Fake speed bumps: pound foolish in Philly.

• Author: Riggs, Mike
• Position: Citings - Philadelphia - Brief article

PHILADELPHIA, the home of founder and aphorist Ben Franklin, has taken an old cliche--"penny wise, pound foolish"--to a new level The city doesn't want to spring for real speed bumps, so it's hoping fake ones will do the trick, despite hard evidence that they won't make any difference.

The faux bumps are flat pieces of plastic painted to look like small pyramids rising out of the road. Preliminary tests have shown that the fakes, which cost about $100 each, are effective only for a month or two before repeat drivers get used to the trick and resume speeding along. Undaunted, the city plans to install them on 60 to 90 streets.

Residents of the test areas didn't notice a change in the speed of traffic; nor did they slow their own driving. Richard Blomberg, a...