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In a move that flies in the face of traditional wisdom regarding traffic control, tes the little English town of Poynton has gotten rid of traffic lights and sidewalks and has reverted to a style of urban design known as shared space . The new strategy is to manage traffic similarly to how it was managed a hundred years ago, which is to say, very little…
The basic theory is that shared space reduces accidents because tes it changes how everyone behaves in settings where pedestrians and vehicles have to interact. You can read more about Poynton’s move to shared space and see a longer documentary about the experiment at The Atlantic .
I have a feeling that this will not work in the long-term. Contrary to what was stated, it’s not the traffic light that gives the license to drive recklessly; it’s the familiarity with the paradigm.
After 18 years of driving, I had to go on a 6-month hiatus due to medical issues. When I first got back behind the wheel, I was overly cautious for a few weeks — it was remarked that I was acting like a brand new driver.
Poynton tes has thrown a new paradigm at drivers, almost all of whom know nothing but the traffic-light paradigm, and so it’s slowed them down TEMPORARILY. Give it a few years, and people will be zipping through this shared space and flattening grandma in the process. Reply ↓ April 25, 2013 at 11:34 am Joe says:
I know exactly what you mean but I disagree because the whole concept is based on less traffic regulations and on the assumption that this will force drivers to STAY cautious, as it makes traffic a lot more unpredictable. Reply ↓ April 26, 2013 at 5:58 am Twopieces says:
This is kind of what unintentionally happens in India and it actually seems to work pretty well. It forces people to be more aware of their surroundings and to drive defensively. Reply ↓ April 25, 2013 at 11:39 am Riley says:
This actually makes sense! I lived in Africa for several years, and the difference between the very European city centers like Cape Town and the outlying townships was striking. In the highly developed and “modern” city, traffic was insane, people running red lights, tes very aggressive driving in general, while in the more rural area’s (ie. townships) with no sidewalks, no traffic lights, and a LOT of traffic, things were very laid back. Very few sped or drove aggressivley, and no one thought twice about stopping for a pedestrian or to let one turn across your lane of travel. Accidents happened, but not nearly as bad or as often as in the city. Reply ↓ April 25, 2013 at 11:50 am Kris says:
I feel like this worked better when most traffic was horse-drawn because vehicles did not have the ability tes to drive 40, 50, 60+ mph. All it takes is one stupid idiot to kill a few pedestrians to rethink this idea. Also, here in America there is this inherent idea that we have to BE somewhere faster than the next guy- not to mention the entitled folk who already feel l