Research
Traffic calming: what the evidence says, and what it doesn’t
The City describes the Hastings-Sunrise barriers as traffic calming. Here is what published research, fire departments and the City’s own documents say about measures like these, including the findings that cut against us.
01 · What was installed
In the City’s own words
The City’s Hastings-Sunrise traffic calming covers two adjoining project areas: Clinton Park, between East Hastings, Renfrew, East 1st Avenue and Nanaimo, and the Adanac Overpass area to the east. The City ran its engagement on the Clinton Park plan in November and December 2023, and says installation continues through 2026. Shape Your City
See Hastings-Sunrise: the traffic calming map
The City’s traffic management program says these measures are built with durable quick-build materials, including interim concrete barriers, and may include speed humps, one-way diverters and curb bulges. City of Vancouver
Asked by CBC News, a City spokesperson said the barriers followed extensive public consultation, address longstanding concerns about speeding and shortcutting, and that Vancouver Fire Rescue Services was a partner in designing the changes. CBC News, 8 September 2026
02 · Emergency access
Fire departments have measured the delay. The results depend on the design.
1 to 9.4 sec
added per speed hump for fire apparatus, in Portland fire bureau field tests. Source
Up to 10.7 sec
added per traffic circle in the same Portland testing. Source
No measurable change
in fire response times across 72 London low-traffic schemes, including ones using physical barriers. Source
Delays per device are small, but they add up along a route, and fire codes recognise the risk. The US fire protection standard NFPA 1141 says the authority installing traffic calming should first work with emergency responders to make sure their vehicles can get through safely and in time. Source
The evidence also points the other way. A study of 72 London schemes found no evidence that fire response times got worse. Fire crews logged more delays blamed on traffic calming, but fewer blamed on general traffic, and the two cancelled out.
None of these studies measured the Hastings-Sunrise layout, which relies mainly on diverters and closures that force detours rather than slow vehicles down. The City says Vancouver Fire Rescue Services helped design it. The simplest way to settle the question is to publish local response times for this area, before and after installation.
03 · Where the traffic goes
The research counts main roads. Nobody is counting the lanes.
The main argument for closing residential streets is that traffic largely disappears rather than moving next door. Large London studies support that on average: one analysis of 46 schemes found little sign of traffic being systematically pushed onto the main roads around them. Source
The results are not uniform. A 2024 UK government review found mixed effects on surrounding roads, including a 10 per cent rise in nitrogen dioxide on two boundary roads in Oxford in 2022. UK Department for Transport
Every one of these studies measures streets and boundary roads. None measures back lanes. In East Vancouver, the lanes are exactly where residents say the traffic has gone.
One petition commenter’s lane camera recorded no more than about six cars a day before the barriers, and up to 40 on some days after. That is one household’s count, not a study. We are not aware of any published lane counts for this area. The City should count the lanes.
04 · Consultation
A process happened. Residents say it did not change anything.
The City did consult on these plans, including on the Clinton Park plan in late 2023, and it is fair to say so. The complaint in the petition comments is less that no process existed and more that it did not reflect what people who live here were telling the City. Eleven of 74 comments raise notice or consultation, and at least one commenter defends the process and asks for the barriers to be judged on data.
We agree with that commenter on one thing: this should be decided on data. We have not found that data published.
What we are asking for
Three things the City can do now
- Count the lanes. Publish before-and-after traffic counts for the area, including back lanes, not only streets.
- Publish response times. Release Vancouver Fire Rescue Services and ambulance response times for this area, before and after installation.
- Review while it is still interim. Revisit the layout with residents in the room, while the barriers are still temporary.
Sources
- City of Vancouver, Neighbourhood Traffic Management Program. vancouver.ca
- City of Vancouver, Hastings-Sunrise (Clinton Park area) traffic calming. shapeyourcity.ca
- CBC News, “Vancouver man says traffic calming measures leaving people ‘barricaded in their own neighbourhood’”, 8 September 2026. cbc.ca
- Batson, Offset Speed Tables for Reduced Emergency Response Delay (Portland field tests). nacto.org
- Code Red Consultants, Fire Department Access: Traffic Calming Devices (NFPA 1141; Portland traffic circle delays). coderedconsultants.com
- Goodman, Laverty, Thomas and Aldred (2021), The Impact of 2020 Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on Fire Service Emergency Response Times, in London, UK. Findings. lshtm.ac.uk
- Thomas and Aldred (2023), Changes in motor traffic in London’s Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and boundary roads. sciencedirect.com
- UK Department for Transport (2024), Low Traffic Neighbourhoods Research Report. gov.uk
- Remove the Barriers petition comments, counted 25 September 2026. Community Voices