  We use an exact transfer-matrix approach to compute the equilibrium
properties of a system of hard disks of diameter $\sigma$ confined to a
two-dimensional channel of width $1.95\,\sigma$ at constant longitudinal
applied force. At this channel width, which is sufficient for
next-nearest-neighbor disks to interact, the system is known to have a great
many jammed states. Our calculations show that the longitudinal force
(pressure) extrapolates to infinity at a well-defined packing fraction $\phi_K$
that is less than the maximum possible $\phi_{\rm max}$, the latter
corresponding to a buckled crystal. In this quasi-one-dimensional problem there
is no question of there being any \emph{real} divergence of the pressure at
$\phi_K$. We give arguments that this avoided phase transition is a structural
feature -- the remnant in our narrow channel system of the hexatic to crystal
transition -- but that it has the phenomenology of the (avoided) ideal glass
transition. We identify a length scale $\tilde{\xi}_3$ as our equivalent of the
penetration length for amorphous order: In the channel system, it reaches a
maximum value of around $15\,\sigma$ at $\phi_K$, which is larger than the
penetration lengths that have been reported for three dimensional systems. It
is argued that the $\alpha$-relaxation time would appear on extrapolation to
diverge in a Vogel-Fulcher manner as the packing fraction approaches $\phi_K$.
