Calming Traffic With Chokers And Skinny Streets

"To slow the cars converging on downtown and give pedestrians easier passage, this city in central Oregon has pushed intersection corners into the street. Bulbs, knobs, knuckles and ears, they are called, and chokers, because they gag traffic. A developer here is lacing his new neighborhoods with "skinny streets," in the new argot of traffic engineering. With cars parked on both sides, just one lane remains to squeak through...Planners say traffic calming can enliven pedestrian traffic and mitigate the effects of sprawl. Local officials say they cannot stop the freight train of development, but in the interests of safety and civility, they turn to these devices to cool down its cargo of charging S.U.V.'s."

Thanks to Congress on New Urbanism