A Common Sense of Place

What are streets for? What story should they tell? Featuring Ben Hamilton-Baillie. Produced by Martin Cassini in association with Maniac Films.

Traffic Control: An Exercise in Self-Defeat* by Kenneth Todd

"...Statutes generally set penalties to reinforce common law obligations and discourage negligent acts. Right-of-way rules do the opposite. They diminish the main-street driver’s responsibility and place an extra burden on those who want to cross. Every day people are killed or injured because the law encourages the motorist to defy the most elementary safety rules and travel at high speed on urban arterial roads and intersections without looking for other traffic..Advertised as a panacea for all traffic ills in its early days, the traffic signal turned out to be one of those medicines that cures one disease and gives you another. It has been known since the late 1920s that signals reduce right-angle accidents at the cost of causing more rear-end and left-turn collisions. They first compress an hour's traffic into half an hour of green time and thereby halve all headways. They then make drivers go fast and keep close to the vehicle in front for fear of missing the green light, with their eyes up in the air rather than on the road. The combination of high speed, tailgating, diverted attention and sudden stops causes rear-end crashes..."

[more]
http://www.bikewalk.org/pdfs/trafficcontrol_backtobasics.pdf

Kenneth Todd is a retired engineer in Washington DC.
His work is referenced in:

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) By Tom Vanderbilt

'Fewer injuries' in Ashford shared space road scheme

A scheme where pedestrians and car users share the same space has resulted in fewer accidents, according to Kent County Council (KCC). The scheme, which turned Ashford's ring road into streets where drivers and pedestrians have equal priority, has been in place since November 2008. Figures released by the authority show there has been a 41% drop in accidents in which people have been injured. Critics have argued the scheme is dangerous to blind people. Under the scheme, signs, traffic lights and pavements were removed... ...The architect behind the scheme, Ben Hamilton-Baillie, said: "The worst fears that the accident rate would increase have not been born out by the figures. "It's certainly safer - the difficulty with any scheme like this is that it increases the slight sense of risk and discomfort in order to achieve that safety. "So people inevitably have some hesitation and nervousness about mixing with traffic as it relies on establishing a relationship at low speeds, which makes it possible to cross the road." [more]

Shared Space pedestrian and traffic interaction, Bern, Switzerland

"Free-flowing pedestrian and traffic flows along this busy suburban arterial route into Bern. illustrates the potential for improving pedestrian flows where a low-speed traffic environment has been created. Road carries over 20,000 vehicles per day. First three years of this and similar schemes have seen traffic flows improve, pedestrian delays reduced and significant improvements in accident rates. All former signal-controlled pedestrian crossings were removed."[Ben Hamilton-Baillie and Fritz Kobi] [Note the children's play structure with bouncing kids at the roundabout in the background. Also the emergency vehicle @ 4:23 min. shows how the pedestriam median refuge is mountable in emergencies. ]

Coventry: Shared Space Video

Blind man slams Coventry 'shared space' junctions

By Tina JundayNov 23 2011

...Coventry City Council has ditched traffic lights in eight busy junctions and put in 20mph speed limits to give drivers and pedestrians equal priority as part of a “shared space” scheme.

Council leaders say the schemes will lead to road users paying more attention and make the city centre safer, more attractive and pedestrian-friendly. But Jim Smallman, aged 62, of Green Lane, Finham, says the European-style changes have created “no-go areas” for the blind.



Read More http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2011/11/23/blind-man-slams-coventry-shared-space-junctions-92746-29827275/#ixzz1eaBb4icJ

Really Sharing The Road Means Vibrant Urban Spaces

By ROBERT ORR The Hartford Courant

August 7, 2011

Stop and go. Stop and go. Stop and go. Man, city driving can be a drag. What makes highway driving so much quicker?

City streets are designed to the exact same standards as highways — traffic engineers are trained to build highways and nothing else — so there shouldn't be a difference. So, why does traffic creep along inside city limits when streets are just like highways?

The problem lies at the intersections. Cars can, and do, achieve highway design speeds between intersections, but waiting at red lights kills the averages. Next time you're traversing city streets, reset your car's average mph computer (if your car is so equipped) and you'll find that even though you achieve bursts of 40 to 60 mph, your average speed settles in around 12 to 14 mph, unless congestion drops it further.

To be sure, no small effort has been devoted to combating the inefficiency of intersections, including traffic signals, convoluted timing devices for synchronization, striping lines, signs, etc. But so far the complexities of urban street systems continue to dog all such efforts. So we wait and wait for the light to change.

What would happen if we took the opposite tack? What if intersections were wiped clean of all the clutter? What if there were no stop lights, no signs, no striping?

As crazy as this idea may seem, not only has it received serious attention but it's actually gaining traction around the globe, including tentative forays in the U.S., with consistently impressive results.

