A European urban street design approach shown to reduce traffic and increase pedestrian space might make its way to Toronto, after being discussed at last week’s Walk21 conference, which aimed to build healthy, efficient walking communities.
Shared streets first appeared in the Netherlands 40 years ago, when Dutch engineer Hans Monderman started designing intersections without traffic signals or markings.
“The trouble with traffic engineers is that when there’s a problem with a road, they always try to add something,” Monderman said.
“To my mind, it’s much better to remove things.”
Monderman’s concept supposes that shared streets don’t need signs and markings because people are guided by the physical design of the streets themselves. He suggested that people take fewer risks when unaware of their driving environment and as a result, will drive at slower speeds and use more caution when in traffic.
He argued that removing simple separations and directives from roads forces people and cars to think as they negotiate their way through space.
“When you don’t exactly know who has right of way, you tend to seek eye contact with other road users,” said Monderman. “You automatically reduce your speed, you have contact with other people and you take greater care.”
Shared streets are designed to be part of the public area, not just an outlet for traffic. Vehicles are considered as users who take up space, on equal footing with pedestrians and other road users. Rather than setting cars and pedestrians against each other for street space, shared streets integrate them together as a whole. Therefore, according to the principle, all users have equal access and control of the street.
The idea is to make street users understand that they’re in a shared environment, and then behave accordingly. Since Monderman’s Dutch creation, shared streets—or “naked streets,” as streets are “stripped” of signs and markings—have been making their way all over northern Europe, to the UK and most recently, to the streets of New York City
