In 2009, the City of Santa Clara initiated a street improvements project for the South of Forest Neighborhood. This project included the reconstruction of streets, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, driveway, and ADA curb ramps. Various traffic calming treatments were incorporated into the design, such as curb-extensions, curb-return radius reductions, traffic circle, and roadway striping.

Over the past 15 years, the City has continued to monitor traffic conditions in the neighborhood and decided to conduct a follow-up traffic safety study. The City completed an initial traffic safety study for the neighborhood using the framework of the City’s Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program. As part of this study, traffic data was collected in Summer 2024.

Community Meetings

On October 30, 2024, the City hosted a hybrid Community meeting at the City’s Central Park Library and via Zoom to discuss the results of the traffic safety study and receive Community input. Community outreach for the meeting included mailing notification letters to properties within the project area, posting on Nextdoor, and sharing information on the City’s social media accounts.

On February 27, 2025, the City held a second hybrid Community Meeting at City Hall Council Chambers to present and discuss sample illustrations of the recommended traffic calming measures, which were developed based on community feedback from the first meeting.

On October 23, 2025, the City held a third hybrid Community Meeting at City Hall Council Chambers for the residents of Harold Avenue. In the meeting, staff presented the results of the recent traffic calming survey, discussed potential speed hump locations to recommend to City Council, and explained next steps.

• Community Meeting #1: October 30, 2024
  • Recording

• Community Meeting #2: February 27, 2025
  • Recording

• Community Meeting #3: October 23, 2025
  • Recording

City Council Meetings

The City of Santa Clara’s Department of Public Works submitted a report to City Council regarding traffic calming on Harold Avenue as part of the South of Forest Neighborhood Traffic Calming Project. This report provided historical background, traffic calming analysis, results of Community outreach, and staff recommendation. This report can be found in the Project Documents & Links section below.

This report was reviewed at the March 10, 2026 City Council Meeting and City Council approved the staff recommendation of allowing the installation of two speed humps on Harold Avenue.

For relevant documents and informational links, please click on the links below:

• City Recommendations - Harold Avenue Speed Hump Location (PDF)
• City Recommendations - South of Forest Neighborhood (PDF)
• Report to City Council on Traffic Calming Measures along Harold Avenue

Contact Ajmal Puyehgar, Senior Engineer with the Department of Public Works Traffic Division at apuyehgar@santaclaraca.gov.