i saw a documentary years ago about a dutch town that removed all road signs, railings (even outside of schools), cobbled the streets, took out traffic lights etc. The traffic flow improved. At junctions drivers looked each other in the eye and negotiated who would move first, the same outside the schools where kids spilled out onto the pavement. No barriers meant the kids were more aware of the road, the drivers of the kids. the cobbles provided an easier ride at lower speeds. i’ve not seen much about it since until i picked up a reference to it on reddit. Apparently it’s called woonerf.
When it comes to reconfiguring streets as community spaces, ground zero is once again Holland and Denmark, where planners are removing traffic lights in some towns and cities, as well as white divider lines, sidewalks and speed limits. Research has shown that fatality rates at busy intersections, where two or three people were being killed every year, dropped to zero when controls and boundaries were taken away.
Research also suggests that an individual’s ability to interact and retain eye contact with other human beings diminishes rapidly at speeds greater than 20 miles per hour. One theory behind this magic bullet, says Hamilton-Baillie, is that 20 mph is the “maximum theoretical running speed” for human beings. (Evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson has drawn similar conclusions.)
this week i’ve been dropping the kids off at school. i have to get two kids to different schools, both a shortish driving distance from my house but in opposite directions. zoe’s school allows access only from 8.20 to 8.30am. (this is absurd). the traffic is ungodly at this time, notably because of this very policy. If you’re lucky not to get held up in a traffic jam, you then find there’s nowhere to park to escort said daughter into the school, so what you do is drop them at the kerb. Only you can’t because there is a yellow zig-zag line telling you that you can’t stop there, a sign helpfully telling you this is for children’s safety, it being a school and all. This is madness. A five year old could design a better system than this.
If there is any justice left on this fragile earth (ignoring all far more important things) then the head will have an RSS feed of a search on Sydenham High School for Girls Junior School (which they should) and will get this. if so: get rid of the yellow lines and have a teacher’s assistant waiting on the kerb to help kids out of cars for those ten minutes. but better, do this and have supervised play from 8am. go on you know it makes sense.
btw, don’t think i haven’t had said daughter run with this as her platform when running school council, cos i have. bad dad, and she lost.
