Fine art it is not. But the pyramid-shaped figures do seem to leap off the road as drivers approach them. A similar experimental treatment Phoenix is using looks something like a speed hump--without the bump. "They're supposed to give motorists the illusion that something is there," says Phoenix traffic engineer Sara Elco. "We want people to slow down."
While Phoenix is trying this ruse on only a couple of streets, it represents the nation's latest--and perhaps strangest--traffic-calming initiative. Phoenix has installed hundreds of actual speed humps on local streets, but those won't work on busier collector roads. They cause drainage problems and slow down emergency vehicles, and they occasionally damage vehicles when a Starsky or Hutch wannabe catches air off them.
Do the 3-D markings work? It seems lots of drivers are conned into slowing down the first time (perhaps very abruptly, judging by the tire marks). But Elco admits the effect appears to wear off over time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is in the midst of evaluating the program. Its report is due out early next year.
