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.

People & Traffic in Llan - Crowdfunding for change

Llangollen, North Wales, UK  07 March 2015

"Everyone grumbles about Castle Street. Drivers in a hurry to get through would like all parking banned, pedestrians would like safe crossings, shopkeepers need to load and unload and want more parking for their customers, tourists want a pleasant place to stroll.

At the moment we have the worst of all possible solutions, some legal parking, some illegal parking, double yellows down one side giving motorists the illusion of a clear road - until they meet a large vehicle coming the other way, and pedestrians running the gauntlet. The only good thing is that it's so chaotic the traffic is often slow and there haven't been any serious accidents. There have been a lot of near-misses, minor bumps and startled pedestrians. Relying on poor traffic management to keep people safe isn't really a sensible policy..."

more at http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/people-traffic-in-llan/

Breaking news: 

Crowdfunding target for Llangollen road survey reached !

http://www.newsnorthwales.co.uk/news/145131/crowdfunding-target-for-llangollen-road-survey-reached.aspx

'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]

Coventry: Shared Space Video

Exhibition Road Shared Space now open

A farewell to pavements
Is it a mad idea to turn roads and pavements into one great big shared space? London's grandest cultural artery will shortly find out

By Justin McGuirk
guardian.co.uk

"...Roads and pavements are rules, keeping hard cars and soft pedestrians apart. Lane markings, pedestrian crossings and steel railings are another layer of rules. Do we really need such nannying? What if we relaxed the rules a little?

This is exactly what's happening at London's Exhibition Road, the great Victorian thoroughfare that stretches half a mile from South Kensington tube station to Hyde Park in London. In the last 18 months, it has been ripped up and remade to a new design that all but abolishes the distinction between road and pavement..."

[More]

Birmingham UK - Residents plead for road safety

RESIDENTS of a Birmingham suburb today demanded urgent road safety improvements after five people were killed in two road death tragedies.
The safety calls were made in Moseley after a pensioner and four boys died in two separate incidents last month.

Teresa Queenan was in collision with a lorry as she crossed the junction of Alcester Road and Salisbury Road on November 9 while four boys died when the car in which they were travelling hit a wall in Salisbury Road on November 14.

Now, the Moseley Forum group has demanded a so-called shared space scheme in the suburb as soon as possible.

Shared space schemes integrate public spaces by removing the traditional segregation of vehicles, pedestrians and other road users.

The aim is to remove barriers, including road signs, bollards and lights, between car and pedestrian to turn the street into a self-regulated area used by all.

It has been pioneered with some success in Holland and is being introduced in various part of the United Kingdom.

[more..]

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.

Anarcho Traffic Management: is it the Future?

by The Bristol Blogger 1/18/08

[Monderman]...also claimed that congestion, traffic jams and the rush-hour would be alleviated if not completely eliminated by removing all these state traffic regulations. He further argued that if traffic is slowed down it will actually move quicker.
At the heart of shared space lies the idea of integration. This contrasts with the traditional town planning practices of segregation, where traffic and people must be ruthlessly seperated. Monderman’s attitude - which is well worth Bristol City Council taking on board - was:
“If you treat drivers like idiots, they act as idiots. Never treat anyone in the public realm as an idiot, always assume they have intelligence.”
Of course for much of his life Monderman was himself treated as a dangerous idiot by traditional traffic experts, civil engineers and the huge and powerful corporate vested interests behind them. But where his ideas have been tried such as in his home town of Friesland, Holland and in Scandinavia they have been highly successful...
...Could this be the ideal place for the city to create a shared space scheme? What’s there to lose? If it fails then our traffic engineer traditionalists can lovingly recreate their pensioner death trap again in a few years time anyway. [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]

Civic Trust Special Award - 2009

New Road, Brighton
...By adopting the concept of a shared space the scheme has transformed a traditional, motorist dominated street scene incorporating rigid features such as kerbs and crossings into one where pedestrians are able to move freely over the whole area and have priority over other users. The inclusion within the design of attractive features such as bespoke seating and lighting has improved the experience of many people who use the area, and has created a new café culture with a lively, welcoming atmosphere which is pedestrian friendly both during the day and in the evening. Local people were involved in the design process through a series of workshops and it is clear that the scheme has improved the experience for many people who use it...[more]

ICE VIP gets tour of town's shared space

The President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Dr Jean Venables was given a tour of Ashford’s [UK] shared space scheme on Tuesday...
...Judith Armitt, managing director of Ashford’s Future, said: “Our shared space scheme has set the standard for transforming a major town centre road and several local authorities are looking to follow our lead. Following several high profile visits we are delighted to welcome the President of the ICE. Shared space is helping unlock the commercial development potential of Ashford and has made the area much more attractive to residents and visitors.”
[more]

New Inn Hall Street to get revamp

A £625,000 scheme to create a shared space for all road users in an Oxford city centre street is about to get under way.
The West End Partnership will start work on Monday to transform New Inn Hall Street, following the completion of the £2m facelift of neighbouring Bonn Square in December.
The resurfacing project will last 20 weeks and is designed to encourage vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to be courteous and give way to each other.
Although the full width of the street, including pavements, will be at the same level, the pavement areas will still be clearly marked.
Oxfordshire County Council, which is planning to pedestrianise more of the city centre as part of its Transform Oxford project, is providing £125,000 towards the work. [more]

America before streets were civilised

Some Reflections from 2017
by Ben Hamilton-Baillie Hamilton-Baillie Associates Limited, Bristol, United Kingdom

Contribution by the author to the world wide collaborative project “Messages for America: World-wide experience, ideas, counsel, proposals and good wishes for the incoming Obama transportation team”. See www.messages.newmobility.org for latest version of this report of the New Mobility Agenda

