafe intersections, or where they have trouble or challenges walking and biking," said Thomas Shaw, traffic engineering manager for the City of Englewood.
Here are those results:
One of the intersections on that map is Fox and Oxford where Bobby Capobianco and his family live.
"We live on Fox Street which is a big cut through for a lot of people," he said. "We have two small kids... You got to keep your eyes out. My wife and I have asked often for a speed bump in our street."
The concept of traffic calming does not rely on signage or police enforcement, but instead puts in place physical infrastructure to curb speeding. That can be things like curb extensions, speed radar signs, spot medians, pedestrian refuge islands "or a variety of countermeasures that generally might restrict the roadway width," Shaw said.
"If we narrow those to a certain point, we can expect to see a reduction in travel speeds," he said.
The mayor and traffic engineers are holding a town hall Wednesday, March 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to gather public input and share some of the options being considered.
Shaw said the presentation will also include benefits, impacts and costs of various measures.
Mayor Sierra said he hopes community members engage and share their thoughts ahead of time so planners know what options will fit certain communities best.
"Without their input, we wouldn't be able to prioritize this first phase or even the second phase," he said. "We have an idea, but we really want real world examples of what they're encountering when they are moving through our city."
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