My city debated re-designing the main road in our neighborhood to carry less traffic, but instead opted to lower the speed limit and install speed cameras. Makes sense from their point of view: one costs money, the other brings in a reliable stream of revenue. Unfortunately people keep getting hit in the crosswalks, mostly by drivers from other neighborhoods who don't know about the cameras and see the wide streets (not unreasonably) as an invitation to drive fast.
Hefty fees and wide adoption of such practices could help to adjust drivers' behaviour. By adoption I mean both in more areas and make driver license exams harder.
When I moved to NL I was at first annoyed by the speed limits of 30km/h in residential areas but after a while I understood and started respecting the limits.
