Calm Utah's raging drivers

"Traffic calming" has as much to do with psychology as anything. It is to crowded roadways what soft music is to a dentist's office or dark-wood paneling and overstuffed chairs are to a reading room. Almost without thinking, drivers will slow down and be more cautious if they are "calmed" in the right ways.

But the right way takes money, and Salt Lake City needs to decide if it is concerned enough about making its streets safer to make the investment. That investment means more than simply installing more speed bumps.

The City Council is currently debating whether to do away with the city's traffic-calming program, which would save about $300,000. To some council members, the program's reliance on speed bumps has been counterproductive. It has forced many drivers off streets with speed bumps and onto streets without them.

Other low-cost alternatives, such as so-called "driver feedback signs," which flash at drivers to let them know when they are speeding, have been tried. The city also is considering raising the fines for speeding in certain neighborhoods. But, given the way people often react to a ticket, that might be considered quite the opposite of a calming program.

If done correctly, traffic calming is aesthetically pleasing. It can involve well-landscaped traffic circles at intersections instead of stop signs or traffic lights. It can take the form of well-placed trees or other highly visible vegetation that sends a subtle message to drivers to slow down. Crosswalks could be raised slightly — something the city already has done in some areas. In many cases, simply using bold and bright yellow paint to indicate a crosswalk can do the trick.

The idea is to send the message that it would feel uncomfortable, or inappropriate, to speed through such an area. As a side benefit, these methods often enhance a neighborhood's looks and increase property values.

Perhaps with city coffers straining against a stingy revenue stream, this isn't the time to pursue a full-bore calming program. But city residents seem to feel otherwise. About 100 neighborhood groups are on a waiting list for calming measures in front of their homes.

Despite rising gas prices, Americans have been buying vehicles and driving more miles in recent years than ever before. It makes sense to protect neighborhoods from this mechanized onslaught.