Less traffic
Posted by Daniel Mon, 18 Sep 2006 13:57:00 GMT
Hans Monderman is a traffic engineer who hates traffic signs. Oh, he can put up with the well-placed speed limit placard or a dangerous curve warning on a major highway, but Monderman considers most signs to be not only annoying but downright dangerous. To him, they are an admission of failure, a sign - literally - that a road designer somewhere hasn’t done his job. “The trouble with traffic engineers is that when there’s a problem with a road, they always try to add something,” Monderman says. “To my mind, it’s much better to remove things.” [Yeah, baby. I’ve seen it work as well, and is supported by this.]
“The common thread in the new approach to traffic engineering is a recognition that the way you build a road affects far more than the movement of vehicles. It determines how drivers behave on it, whether pedestrians feel safe to walk alongside it, what kinds of businesses and housing spring up along it. “A wide road with a lot of signs is telling a story,” Monderman says. “It’s saying, go ahead, don’t worry, go as fast as you want, there’s no need to pay attention to your surroundings. And that’s a very dangerous message.”
Chaos = Cooperation
- Remove signs: The architecture of the road - not signs and signals - dictates traffic flow.
- Install art: The height of the fountain indicates how congested the intersection is.
- Share the spotlight: Lights illuminate not only the roadbed, but also the pedestrian areas.
- Do it in the road: Cafes extend to the edge of the street, further emphasizing the idea of shared space.
- See eye to eye: Right-of-way is negotiated by human interaction, rather than commonly ignored signs.
- Eliminate curbs: Instead of a raised curb, sidewalks are denoted by texture and color.
