Responses to concerns regarding traffic congestion, pedestrian and bicycle safety, speeds and cut-through traffic volumes can be addressed by using Five E’s important tools: Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, Engineering, and Evaluation. Many problems can be solved through relatively low-cost educational and enforcement activities. However, some problems do require more expensive engineering or design solutions.

The final solution will also take some time to implement as different measures are proposed and refined through a trial and error methodology. The most successful solution will not focus on just one type of solution, but will involve the implementation of a combination of measures from all the following 5 E’s:

Education and Encouragement

Education and encouragement tools focus on teaching traffic, pedestrian and bicycle safety to the residents, increasing public awareness of the benefits, and promoting changes in behavior to increase walking and bicycling. Please refer to Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Web Page for additional helpful information.

Encouragement activities include a variety of special events and contests, outreach campaigns, presentations to school and community groups, and surveys of current practices and attitudes related to traffic safety.

Enforcement

Enforcement tools are aimed at ensuring compliance with traffic and parking laws in the City. Through a variety of active and passive methods, enforcement activities help to reduce the threats to the health and safety of students associated with activities such as speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, illegal turns, illegal parking, and other violations. Enforcement strategies, in conjunction with education efforts, are intended to clearly demonstrate what is expected of motor vehicle operators and to make them accountable for the consequences of their actions. While enforcement tools logically center on Police and other law enforcement, they also entail working with school officials, crossing guards, parents and volunteers, and the public at large. In addition to motor vehicle enforcement, these activities also focus on ensuring that residents walking and bicycling are complying with traffic laws.

Increased levels of law enforcement may encourage motorists to drive at the posted speeds, follow the rules of the road, or penalize those who do not. This approach is effective when consistently high levels of enforcement are implemented, which is a costly response to the problem. Various techniques can be used by law enforcement to ensure that traffic laws are obeyed, such as traffic stings targeted at pedestrian safety and speed feedback trailers.

Engineering

There are many engineering tools that focus on the design of transportation facilities that provide safe and functional accommodation for bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. Engineering measures can help to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and access, reduce traffic volumes, and decrease vehicle speeds. These measures may include signage, markings, signals, pathways, and other traffic calming improvements that enhance safety and mobility.

Although some engineering solutions are higher-cost infrastructure improvements, many engineering tools can be implemented without large expenditures, such as posting signs, modifying signal timing, or painting crosswalks or bike lanes.

Evaluation

Evaluation of the four E’s used above is important to understanding the effectiveness of the tools and improvements that have been used, identify the improvements that are still needed, and to insure that the implemented tools and improvements can continue in the long term. Public and school surveys, field audits, traffic studies and evaluations are good tools and techniques to measure the effectiveness of the four E’s.

Contact Us

Through innovative engineering design, strategic police enforcement, and education, the goals for the program can be met. If you have a safety concern regarding pedestrian, bicycle, or motorist activity, the City of Chula Vista wants to hear it.

Please call the Traffic Engineering Division at (619) 691-5026, or send an e-mail to trafficsafety@chulavistaca.gov.