The City of Kitchener is trying a new approach to traffic calming.

On residential streets such as Manchester Road, new street signs called flexipole delineators have been installed right in the middle of the street.

“We’re installing these on roads where we have identified concerns,” said Barry Cronkite, a manager of transportation planning with the City of Kitchener.

The reflective signs are designed to cause drivers to slow down to maneuver them.

City officials say that alternative traffic calming measures, like speed humps, can take longer to install, and sometimes cost 10 times more.

The other benefit of the delineators is that they are flexible—emergency vehicles, if need be, can drive right over them.