It was first done to slow traffic speeds and improve safety, but mounting statistics indicate that where streetlights and stop signs are removed, top speeds drop from 40-60 mph to 20-30 mph, but average speeds increase from 12-14 mph to 17-19 mph. In other words, overall trip times drop when all signage and signals are removed, even though top speeds decrease. However, the biggest shocker is that accidents drop by half.

The simple explanation is that people, whether they are drivers, bicyclists or pedestrians, become more aware of each other, and preternatural avoidance systems take over to protect us from each other — just like the common sense that kicks in to prevent people from crashing into one another on a crowded ice skating rink.

The technique of creating "shared streets," where people, bicycles and cars all coexist in one shared space without signals and signage, found its roots in the late 1960s when Dutch traffic planner Hans Monderman worked with a largely grass-roots group to attack mounting safety concerns on roads. It was Monderman who first determined that common-sense instincts could trump all the separation and control devices that dominate roadway design.

His best-known early success was the Dutch "Woonerf," or "Living Street" project in Delft in 1968. He continued to develop the concept at intersections throughout the Netherlands until his death in 2008.

While Monderman's initiatives were primarily aimed at calming traffic and improving safety, other benefits emerged as signs and signals were removed. Merchants and property owners began to notice demonstrable increases in foot traffic in the newly shared streets, which led to increased retail sales, restaurant usage and demand for housing.

In other words, the unintended consequence of Monderman's safety efforts was to stimulate economic prosperity. The prosperity factor significantly widened the band of advocates for his cause, already named the Monderman Model.

In his spirit, Ben Hamilton-Baillie, a British architect and urban designer, began similar efforts. Like Monderman, Hamilton-Baillie began his career focused on street safety, in his case for bicyclists. He came to see that the Monderman Model offered obvious applications to safe bicycling.

Over the past 11 years, Hamilton-Baillie has created shared space, removing all traffic signals, signage and striping, at intersections in 56 communities in the U.K., including London, as well as in communities in Germany, Ireland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Canada. In all cases, interventions consistently lowered driving speeds, shortened trip times and significantly improved pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular safety.

As in the Monderman Model, Hamilton-Baillie's projects increased foot traffic in the shared space areas, and increased economic prosperity, or "uplift," as the British call it.

At one such project, the Great Queen Street shared space in London, residential retail and commercial uplift has been more than $800 million, according to a study.

Of course the reverse lesson of shared space projects is the deadening effect of streets designed like highways. These streets were supposed to improve safety and mobility and don't even do that, much less foster prosperity. It is time to stop the madness. Joining pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles in shared space releases normative human behaviors that could rekindle that dusty old project, civilization. Let's speed it along.

Robert Orr is an architect and planner in New Haven.

Naked Street man wants to strip High Street bare

Kilkenny Advertiser, October 22, 2010.

By Naoise Coogan

Kilkenny had a visit from the Naked Street Consultant this week. Ben Hamilton Baillie was in Kilkenny at the invitation of the Kilkenny City Centre Business Association (KCCBA) to assess Kilkenny’s streetscapes and traffic management system.

Mr Hamilton Baillie is renowned for his radical and contemporary street layouts which includes the removal of signage, barriers, rails, speed limits and any other impediment that might obstruct the natural flow of both pedestrian and motorised traffic.

Unconventional as his views may be, Mr Hamilton Baillie has had his plans implemented in several other European cities including the Netherlands, France and of course his homeland in the UK.

Speaking to the Kilkenny Advertiser during his visit Mr Hamilton Baillie said that although he is not up to date on Kilkenny’s system, he is aware of other medieval cities like Kilkenny that have implemented his street designs.

“I’m not a fan of one way systems personally. I don’t think they work very well. I really believe that if you change people’s mindsets, put the responsibility back on them to be careful that they accept this responsibility with gusto and this makes the streets a safer place.

“For example, a signalled pedestrian crossing has been proven to be two-and-a-half times more dangerous than no pedestrian crossing at all. This is because the lights and signage dictate your behaviour, however, if you are required to analyse the safety of crossing the road yourself, you are much more likely to be more careful — it makes sense,” he said.

Mr Hamilton Baillie also met with the county manager, Joe Crockett, officials and some members of the council on Monday morning for a consultation. Mr Crockett said that the concepts were interesting but at this point there were no definite plans determined for Kilkenny’s High Street.

“We are awaiting a report to be returned from WIT on research carried out on the affect of the one way system on businesses in the city and until we get this data, we really won’t know what we will do.”

The one way system trial was officially up after six months and business people are adamant that it has had a negative affect on their businesses. Some 100 people attended a meeting some two weeks ago organised by the KCCBA to voice their concerns, and this week more business people came along to a presentation by Mr Hamilton Baillie on his radical concept for traffic management.

