Traffic calming and effective street cross-sections

[tomh009]

Adding a bunch of stop signs is hugely inefficient.  So much fuel is wasted in the deceleration/stop/acceleration cycle.  A better solution is to provide a design that allows a car to continue at a constant, lower speed.  Fuel consumption is minimized this way.

Which is why humps (as used in Doon, for example) are better than the traditional bumps.  You can maintain a comfortable 40 km/h over those in most cars (maybe not a Smart, though, given the super-short wheelbase), and avoid the acceleration/deceleration cycle.