5. PROGRAM EVALUATION (continued)

5.3.3 Speed Results

The 91 st Avenue test segment is part of a neighborhood known as Desert Harbor . It is a relatively wide street that is conducive to high speeds and has a 30 mph speed limit. No roadway treatments of any kind were applied as part of Heed the Speed . The education program, however, was intensive and sustained because of the high level of effort by the neighborhood association. Enforcement was also applied because of the known propensity for speeding. Five waves of data were collected. The results are shown in Table 62.

Table 62. Peoria – 91st Avenue speed results

The initial education and enforcement efforts produced a significant although small effect. After a return toward baseline in Wave 3, the renewed efforts of the neighborhood association and police revived a larger impact. This is demonstrated clearly in Figure 10. Although the effect is relatively small compared with the streets that had physical changes, it is encouraging that it appears to come almost entirely from drivers in the highest speed class. Those going over the limit but less than 7 miles over stayed virtually constant while those at or under the limit increased and those 7+ over the limit decreased. The mean speed above the speed limit was also down significantly in all follow-on waves.

The number of vehicles using this test segment was approximately equal in Waves 1, 2 and 5. The reduction in counts in Waves 3 and 4 is likely the result of vehicle counter equipment malfunctions rather than a traffic diversion. The count contractor reported specific problems and lost data in Wave 3 and also suspected some problems from equipment malfunctions or vandalism during Wave 4

Figure 10. Speed Classes on Peoria – 91 st Avenue

¹³Increase from baseline