Traffic Calming

Traffic calming creates safer roads for everyone by encouraging drivers to slow down, particularly in residential neighbourhoods. We have a standardized approach to implementing traffic calming measures. We use a variety of City-led programs and community-based initiatives to encourage safer driving.   

 District-selected street

Each year, City Councillors choose a local road in each district for traffic calming using minor adjustments known as Type I measures. This process includes:

  1. Selecting a road where residents have reported speeding or traffic concerns.
  2. Planning specific Type I measures and road designs.
  3. Installing the chosen traffic calming measures.
  4. Collecting feedback from residents and monitoring the installations for any issues.
  5. Temporary measures from previous years of the Traffic Calming program are re-installed each spring, alongside new projects.

Community-based initiatives

This approach enables residents, community groups and other affected parties to address concerns in areas where City-led measures are not currently planned. We will work with you to support these initiatives. 

Lawn Sign program

Encourage safe driving on your street by picking up a “Slow Down” lawn sign. The signs provide a visual cue reminding drivers to check their speed, slow down while driving in residential neighbourhoods and always be on the lookout for other road users.

Signs are designed by the City and are free for residents.

Pick up your sign at one of the locations listed below during regular business hours. Signs are available free of charge on a first come, first served basis with a limit of one sign per household. 

  • Artillery Park Aquatic Centre / 328 Bagot Street
  • City Hall / 216 Ontario Street (The City's Payment Centre)
  • INVISTA Centre / 1350 Gardiners Road
  • Kingston East Community Centre / 779 Highway 15
  • Rideau Heights Community Centre / 85 MacCauley Street

  • On public property (between the edge of the roadway and your property line)
  • At least 0.6 metres (two feet) from the curb or roadway edge 
  • Inserted into the ground using the provided wire frame
  • As supplied and without further illumination or the use of reflective tape
  • The signs can be used year-round, but we recommend keeping your lawn sign in place from the beginning of April until the end of November. This timeframe ensures better visibility and minimizes weather impact increasing the lifespan of the sign. 

  • Obstructing the roadway, a bike lane, sidewalk or pathway
  • Obstructing sight lines for pedestrians, cyclists or motorists 
  • Within three metres of a fire hydrant
  • On a roadway median or island
  • By an expressway or an expressway ramp
  • In a drainage ditch
  • Anywhere that blocks access to, or operation of, culverts, bridges and overpasses
  • On a building, structure, post, pole, tree or bush

Lawn signs that are unsafe or require relocation for any reason may be removed or relocated at any time by City staff.

Pace Car program

Join our Pace Car program to promote safer driving. When you display the Community Pace Car logo, you show that you're committed to driving at or below the speed limit, following the rules and being considerate and careful around pedestrians and cyclists.

Get a rear window decal or trunk magnet (limit one per vehicle) with installation instructions at one of the locations below during regular business hours: 

  • Artillery Park Aquatic Centre / 328 Bagot Street
  • City Hall / 216 Ontario Street (The City's Payment Centre)
  • INVISTA Centre / 1350 Gardiners Road
  • Kingston East Community Centre / 779 Highway 15
  • Rideau Heights Community Centre / 85 MacCauley Street

  • Always remain aware of and drive at or below the speed limit
  • Slow down and drive with extra caution near schools and in areas where children are often present, such as playgrounds, parks and on residential streets
  • Always be aware of and yield to pedestrians crossing the street 
  • Come to a complete stop at stop signs, then look carefully before proceeding
  • Be courteous to cyclists and other road users
  • Keep a safe distance between cyclists and other vehicles on the road
  • Don't block walkways, bike lanes, pathways or driveways when parking
  • Display the Pace Car logo on your vehicle to encourage others to drive courteously and at safe speeds throughout Kingston

There are two options for displaying the Community Pace Car logo on your vehicle: 

  • Vinyl decal: on your rear window 
  • Magnet: on the rear panel/trunk of your vehicle  

Vinyl Decal 

  1. Clean the window prior to applying the decal. 
  2. Choose a location that does not impact driver sightlines. 
  3. Avoid a location that will be in contact with window wipers. 
  4. To remove the decal, gently apply heat to the vinyl (e.g. using a hair dryer) to loosen the adhesive. 

Magnet 

  • Place the magnet in a location visible from the rear, ensuring that the vehicle license plate is not obstructed

Some vehicle components, including many rear vehicle bumpers, do not contain magnetic materials. The magnet will not adhere to these surfaces. 

Reporting speeding concerns 

Use the Kingston Police non-emergency reporting tool to report speeding or traffic issues.

Traffic calming tools

We have expanded our traffic calming toolkit to provide a wider range of tools. These tools include Type I (minor adjustment) measures and Type II (engineered-based) measures.

Type I – Minor adjustment measures  

Type I measures are quick, temporary tools that make streets safer by slowing down vehicles. These measures include the use of flexible bollards, speed display devices and painted road markings and messaging. 

Flexible bollards are short posts that are attached to a road, requiring motorists to slow down to drive around them. This feeling of narrowing can disrupt the normal ‘flow’ of traffic along the road, which can help encourage slower speeds for vehicles moving through the area.

You should avoid parking directly beside bollards. In cases where only one vehicle can pass through due to closely parked vehicles, motorists should yield and proceed around the bollard with caution. While they are meant to be avoided, bollards may be driven over without causing damage to your vehicle. Traffic calming bollards are removed to accommodate snow plowing during the winter and are re-installed in the spring.

Type II – Engineered-based measures  

Type II measures are lasting changes that require more resources and time for planning, design and construction. They are part of long-term neighbourhood and City project planning, guided by ongoing reviews of neighbourhood transportation issues.

Contact Us

City of Kingston
City Hall
216 Ontario Street
Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3
Canada
contactus@cityofkingston.ca
Phone: 613-546-0000
Fax: 613-546-7816

The City of Kingston acknowledges that we are on the traditional homeland of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat, and thanks these nations for their care and stewardship over this shared land.

Today, the City is committed to working with Indigenous peoples and all residents to pursue a united path of reconciliation.

Learn more about the City's reconciliation initiatives.

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