1. Identify the problem. This first step is the most important. You must have a solid understanding of what the problems are in your area.
__Too much speeding?
__Too many cars?
__Insufficient pedestrian facilities? (crossing times too short, lack of crosswalk/and or controls, etc.)
__Are you and your neighbors worried about the safety of your children or your elderly population?

When asking for traffic calming, you may encounter reasons put up by the DOT or politicians to not give you specific solutions. If you always frame your requests in terms of solving the problems on your street, then a "no" to any of the traffic calming measures simply puts the onus on the naysayer to come up with an acceptable solution that still solves your problems.

2. Identify interested parties. Who else has a stake in improving the safety and quality of life of your neighborhood, and who can you call on for assistance? Examples include:

Local block/tenant associations • Local business people • Chamber of Commerce, business groups, merchants associations • Transit Authority if bus lines are involved • DOT Borough Commissioner • Community Board • City Councilmember • Borough President • State Assemblymember • State Senator • Neighborhood places of worship • Other civic groups

3. Write and/or invite interested parties, describe your problem to them and ask them to participate in coming up with a solution. When you write letter(s) to your community board and the DOT, always send copies to all of your elected officials. You might even want to invite them to come and see the problems themselves, so they can help to develop solution. Set up a "field visit" where people can come at a specific time and meet with your group. If your neighborhood group is moderately well endowed, you can consider hiring your own traffic engineer for the "field visit." There are oftensmall grants available that you may be able to use for this purpose.

4. Develop a solution. Work together with your neighbors and the "interested parties" to come up with a list of traffic calming solutions that YOU would like to see installed. When your neighbors feel like they were part of the development of the solution, they'll be much more likely to support the plan later on and stay with the issue. Explain why you want the different parts of the list, in terms of what problem you want each element to solve.

5. Develop support and apply it to the solution. This is why you made a list of "interested parties" and invited them to participate in coming up with the solution: you'll need them to help get the job done. Ask elected officials and the community board to support your plan. Ask them to call on the city to implement your plan. Everyone you get to write a letter or postcard of support will bring you one step closer to making your streets better. This step may take a while, so be careful not to lose sight of the other four steps.