Communities in Europe and Australia use several traffic calming measures, such as speed humps, landscaped circles or round-abouts, chicanes, diverters and chokers. California, Florida, Arizona and several Texas cities sing the praise of traffic calming. In Dallas, the Lakewood community and its M Streets significantly reduced the number of cars that traveled the tree-line residential streets in search of Lower Greenville, a popular eating, drinking and shopping area that bounds the area, with speed humps and stop signs. Houston residents tout the effectiveness of speed humps as do Austin citizens. Traffic circles are popular in Arizona and Oregon, where older neighborhoods are retrofitted with landscaped street circles that enhance the neighborhood and force drivers to slow down to curve around the circles.
New subdivisions incorporate traffic control devices, too.
In Rowlett, Texas, where upscale homes are sprouting up along Lake Ray Hubbard, one subdivision used landscaped circles to narrow two wide intersections and add distinction to the area. Diverters are another traffic calming device that can blend nicely into a neighborhood. Take the intersection of Rogers Avenue and Devitt Street in Fort Worth as an example. Neighbors came to the city asking for help in reducing Texas Christian University cut-through traffic. It's been landscaped thanks to area residents, who maintain it as well.