Make the Street Feel Slower
On a wide, straight residential road, drivers can maintain speed with little effort. Urban planners can change that without relying only on signs or enforcement: traffic calming uses the street’s physical layout to encourage slower driving.
A curb extension pushes the sidewalk edge slightly into the roadway, narrowing the space drivers see and shortening the distance pedestrians must cross. A speed table—a raised, flat-topped section of pavement—makes drivers slow down to pass comfortably. Chicanes, which alternate gentle bends from side to side, interrupt a straight, fast driving line. Each feature changes the task of driving, not just the posted limit.
Why Lower Speeds Matter
A driver moving more slowly has more time to notice a person entering the road and more room to respond. If a collision happens, the vehicle also carries less motion energy, so the impact is generally less severe. That is why street design can affect not only how often crashes occur, but also how deadly they are.
The same changes can make crossings more visible and reduce the time people spend exposed to traffic. This matters especially on residential streets, where children may appear between parked cars and pedestrians may cross outside a marked intersection.
Design for the Whole Block
A single speed table may slow cars at one point while leaving the rest of the street fast. Planners therefore often consider a connected set of measures—at crossings, intersections, and along the block—so drivers encounter a consistent cue to reduce speed. Emergency access, drainage, buses, bicycles, and the needs of people with disabilities also shape which designs fit a particular street.
The key is to make the safer choice the natural one: a driver should feel the street asking for a slower pace before reaching the place where a person might step into the road.
