Cars zipping through neighborhoods can be slowed by physical barriers as well as purely visual means, returning use of streets to pedestrians, bicyclists and homeowners.

The process, called traffic calming, was outlined at a Saturday afternoon workshop by Ian Lock-wood, a traffic engineer and currently transportation planner for West Palm Beach, Fla.Traffic calming "is the art of taking mean, angry cars and squeezing them down into happy ones," said Lockwood.

"The concept is to make drivers expect the unexpected, know that they'll have to slow down, stop, drive around objects, that they'll have to pay attention," he said.

It has its roots in European urban areas where dense residential neighborhoods with narrow streets and heavy traffic conflicted, Lockwood explained.

By further reducing street width, installing choke points that force cars to take turns through a single lane, and installing traffic circles, speed bumps, landscape strips, and other measures, traffic was slowed to be more compatible with urban uses, Lockwood said.

Salt Lake City is instituting a Neighborhood Traffic Management Program that may use some traffic calming methods to reduce conflicts in problem areas, according to Tim Harpst, city transportation director.

Lockwood was brought in to discuss traffic calming theories by the Salt Lake City Futures Commission.

About 75 people, mostly interested Salt Lake residents, attended the workshop, listening to a presentation by Lockwood and then breaking into workshop groups to study five problem areas and suggest solutions.

Lockwood said studies have determined that 20 miles per hour through a residential neighborhood is a reasonable target speed.

Measures can be taken to reduce that further but they become increasingly expensive and the return in terms of further speed reductions is negligible, Lockwood said.

And, 20 mph is a compatible speed with pedestrians and bicyclists. Vehicle emissions go down, stopping distance is reduced, drivers have more time to see and react to potential problems, and injuries and damage from a crash are relatively light, according to Lockwood.

Slowing traffic through a neighborhood brings dramatic results, according to Lockwood.

People other than drivers start using the street again. Children feel safer, adults congregate and socialize, and barriers such as landscaped traffic islands become gathering places.

One study showed it increases "porch time" - people sit out on their porch because the street-scape is less hostile and begin to interact with their neighbors, Lockwood said.

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In West Palm Beach, the concept contributes to urban renewal. Decaying buildings along pedestrian-friendly streets are being renovated into shops and restaurants on the street level and upscale residential space above.

Neighborhoods take over the maintenance of landscaped areas, which become a point of pride. Residents decorate them for holidays and even have contests, he said.

Calming designs are incorporated onto streets scheduled for routine repaving or other construction and don't drive up the cost significantly, he said, especially with maintenance taken over by residents.

"We have to re-evaluate how we measure the success of a street," Lockwood said. "Is it successful for drivers or is it successful for other users: the homeowners, pedestrians and bicyclists?"

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