We had a pair of trenches in our street from new construction tapping into the water main. Loud as fuck all day, and as an added bonus, it would shake the house - especially when an 18 wheeler or a bus went past, which wasn't uncommon because we're very close to a bus parking lot.

Unfortunately, I don't think any traffic calming technique is going to be effective in Philadelphia. There's a remarkable lack of self awareness by drivers in our city.

One of the ways I could alleviate the noise in our situation, since the trenches only crossed half the street, was to drag traffic cones into them. That worked for 48 hours max, before someone plowed right through the cones. Eventually enough people managed to drag them off under their car that I switched to a PGW folding plastic barrier. Usually good for a few days, and then wham - someone would just drive right through the damn thing.

And I can't make this rant without pointing to another post from today. Philly drivers just do not give a fuck.