Built Ins
I prefer the Dutch word: "drempel." It sounds more like what it is: speed bump. Already on heightened alert with driving from the "wrong" side of the car, on the opposite side of the road, with "backward" controls, this pervasive infrastructure terrorized me while driving in New Zealand. They often occurred at pedestrian crossings and much more frequently than anywhere else I've ever been. I had to see them coming. A few times, particularly when strategically placed just past a sign indicating a speed limit increase, I almost didn't. I would have thought that an intentional joke played on unsuspecting foreigners like me if I didn't find locals almost uniformly kind, and very observant of speed limits. Infrastructure can guide, if not determine behavior. For example, a slow elevator can encourage greater use of stairs and separated bike lanes can promote cycling. Realizing these raised crossings were everywhere, and might have people near them, made me a more cautious driver. Adequately addressing challenges like climate change will require both policy changes and retrofitting urban centers symbiotically with nature to a degree that hasn't been fully fathomed yet. Examples abound. While tackling "big" issues is crucially important, so is improving quality of life through enhancing pedestrian safety, perhaps particularly if it means inconveniencing a foreign driver like myself from a country that so far has cared much less.
