chokers - effective traffic calming or roadway hazard? 1

[CaliforniaTraffic]

Have other traffic engineers successfully or unsuccessfully used chokers in residential streets to slow down traffic? I have seen material recommending the use of "chokers", meaning a narrowing of a local residential street to slow down the traffic. Typically a 60' residential street (40' curb to curb) has been reduced to 28' curb to curb at the choker, or sometimes a bit wider with a short narrow median island in the center. Parking is prohibited within the choker thus costing a property owner all on-street parking within their frontage. A concern is liability over what could be argued to be a roadway hazard artificially introduced into the street. Also the signing is problematic in that the choker requires prohibition of on-street parking and possibly an object marker at the entry point, plus median signage at the noses if a median is used. So, successful traffic calming device or safety hazard is the real question for consideration...

 

[francesca]

Municode.com has ordnances for cities/regions around the country. Search yourself here.

Here's Knoxville, TN:

62-53. Local streets. Local streets shall have a minimum pavement width of twenty-six (26) feet.

Atlanta, GA (you may have to scroll down the side bar and click "more") has the following:
Residential access street and residential subcollector: ROW width: 32' Pavement width: 28'

 

[roncity]

Here's something sort of what I think you are talking about.
Short 6 foot wide islands ; one on each side of the street ; that take up one parking space...

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-01-14/pols_feature.html

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-09-23/pols_feature13.html

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-10-21/pols_naked11.html