Traffic Calming Backfires

Large-scale, aggressive traffic calming efforts to ease traffic in an upscale Westside Los Angeles community backfires.

1 minute read

July 21, 2005, 5:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The people of Cheviot Hills and traffic engineers are learning a sobering lesson about life in the vehicle-laden big city: In the absence of mass transit that gets people out of their cars, or more roads to accommodate the rising number of motorists, it's not enough to just push the traffic around. One street's sweet relief can quickly mean another's misery.

...Many residents say it's the so-called traffic calming fixes themselves — four-way stop signs, metered signals, road narrowing curb extensions known as bump-outs, re-striped lanes and right- and left-turn restrictions — that are the problem."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Wednesday, July 20, 2005 in The Los Angeles Times

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