Kensington High Street is the way to go

A visit to London like I had Fri/Sat should not be complete without a visit to see how Shared Spaces at Kensington High Street is getting on?! New comers to this blog may like to see a brief summary of Shared Spaces here and article here.

Photo: people crossing between cars at junctions: accident rates have been cut

The above pic is from The Times but not so easy to read - basically Kensington High Street is a move towards Shared Spaces - as photos above and below show this includes elements like guard rails being removed, cycle parking in the middle of the road to encourage people to cross any place, straight-across crossings rather than those staggered ones that have you cross one road then go one direction before crossing the other half, signage has been removed - and much more...

Photo: 600 metres of guard rails were removed in Ken High St - results have discredited the belief that railings prevent accidents: in the 2years after they were removed, pedestrian casualties declined three times faster than the London average.

As I've noted before this approach was first developed in the Netherlands, where pedestrians, cyclists and cars are encouraged to mingle. Kerbs in several Dutch towns have for example been removed and the boundaries between the pavement and road blurred deliberately to prevent people from assuming they have right of way - some roads have what are called 'wriggle room' - this can for example be a drain area under a meter wide that is made of a different surface - thus narrowing the road to slow traffic but enabling it still to use the area when say lorries need to pass each other.

In Holland traffic lights have also been removed and drivers must negotiate their way across junctions, forcing them to slow down and establish eye contact with pedestrians. In the town of Drachten, the removal of traffic lights at one major junction has resulted in accidents falling from thirty-six in the four years before the scheme was introduced to two in the next two years. The average time for each vehicle to cross the junction fell from 50 seconds to 30 seconds, despite a rise in the volume of traffic.

Photo: cycle stands in the middle of the road

The Shared Spaces approach is the opposite of the 1960s ethos of separating cars and pedestrians. By removing road signs and traffic lights and changing the appearance of the road, you avoid the impression that areas are designated just for cars. You in effect create a mild anxiety among everyone so they all behave cautiously. No one drives along thinking that they have priority.

But read the article linked above if you want more - basically Ken High Street is looking good - what a pleasure compared to before where pedestrians were herded behind guard rails...click on 'Shared Spaces' Label below for info about hopes for local schemes.