” A no brainer.” That’s what one city official originally called his decision to install traffic calming measures near school zones. Then the complaints started coming in. Then negative editorials began appearing and a “citizens against speedbumps” committee was formed. Quickly, his no brainer turned into a huge headache.

The error made by this city official was not that he wanted to keep school children safe. In fact, we hear time and again that many local governments receive more citizen complaints about speeding traffic than any other single issue. The grave mistake the official made was that he didn’t first do his research.

A quick Google search will reveal a growing grassroots movement of people outraged over traffic calming devices that are either intrusive or obstructive. Many of these disgruntled citizens are fed up with speedbumps.  Americans Against Traffic Calming (Austin, TX), Dump The Humps (Orange County, FL), and even the National Motorist Association continue to organize opposition to speedbumps and other traffic calming measures that impede emergency vehicles, are hazardous to bicyclists and bar easy handicap access.

Then there is a growing group of Americans (Canadians and Europeans too) that are up in arms over the growing proliferation of radar cameras and video devices that catch speeders. Just check out CameraFraud.com, Chicago Weekend Fun in Illinois, or Photo Radar Scam for a glimpse at the intensity of growing opposition to these “spy” devices.

So what’s a city official, law enforcement officer or concerned neighbors to do about slowing traffic and keeping pedestrians safe?

Fortunately, there are highly effective traffic-calming measures that do not impede emergency vehicles or invoke BIG BROTHER tactics on fellow neighbors. Smartly designed streets using traffic calming construction principles can have a huge impact on traffic flow and driver speed. And of course, radar speed signs — also known as radar speed displays, “Your Speed” signs and radar speedcheck signs – have proven to be highly effective at slowing cars without being intrusive or obstructive.

Stopspeeders.org offers a variety of third-party research on traffic calming studies. As the growing outrage over disruptive traffic calming measures continues to rise, it makes sense to do the research first.