“It’s customers that are saying to us that it is simply too difficult to get in and out of the city. They psychologically can’t get their head around having to drive all the way around the city to get to where they want to go because they cannot turn right from Bateman Quay onto Rose Inn Street and then they cannot drive up the High Street. We need to start from scratch and design a new plan for the city centre as the one in place is simply not working and this can be seen by almost every business in the city,” said Phil Walsh CEO of Goods on the High Street.

Cllr Betty Manning who is also a business person trading on the High Street was also adamant that something new needed to be done to sort out the problems and that the council needed to heed the voice of local business who made up the heart of Kilkenny city.

There will be several meetings of the council members and officials before a resolution is decided upon, and whether Mr Hamilton Baillie will be commissioned to design a new concept for Kilkenny’s High Street. Until then, the one-way system remains in place and Kilkenny businesses continue to count their losses.

Meanwhile pedestrians are happier and feel more confident and comfortable on the High Street as it feels safer and is less congested than before.

Traffic light failure reduces jams

TRAFFIC light failure at one of Winchester’s busiest junctions produced a surprise result – fewer jams. [ Hampshire Chronicle 18th October 2009 ]

The fault occurred early on Tuesday (October 13) where Southgate Street meets High Street.

The bottleneck often forces drivers to queue for several hundred yards along Southgate Street and the city’s one-way system.

Yet there were only a handful of vehicles on both sides of the junction while the lights were broken. There were also no reports of accidents.

Nearby traders, who see the jams on a daily basis, said the traffic was much lighter.

Matt Lunney, a negotiator at Pearsons estate agents in Southgate Street, noticed the difference.

He said: “Everything is settling down and there’s only been one or two people going a bit too fast along Southgate Street.

“The traffic isn’t too bad. It often goes back a fair way from here but that doesn’t seem to have happened this morning.”

Across the road, Susan Whyman runs the Childhood’s Dream toyshop, and said traffic was flowing freely.

She said: “I drove through it to get to work this morning. There doesn’t seem to be any trouble outside but I’m not sure if it would stay that way if a large truck came around the corner.”

Along with lorries, many buses also use the junction, including the Bluestar 1 service to Southampton.

Alan Weeks of the Winchester City Residents’ Association often rides the bus into town, and went through the affected junction. While vehicles were doing fine, he said it was risky for pedestrians.

“The people crossing the road were taking their life in their hands, as there weren’t any gaps in the traffic,” he said.

Winchester Friends of the Earth spokesman, Chris Gillham, said they wanted pedestrians to have more priority over cars.

One idea to achieve this in Winchester is ‘shared space’, which includes reducing street furniture.

Mr Gillham said they would support having fewer traffic lights, not just as part of the scheme, but to reduce street clutter too.

County council engineers fixed the fault before Tuesday evening’s rush hour. Traffic returned to normal the next day, with longer queues.

The county council was asked if it might consider switching them back off as an experiment, but it said it would compromise pedestrian safety.

Apart from the Southgate Street lights, there are nine further sets on Winchester’s one-way system in Union, Eastgate, Upper Brook, St George’s and Jewry Streets, along with North Walls and Friarsgate.

Verkeersbordvrij

European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs By Matthias Schulz for Der Spiegel

A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs...The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga, in the Dutch province of Western Frisia. A sign by the entrance to the small town (population 1,000) reads "Verkeersbordvrij" -- "free of traffic signs." Cars bumble unhurriedly over precision-trimmed granite cobblestones. Stop signs and direction signs are nowhere to be seen. There are neither parking meters nor stopping restrictions. There aren't even any lines painted on the streets...[more]

Drachten is one of the pioneer towns for such schemes. Accident figures at one junction where traffic lights were removed have dropped from thirty-six in the four years prior to the introduction of the scheme to two in the two years following it. Only three of the original fifteen sets of traffic lights remain. Tailbacks (traffic jams) are now almost unheard of at the town's main junction, which handles about 22,000 cars a day [more]

Challenging assumptions, Ben Hamilton-Baillie

Ben Hamilton-Baillie advocates replacing street clutter with social protocol

Allan B Jacobs has been described as ‘the ultimate student of the street’ by the Project for Public Spaces (PPS). The author of Great Streets and The Boulevard Book was asked by PPS to summarize the key conclusions from his long career as both a researcher and practicing urban designer. His response was two-fold. Firstly, he concludes that improving streetscapes and urban design requires utilizing the power of observation and questioning assumptions. Secondly, he advocates fostering interaction between pedestrians and cars in the public realm....
Proposals
e.g.
...Remove formal pedestrian crossings. They merely contribute to the conditions that, in turn, give them an apparent purpose. By introducing a false sense of safety to the pedestrian, they increase danger. Courtesy crossings are cheaper, simpler, and more appropriate. A wide-ranging review of pedestrian crossing types by the University of Lund suggests that informal crossings are significantly safer than puffins, pelicans, toucans, zebras and all the rest of the complicated and expensive zoological armoury...
... If any highway authority is nervous about risk or liability, refer them to the case of Corringe v. Calderdale. It is the duty of drivers to take the road as they find it…
[more]

In Ashland, Cars Rule - OK?

