As Foley grows, and more vehicles pass through the city, planners and engineers are working to balance traffic issues such as speeding, congestion and overall safety.

City officials want to keep traffic moving, but at the same time, keep streets safe, Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said.

“Foley is aware that with the increase in our population that traffic is an issue,” Hellmich said. “We're working in several areas to handle that, whether it’s mitigating speed or other solutions. We’re trying to keep traffic moving at a safe speed all over the city.”

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The process can involve finding ways to keep traffic at a safe speed, but not in a manner that can cause gridlock and accidents. Improving intersections can also reduce congestion.

One practice is to match street designs to the needs of the area.

Local neighborhood streets provide access to residential areas. Those streets can have lower speed limits, narrower widths, sidewalks and on-street parking to make the areas safer for pedestrians and improve the appearance and feel of the community.

On a local street, other solutions could reduce speed. On some neighborhood streets, placing a small raised median on the street could slow traffic by creating a perception of narrow lanes.

Planting trees, either in medians or on rights of way, could also slow traffic by creating a sense of a more narrow lane. 

Collector roads, such as Baldwin County 12 and Hickory Street, are designed to move traffic between neighborhoods and main arterial routes, such as Alabama 59 and the Foley Beach Express.

Widening stripes on the sides or in the center of a street can make a driver feel that the lane is more constricted, causing the operator to slow down.

Adding stop signs can be a hazard on collector roads. More unexpected stops can increase the number of rear-end collisions and reduce safety. Drivers also often drive faster between stop signs or other obstacles due to the perception of lost time.

The approach is intended to ensure that Foley streets accommodate vehicles while also enhancing the safety and experience of pedestrians, cyclists and residents.

Foley is also building new sidewalks and allocating more money for additional pedestrian connections through additional walkways and multi-use paths. The process will support the safety and convenience of multiple modes of travel, not just cars.

"By integrating context-sensitive street design with effective traffic-calming techniques, enhancing road connectivity, and expanding pedestrian pathways, we are committed to creating a transportation system that not only addresses traffic flow and safety but also fosters a vibrant, safe, and accessible transportation system for all residents," Wayne Dyess, Foley executive director of infrastructure and development said.

Most complaints about Foley traffic deal with frustration over congestion rather than speeding, Chad Christian, city engineer, said. 

Dyess said using trees as a passive traffic-calming measure is one of the goals of a recent change in the city zoning ordinance that requires that more trees be planted along streets in new subdivisions.

Trees not only enhance the beauty of neighborhoods, but also can slow traffic without some of the problems created by other measures. Rumble strips and speed bumps can raise complaints in residential areas due to the noise created by vehicles passing over the obstacles.