What is Traffic Calming?
Traffic calming is a process involving community members and city staff to address safety needs on neighborhood streets.
What is a safe street?
The City of Harrisonburg considers safe streets as streets that facilitate all types of mobility and encourage appropriate vehicle speeds. The intended result of safe streets is a reduction of the risk of crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.
The 2025 Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program (NTCP) Guide has made various updates relating to:
- Process
- Community Effort
- Thresholds & Criteria
- Equity Considerations
- Clarity about what warrants traffic calming
Specific changes include a new online traffic calming request form, transitioning to a more data-driven scoring system, expanding the criteria that determines traffic calming need, streamlining the number of steps required, and posting the scores of eligible requested streets each year.
Explore the 2025 NTCP Guide and Traffic Calming FAQs
Submit a Traffic Calming Request
Street requests submitted before October 1, 2025 will be processed and scored in the 2025 round. Street requests submitted after October 1, 2025 will be processed and scored in the 2026 round.
To request police radar, speed trailer, and/or enforcement of speeds on your street, please contact the Sgt. Wayne Westfall, Harrisonburg Police Department's Operations Division, at 540-434-4436 or Wayne.Westfall@harrisonburgva.gov.
Still have questions or wish to request Team Up to Slow Down Yard Signs? Contact James Polhamus, Public Works Transportation Planner at 540-434-5928 or email James.Polhamus@harrisonburgva.gov
Previous Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program Efforts
- Sunset Heights Neighborhood
This section is for the Sunset Heights Neighborhood and will be updated with meeting summaries, maps, and information related to neighborhood traffic safety concerns and efforts to address them.
Resources
- Traffic Calming Plan [707KB] - June 2021
- Phase II Neighborhood Outreach [5MB] - 2020
- May 27, 2020 Meeting Summary [58KB]
- Adopted Traffic Calming Plan [6MB] - 2019
- June 9, 2015 Meeting Summary [897KB]
- July 28, 2015 City Council Agenda and Presentation [video] - Traffic study request
- February 16, 2016 Meeting Summary [337KB]
- Traffic Study Report [84KB] - October 2015
- Traffic Study Map [897KB] - October 2015
- Petition Area Map [6MB]
- Additional Resources
- 85th Percentile Speeds, Harrisonburg Neighborhood Traffic Calming Guide, page 38
- Research on Four-Way Stops (multi-way stops, all-way stops)
Contact information:
- Public Works Department: James Polhamus, Public Works Transportation Planner, at James.Polhamus@harrisonburgva.gov or 540-434-5928
- Police Department: Sgt. Wayne Westfall, Traffic Operations, Wayne.Westfall@harrisonburgva.gov or 540-434-4436
- Northeast Neighborhood
Proposed Intersection Safety Improvements
Public Works staff and the Transportation Safety and Advisory Commission have identified changes to improve safety at the intersections in the neighborhood, with a focus on those intersections that have had the most crashes over the last seven years. Information about the changes that have been completed and changes that are proposed can be found in this document:
English: Intersection Safety Changes 2022 [1.36MB]
Spanish: Intersection Safety Changes 2022 [1.4MB]
Arabic: Intersection Safety Changes 2022 [1.44MB]
To ask questions or provide comments about the proposed changes, contact Jakob zumFelde, Public Works Planner, at 540-434-5928 or Jakob.zumFelde@harrisonburgva.gov.
This section is for the Northeast Neighborhood and will be updated with meeting summaries, maps, and information related to neighborhood traffic safety concerns and efforts to address them.
November 2021- Intersections Identified for Safety Improvements:
January 28, 2020 City Council Agenda [105] and Presentation [Video] - Neighborhood Enrollment
July 12, 2017 Meeting Summary [4MB]
September 26, 2017 City Council Agenda [124KB] and Presentation [Video] - Traffic study request
Traffic Study Map, December 2017 [3MB]
Traffic Study Results, December 2017 [3MB]
Contact information:
- Public Works Department: Jakob zumFelde, Public Works Planner at 540-434-5928 or Jakob.zumFelde@harrisonburgva.gov
- Police Department: Sgt. Wayne Westfall, Traffic Operations, Wayne.Westfall@harrisonburgva.gov, 540-434-4436
- Portland East Neighborhood
This section is for the Portland East Neighborhood and will be updated with meeting summaries, maps, and information related to neighborhood traffic safety concerns and efforts to address them.
- June 14, 2022 City Council meeting – No Thru Traffic [1.32MB] and Presentation [Video]
- November 26, 2018 City Council Adopted Portland East Neighborhood Traffic Calming Plan [2MB]
- October 1, 2018 Draft Neighborhood Traffic Calming Plan Completed [2MB]
- August 8, 2018 Meeting Summary [395KB]
- April 5, 2018 Meeting Summary [140KB]
- April 24, 2018 City Council Agenda [129KB] and Presentation [Video] - Traffic study request
- Traffic Study Results, April 2018 [2MB]
- Petition Area Map [353KB]
Additional Resources
- Research on Four-Way Stops (multi-way stops, all way stops)
Contact information:
- Public Works Department: Jakob zumFelde, Public Works Planner at 540-434-5928 or Jakob.zumFelde@harrisonburgva.gov
- Police Department: Sgt. Wayne Westfall, Traffic Operations, Wayne.Westfall@harrisonburgva.gov, 540-434-4436