Highways, where the car is naturally king, are part of the "traffic world" and another matter altogether. "It's a moving away from regulated, legislated traffic toward space which, by the way it's designed and configured, makes it clear what sort of behavior is anticipated," said Ben Hamilton-Baillie, a British specialist in urban design and movement and a proponent of many of the same concepts.
Signpost of the times driver#
The Drachten intersection is an example of the concept of "shared space," a street where cars and pedestrians are equal, and the design tells the driver what to do. "All those signs are saying to cars, 'This is your space, and we have organized your behavior so that as long as you behave this way, nothing can happen to you,"' Mr.
Signpost of the times drivers#
In his view, it is only when the road is made more dangerous, when drivers stop looking at signs and start looking at other people, that driving becomes safer. Monderman argues, you should first remove the traditional paraphernalia of their roads - the traffic lights and speed signs the signs exhorting drivers to stop, slow down and merge the center lines separating lanes from one another even the speed bumps, speed-limit signs, bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings. To make communities safer and more appealing, Mr. His philosophy is simple, if counterintuitive. His work in Friesland, the district in northern Holland that takes in Drachten, is increasingly seen as the way of the future in Europe. Used by some 20,000 drivers a day, the intersection is part of a road-design revolution pioneered by the 59-year-old Mr. People here have to find their own way, negotiate for themselves, use their own brains." "Who has the right of way?" he asked rhetorically. No one honked or shouted rude words out of the window. Monderman, a traffic engineer and the intersection's proud designer, deliberately failed to check for oncoming traffic before crossing the street, the drivers slowed for him. It was, basically, a bare brick square.īut in spite of the apparently anarchical layout, the traffic, a steady stream of trucks, cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, moved along fluidly and easily, as if directed by an invisible conductor. Not only was it virtually naked, stripped of all lights, signs and road markings, but there was no division between road and sidewalk. Like a naturalist conducting a tour of the jungle, he led the way to a busy intersection in the center of town, where several odd things immediately became clear. DRACHTEN, The Netherlands - "I WANT to take you on a walk," said Hans Monderman, abruptly stopping his car and striding - hatless, and nearly hairless - into the freezing rain.
0 kommentar(er)