A local resident recently wrote to the Editor of Ashland's Daily Tidings newspaper:

Pedestrians, save gas by not making traffic stop for you
Pedestrians! Don't make autos stop for you at crosswalks! Although autos are required by law to stop for pedestrians, we'd use less gasoline and create less pollution if pedestrians waited for traffic to clear before crossing, or walked half a block to the closest stoplight...So all you oh-so-green Ashlanders, do your bit to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lessen the risk of global warming — don't make vehicles stop for you at crosswalks!

read entire letter at [link]

Perhaps a better solution might be to eliminate all the traffic signals and reduce the speed of vehicles such that pedestrians could safely cross anywhere between the slow-moving traffic. Drivers would be watching the pedestrians rather than the green-for-GO signal above them.
Sounds like - Shared space ! see video - Introduction to Shared Space

Impromptu Shared Space Calms Soho Intersection

by Ben Fried on March 5, 2009 courtesy of StreetsBlog.org

...Reader Tim Koelle sends this report of a busted traffic signal gone terribly right at the intersection of West Broadway and Grand yesterday morning:
I watched for an hour while cars, trucks and pedestrians shared this space quietly... with civility! Little honking, no aggressive driving, no traffic cop. Why? Because the light was out.
No one had to speed up and honk to make the green light on time; no one honked or changed lanes to take advantage of the narrow window of time the light granted them. Everyone came to a stop, looked around (wondering why the light was dead, and what they should do), and proceeded slowly thru.
Instead of a line of cars waiting for the light to change, alternate sides vying with each other for the few precious moments allowing them the right to pass thru... no one had to wait very long. And in fact the alternate sides traded back and forth, almost at a one-to-one ratio. No one had to wait, so no one got stuck in a line, so no one sped up, so no one honked, so there was no need for aggressive driving! Even pedestrians got their due... [more, with comments]

It reminds me of when a power cut in Downtown Ashland happened just at evening rush hour, shutting down all the traffic signals.
Everybody just quietly took their turn - bikes, pedestrians and cars all watching each other, rather than waiting for the eye-in-the-sky to tell them to GO !
I have also heard reports of early morning commuters stopped and waiting at red lights on Lithia Way - for the non-existing cross traffic. Do we actually need traffic signals in Ashland?
Comments welcome.

Dim the Traffic Lights?

Saving energy by making useof eyes' sensibility to contrast
By Professor Hugo D Godoy Azar

(extract)
"...I invite you to try an exercise of observation that clearly illustrates our idea:At night, proceed to a wide straight avenue, if possible 500-metres long, with traffic lights working at the end. You will see that despite the distance, you will be able to see clearly the lamps of the traffic lights, which have a minimum of between 75 and 150 watts. Wait until a car arrives and stops at the lights. You will be able to see clearly its rear lights – of 5 watts! Intriguing, isn’t it?..." [more]

Just step out, pedestrians are told. Drivers will stop

Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent , The Times
Pedestrians are being encouraged to walk out in front of cars and traffic lights have been removed in a unique experiment on Britain’s roads.
Drivers no longer have the right of way on the ring road in Ashford, Kent, and have to negotiate their way across junctions, with no signs or lines to guide them. All road users, whether travelling on foot, by bicycle, car or bus, have equal priority and must use eye contact to decide who goes first...
...But Ashford is the first place to introduce the purest form of shared space, under which traffic lights are considered not only unnecessary but a potential cause of collisions.
The theory is that lights lull people into a false sense of security, meaning that they pay less attention on a green light and fail to notice someone stepping off the pavement.... [more]

Videos here and here

Removing Roads and Traffic Lights Speeds Urban Travel

Urban travel is slow and inefficient, in part because drivers act in self-interested ways
By Linda Baker - Scientific American Jan 2009

...The idea is that the absence of traffic regulation forces drivers to take more responsibility for their actions. “The more uncomfortable the driver feels, the more he is forced to make eye contact on the street with pedestrians, other drivers and to intuitively go slower,” explains Chris Conway, a city engineer with Montgomery, Ala.
Last April the city converted a signalized downtown intersection into a European-style cobblestone plaza shared by cars, bikes and pedestrians—one of a handful of such projects that are springing up around the country... [more]