Home Zones: Frequently Asked Questions

What are Home Zones?

Home Zones are neighborhood streets made for living – where pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars all share the same safe, well-designed street space. Drivers are given visual cues of neighborhood life to slow down, requiring minimal traffic enforcement. Slower traffic creates safe places for residents, particularly children, to be physically active and become engaged in their environment. Unique design features such as planter boxes, narrow lanes, special entryways and even playground equipment, encourage cars to move at a slow safe speed. Home Zones aim to balance streets as a place for vehicle traffic and streets as a place for community life by giving priority to the interests of the residents.

How do Home Zones differ from other traffic calming techniques, such as speed bumps?

The Home Zone model offers a holistic solution to the problems associated with traffic in residential neighborhoods. Home Zones aim not only to curtail unsafe speed but to convey the message that the street is an extension of people's homes and cars are guests. Streets are designed to be shared places for people and drivers through gateways, shared surfaces, traffic calming measures and landscaping. In addition to physical traffic calming measures, the visual evidence of neighborhood activity helps slow drivers down, such as the presence of pedestrians, bicyclists, playground equipment, and parked cars. Design changes alone will not result in a Home Zone – it is the collaborative efforts of a community, combined with physical changes to the residential environment, which create a safe area for active living.

Why are Home Zones important?

In many places, streets have become dangerous places dominated by speeding traffic. Accordingly, residents walk and bicycle less, children are unable to play outside or walk or bike to school and neighbors communicate less frequently. However, streets can be designed as spaces for community life. Home Zones are designed to facilitate physical activity, increase social interaction and improve public safety. They have the potential to favorably affect health, cognitive skills and the social development of children, as well as increase mobility, create more efficient land use, reduce pollution, increase resource conservation, reduce traffic related injuries and increase property values.

Is it safe for children to play in a Home Zone?

Many parents and teachers are concerned about the negative effects of the current car-dominated environment on children's development – including inactivity, social isolation and lack of creative outlets. If the home environment can be designed to create a safe place for children to be active, they can learn how to become independent pedestrians and cyclists, and to interact in a safe, attractive environment with the presence of other children and adults.

How did Home Zones begin?

Affordable, low-tech solutions to improve residential safety and mobility were first developed by the Dutch, who refer to Home Zones as “woonerfs”, streets for living. Home Zones have become popular in Europe, in both existing neighborhoods and in new developments. Early results show that Home Zones have strengthened residents' sense of community, given residents pride in their neighborhood, enabled children to play in the street space safely, and decreased crime and the fear of crime (Northmoor, England).

How are traffic rules enforced in the Home Zone?

Shared residential streets are designed to give drivers both the visual and physical cues to effectively slow down traffic, requiring minimal police enforcement.

How much do Home Zones cost?

Costs for Home Zones vary depending on whether design changes are applied to an existing residential area, or if they are incorporated into a new development. Future developments can incorporate Home Zones principles at no additional cost. Maintenance costs can be minimized when the community takes ownership of the Home Zone and helps keep the public space clean and well-maintained. Funding can come from existing resources for public safety and redevelopment, and low-cost improvements to the residential environment are possible. Ideally, Home Zones save money over time by reducing traffic crashes, minimizing crime and revitalizing residential areas.

How do emergency and utility vehicles, such as fire trucks and waste management services, access the residential environment in a Home Zone?

A variety of service and emergency vehicles of different types require significantly different maneuverability dimensions and levels of access. Home Zone designers should ascertain from local government the size of service and emergency vehicles that will normally require access to designated Home Zones. Response times for fire and ambulance services may also have implications for the design of a Home Zone. Typically emergency responders seek to arrive at an incident within five minutes of the call. The first 90% of this response time is made on principal roadways. Once into a neighborhood (the final 10%) speed is no longer critical but access is crucial. Thus, involve emergency responders early, be sensitive and flexible to their concerns and develop collaborative solutions. Discuss the possibility of using smaller, more maneuverable vehicles, providing alley access, putting electric lines underground and placing fire hydrants at intersections.

How are bicyclists and pedestrians affected by a Home Zone?

Home Zones emphasize traffic safety for all users of the road. Home Zones create a safe place for bicyclists to travel, and also serve as important training grounds for future cyclists.

Are Home Zones ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible?

The design of Home Zones incorporates ADA accessibility requirements. For example, textured pavement can distinguish travel lanes, and continuous curbing can facilitate travel for those with mobility aids.

Does slowing traffic in a Home Zone create cut-through traffic elsewhere?

Calming traffic in the residential environment does not necessarily create traffic spillover onto other streets. Traffic flows within a Home Zone is maintained, however cars travel at a much slower and safer pace. The selection of the streets to be included in the Home Zone should take into consideration the traffic patterns on adjacent streets and the destination of the motorists using them. Both traditional residential streets and Home Zones are designed to accommodate motorists who have a destination located within the Home Zone. Home Zones support a network of streets that improve traffic flow and safety, resulting in less congestion and fewer traffic crashes.

How does a neighborhood begin planning a Home Zone project?

Once a community organization has determined it has significant resident support, it should set up meetings with its local council member or board supervisor, Neighborhood Traffic Management Program (NTMP), Neighborhood Services Department coordinator, public works, bike/pedestrian coordinator, bike pedestrian advocacy groups and disability groups. These individuals/organizations will help guide the planning, implementation and funding of the project.

For additional information on Home Zones please visit http://www.caphysicalactivity.org/home_zones.html or call California Center for Physical Activity Project Coordinator Ces Murphy at 916-552-9895 or email Cecile.Murphy@cdph.ca.gov

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