Quick-build demonstration projects are effective ways to engage the community on street safety challenges. Permanent traffic-calming projects typically involve long and expensive planning and design processes, which can trigger opposition. It’s often easier to get approval for temporary, low-cost quick-builds that use paint, posts, and planters.
These projects were the subject of a recent webinar featuring tips for successful quick-builds and case studies in Hartford, Connecticut, and on the Flathead Reservation in Montana.
Violette Haldane, Executive Director of Advocacy to Legacy, and Natalie Shurtleff, Associate State Director for AARP Connecticut, joined to represent the Hartford project. Dr. Samantha Morigeau, Rehabilitative Services Director for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and Dr. Maja Pedersen, Assistant Professor of Public and Community Health at the University of Montana, shared the wins and challenges of two quick-builds on the Flathead Reservation.
Ian Thomas, Technical Assistance Lead for America Walks, kicked things off by reviewing Top 10 Tips for Successful Quick-Build Projects:
- Site selection
Select a roadway or corridor intersection with existing community safety concerns.
- Community partners
The more partners you engage in planning and implementing the quick-build, the better! Consider holding a workshop with education presentations and small-group discussion leading up to the installation.
- Perform a speed study
Check speeds before and after quick-build that implement visual friction to see whether speed has been affected.
- Geometric design and visual friction to reduce speeds
Narrower lanes, sharper corners, landscaping elements, and colorful crosswalks can slow down traffic and help focus drivers’ attention on the road ahead.
- Sourcing materials
Source materials like fast-drying roadway paint, signage, reflective delineator posts, planters with flowers for your project.
- Permitting Process
Likely the biggest challenge, but some cities have simple programs where interested parties can request right-of-way permits for temporary quick-build installations. Agency (e.g., Departments of Transportation, planning or health agencies, and elected officials) connections can make a huge difference here!
- Traffic control plan for the quick-build installation day
For example, if your quick-build requires closing a lane of auto traffic for painting, it’s necessary to have a plan for controlling single-lane traffic, whether that means working with your local Department of Transportation, public works, police, or other responsible agency.
- Public participation
Get your community involved through social media, flyers (see example below!), e-newsletters, word of mouth, and doorhangers. Create a volunteer orientation for adults and children to quickly plug in to tasks. Add music and lunch, and you’re set for a successful project installation!
- Media engagement
Amplify wider awareness of the event by reaching out to local media ahead of time. Consider distributing a press release (see example below!) on the day with key talking points, and holding a live press conference with public officials if possible.
- Evaluation
After the installation, follow up with another speed study and community surveys to gauge the project’s success. These results could lead to a permanent project and shift how your community thinks about planning and design for road safety.
Growing Older, Staying Strong on the Flathead Reservation, Montana
Dr. Samantha Morigeau and Dr. Maja Pedersen shared what it took to pull off two quick-build demonstrations on the Flathead Reservation in Montana.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Tribal Health Department partnered with the University of Montana to promote physical activity among older adults living on the reservation. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes live on 1.3 million acres of the Flathead Reservation, with 31,000 residents, 8,000 of which are Native American. 22% of those living on the reservation are age 65 or older, which is higher than the national average. Lack of safe places to walk poses a significant safety challenge for these residents.
Samantha and Maja discussed the project’s approach through the lens of the Growing Older Staying Stronger Initiative, a community-based participatory research project to promote physical activity security among Native American older adults living on the Flathead Reservation. Being able to access safe, enjoyable physical activity not only helps residents meet their health needs — it also helps to promote physical and emotional well-being and social connectedness for an active, healthy life. They described transportation as being a construct within health, citing AARP’s 8 Domains of Livability, which includes civic participation and engagement with community members.
The first project their team designed for a Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) road in the town of Arlee ran into unforeseen challenges and delays in navigating MDT’s permitting process. So they pivoted, implementing quick-build traffic calming projects in St. Ignatius, Montana, at two intersections in August 2025. The sites were selected based on community feedback gathered using the Stanford Medicine’s Our Voice public engagement tool. The community came together to create high-visibility crosswalk art at both quick-build sites, with one featuring flowers that are culturally significant to the tribes of the Flathead Reservation, and the site’s four-way intersection bulb-outs being painted in culturally significant colors corresponding to cardinal directions.
The Love Lane and Vine Street Community Safety Project in Hartford, Connecticut
The Hartford project was led by local non-profit Advocacy to Legacy, AARP Connecticut, and Community First School.
Advocacy to Legacy initiated a walk audit with the school’s children to teach them the process and what to look out for in terms of traffic safety on the path to a nearby park that sometimes provides an outdoor classroom. To reach the park, the children needed to cross the intersection of Love Lane with Vine Street, which sees 43,000 vehicles passing through each week, with 80% exceeding the 30 miles-per-hour speed limit.
Advocacy to Legacy determined this was the perfect opportunity for a quick-build project to slow traffic and add a crosswalk. They turned to AARP Connecticut for support, and although the initial design and plan featuring a colorful crosswalk, bulb-outs, and planters was rejected, the city eventually relented—though not without requiring changes to the plan. The project team also encountered barriers such as a lack of curb cuts and even an existing sidewalk on the park side of Vine Street.
The team performed engagement work and assembled community organizations, churches, business partners, schools, and local leaders and residents to get involved and sign letters of support. Other partners included public works, police, fire, health, and legal services—demonstrating substantial community buy-in and momentum. The community pressure ultimately helped the project cross the finish line, culminating in a build-day event with music, food, and games.
The project’s success has led to permanent infrastructure changes. The city continues to make improvements such as adding a sidewalk and curb cuts around the park, as well as extending an existing sidewalk to a bus stop down the street. Traffic has slowed as well, and the school has reported that cars now stop willingly for pedestrians.
Key Lessons & Top Takeaways
Among key lessons learned from their quick-build projects, panelists cited taking time to build trust with communities, educate leadership, and gain valuable input and feedback. Flexibility was also important, given project constraints, as well as identifying community movers and shakers, and developing relationships, even with those who don’t initially support the project. With time, it’s possible to come to a place of understanding.
As for barriers, the most significant included project cost, access to resources, lack of knowledge regarding community engagement, and timing. Local government officials often have a gut reaction of “no,” which requires persistence to overcome. Sometimes municipalities may mandate using city staff to execute projects, which can drive up cost (by 10x in the case of Hartford) as opposed to the projected cost of the smaller quick-build. In Montana, concerns included weather, tight timelines to spend grant funding, and a lack of institutional knowledge on what permits were needed and in what sequence.
Both project teams emphasized the importance of taking the time to find the right partners, leaning on connections, and creating projects based on the community’s needs. Finally, make the installation event fun and memorable!
For more, watch the whole webinar here!
Webinar Slides
Additional Resources
- VIDEO: Planting for the Future – Quick-Build Pedestrian Improvements in Indian Country
- VIDEO: Advocacy to Legacy – Love Lane & Vine Street Intersection Crosswalk Project
This publication was made possible by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Contract #47QRAA20D003W). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC. These efforts are part of the CDC’s Active People, Healthy NationSM Initiative that is working to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.