Looking back at 2009 from the closing days of Barrack Obama’s presidency, it is sometimes surprising to appreciate how much has changed in the relationship between people, places and traffic, and to grasp the effect of the dramatic policy change that took hold back then. Aware that successful cities are judged on the quality of their public realm, policy makers began to transform city streets from soulless arteries for vehicles into spaces shared equally by pedestrians, cars, taxis, buses, bicycles and every kind of social activity. Given the huge benefits that sprang from the multiple use of public urban space for safety, movement, accessibility, and economic vitality, it is now hard to recall how different typical streets once looked.Until 2009, they looked like everywhere else. In those days. the roadways providing running space for vehicles were carefully separated from pedestrian spaces. Kerbs, steel barriers, bollards and paint markings reinforced this separation. Different organisations looked after the two worlds that this segregation created, one managed by “traffic engineers”, the other by “urban designers”. Traversing this divide required specific crossings controlled by traffic lights, buttons and beeping signals. Standardised signs, traffic islands, poles, control boxes and illuminated bollards littered the spaces between buildings. Behaviour in the roadway was controlled by the state via cameras, and normal social courtesies were discouraged.Inspired by pioneering examples from Europe, and particularly by the work of Hans Monderman from The Netherlands, people suddenly realised that all this highway clutter was no longer needed. Without traffic signals, signs and markings, traffic flowed slowly and more smoothly. Congestion diminished. Casualty rates, particularly for children and vulnerable pedestrians, declined sharply. Shops flourished as pedestrian footfall increased, with people negotiating their way through slowly moving traffic using informal communication and courtesy. Bus companies reported more reliable running times. Every street in America began to reflect its history, context and purpose, reflecting the richness and diversity of the country’s huge geography and infinite variety.Only the most busy traffic arteries remained segregated, such as the freeways and major arterial highways. All the remaining city streets became “shared space”. Back in 2009, most found the change surprising and a little daunting. It seemed almost perverse and counter-intuitive to take away rules and regulations, signs and signals, and to rely on people’s commonsense and adaptive skills. And yet, just as crowds seem to develop an intuitive choreography in busy complex spaces such as railway station forecourts and departure lounges, so drivers and pedestrians engaged in a new respectful relationship at busy intersections. Speeds remained below 20 mph. Delaying a bus or lorry became a serious social gaffe. Eye contact and hand signals became more sophisticated. Driving behaviour adapted to the times of day and rhythms of the city, with quite different styles when schools were coming out, when the bars were closing, or when streets were empty before dawn. Pedestrians walked where they wished to walk. Bicycling became the norm in the low speed, smooth flowing streets. Taxi drivers still grumbled. Traffic signal engineers were retrained as park keepers and window cleaners. Civility flourished.So many changes in the past eight years, but none more significant for the quality of everyday life in America as the moment when engineering merged with creativity and commonsense.

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

Will new town embrace shared space too?

...Two public meetings were held last week at Shadoxhurst Village Hall and Great Chart Primary School to give residents the chance to see how the Chilmington Green and Discovery Park area of Ashford will be developed...one of the proposals would be to roll out a similar shared space scheme as recently unveiled in Elwick Road. The scheme blurs the boundaries of roads and paths giving more power to pedestrians and slowing down traffic flows.

National experts on 'place-making' were brought in to help and advise on the best ways forward... [more]

Helmets Safer..or Not?

Elle Macpherson's child bicycle bungle

This is how the UK's Daily Mirror described the incident:
...Elle Macpherson is not exactly a model mum - as she cycles along with her son perched precariously on the handlebars.
Elle, 44, seemed oblivious to the dangers as she laughed and chatted with [son] Aurelius Cy while weaving through busy West London streets... [more]

The Guardian's Simon Jenkins however had a different opinion:

Elle Macpherson deserves a medal...
The press are idiots to condemn the model for cycling without a helmet. The real villains are over-active traffic managers

...Macpherson was probably the safest cyclist in London that day. Like the mayor [of London] , Boris Johnson, she is signed up (I guess by instinct) to the Wilde-Adams theory of compensatory risk assessment. By not wearing a helmet, she lowers her risk threshold and thus rides more carefully. She commendably cycles rather than drives a car and protects her child, who cannot manage his own risk. The society should give her a medal, not insult her. The press were idiots.
By chance, this week sees the publication of another tome in the mountain of evidence that Britain's safety culture is making us increasingly unsafe. Tom Vanderbilt's Traffic collates a mass of evidence about how we drive cars and use roads. It demonstrates the extent of mendacious brain-washing inflicted on the public by health-and-safety lawyers, bureaucrats and sellers of expensive equipment...Galileo had the same trouble with the Inquisition. I say give Elle Macpherson a Galileo medal. [more]

What do YOU think?

Town's shared space a template for others

Ashford’s innovative – yet controversial – shared space road scheme is proving something of a trendsetter, with a host of other local authorities now considering travelling down a similar route.The blurring of pedestrian and road space in the newly created Elwick Square was initially met with concerns over safety.It reduces the speed limit to 20mph and gives pedestrians equal priority to those behind the wheel. But it has proved instrumental in breaking the restrictive collar the ring road has had on the town’s development. And now towns and cities across the UK are lining up to follow Ashford’s lead in creating an ambitious shared space scheme. A number have signalled their interest in plans to emulate the Kent town’s radical approach to urban renewal and street design.
[more]

Crown Square development top of Matlock's agenda Matlock Today - Derbyshire,UK Matlock Civic Association has studied how shared space schemes – which involve the removal of road markings – have worked in other towns. ...

Study to unclog Winchester's arteries Hampshire Chronicle - Winchester,England,UK One proposal already on the table is ‘shared space’ where street furniture is removed and pedestrians have more priority over cars.