I've written A LOT about various speed reducing techniques, and it's smart that they're giving residents the chance to come up with their own ideas.

The problem? The only thing 90% of residents are going to suggest is the "We tried nothing and we're all out of ideas" solution: Speed Humps. Those are literally the LAST thing you should do after everything else.

What is everything else? What is better than Speed Humps?

1. RAISED INTERSECTIONS - These marvelous beasts are just continuous sidewalks! By raising it, cars have to slow down in order to cross them. Wanna run that stop sign? Fine, but you're going to slow the fuck down because physics!
2. SINGLE-LANE STREETS WITH EASEMENTS! - How many streets in Philadelphia are basically one-way streets but we have a line down the middle? When there's no line, drivers naturally drive towards the middle and then move more to their right when they see another car coming. Now imagine that as a single-lane on a non-busy street. Now imagine that same street with an easement on the sides so people can ride their bike in the street. There you go!
3. PARKING-PROTECTED BIKE LANES - These are AWESOME! By putting car parking right next to an active car lane, other cars slow down so they don't hit them. Next to that is a bike lane. The net effect? People are less afraid to ride their bikes so there are less cars on the road overall. Less cars mean less speeding. So many wins!
4. RANDOM SHIT STICKING OUT! - There's an actual name for this, but basically: Instead of the street being a straight-shot, you have things jutting out into the street likes trees. These can create "pinch points" where drivers slow down because they need to pay more attention than just driving straight.

And there you go, four ways to slow down traffic without the nightmare of speed humps!

Steal these ideas, promote them, and hopefully we could have raised intersections across all of Philadelphia instead of spending tons of cash creating, and maintaining, curb cuts that make it harder for people to get around than just keeping the street the same height as the sidewalk.