The "self-reading street" has its roots in the Dutch "woonerf" design principles that emerged in the 1970s. Blurring the boundary between street and sidewalk, woonerfs combine innovative paving, landscaping and other urban designs to allow for the integration of multiple functions in a single street, so that pedestrians, cyclists and children playing share the road with slow-moving cars. The pilot projects were so successful in fostering better urban environments that the ideas spread rapidly to Belgium, France, Denmark and Germany. In 1998, the British government adopted a "Home Zones" initiative -- the woonerf equivalent -- as part of its national transportation policy.
"What the early woonerf principles realized," says Hamilton-Baillie, "was that there was a two-way interaction between people and traffic. It was a vicious or, rather, a virtuous circle: The busier the streets are, the safer they become. So once you drive people off the street, they become less safe."
My two and a half weeks of travel in Taiwan bear this out. It's crowded there, and the sidewalks are makeshift parking zones for the hundreds of thousands of scooters. So pedestrians weave in and out of the street, cars and scooters don't stick to the lanes, and bicyclists go on their merry way. Yet no one gets hit. I saw one accident the entire time, a minor fender-bender involving two cars.
My theory is there's a strong group agreement at play: Worry only about what the person in front of you is doing, and all will be fine if everyone else does the same.
I'd try anything to make the streets here in Lincoln, Nebraska, safer for cyclists. My friend Eric just got his shoulder, collarbone and wrist banged up by a careless driver, and won't be climbing again for some time. I haven't yet been hit, but it's only a matter of time.
Via Boing Boing
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