Ashford, Kent - shared space

[nilling]

Report on BBC Breakfast this morning about Ashford's new traffic scheme where they has removed all traffic lights, pavements and crossings and reduced speed limit to 20mph.

They spent £13m and employed a landscape designer who used words like "inative" to create shared space where cars, bikes and peds have equal rights. So effectively there is no Highway Code nor Green Cross Code. Peds are expected to make eye contact with the car driver before crossing.

What made me smile was the BBC reporter was crossing a shared space which was once a ped crossing. In the background a woman following has to quicken her walking pace to a jog, not easy in high heels, as a car was coming - ah well, in the land of the jungle the lion is king!

More here... http://www.kent.gov.uk/transport-an...planning/major-projects/ashford-ring-road.htm

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

Nice idea, but I can't see some motorists being happy about having to give equal rights to peds and bikes, after all "they don't even pay taxes you know and they get in the way and slow you down. What, a 20mph limit? Well that's just another tax on the poor otherwise law-abiding motorist".

 

[HLaB]

Thanks for the link, I saw the program this morning and it looked very interesting.

 

[nilling]

Shared Space DVD http://www.ashford.gov.uk/transport_and_streets/road_improvements/shared_space_dvd.aspx

Looks interesting, though I did baulk at the presenter stating something along the lines that a shared space respects the common sense of the motorist! yikes :E

 

[tyred]

I just can't see this working. 98.5% of road users seem to think they're superior to all other road users so are unlikely to give equal rights to anyone.

 

[Steve Austin]

I walk on this everyday on the way to work. Its working fine to all the naysayers. Its a bit daunting 'hoping' that cars will give way to a walker, but they do.

the road is a bit narrower now so cars can't really speed along it as its not really wide enough, and its a 20mph zone. Its a really sensible solution I think.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I walk on this everyday on the way to work. Its working fine to all the naysayers. Its a bit daunting 'hoping' that cars will give way to a walker, but they do.

the road is a bit narrower now so cars can't really speed along it as its not really wide enough, and its a 20mph zone. Its a really sensible solution I think.

Fair enough. I'm glad to see my cynicism proved wrong.

Don't get me wrong; I hope it does succeed and if it does it would be good to see it rolled out elsewhere. I just have little faith in the "Great British Public".

 

[zimzum42]

I walk on this everyday on the way to work. Its working fine to all the naysayers. Its a bit daunting 'hoping' that cars will give way to a walker, but they do.

the road is a bit narrower now so cars can't really speed along it as its not really wide enough, and its a 20mph zone. Its a really sensible solution I think.

Quite how narrow is it? I've seen some women slow to a crawl cos they think their little run around cannot fit through a space wide enough for a bus.....

 

[Freewheeler]

There have been a couple of reports on Radio 4 recently saying that shared spaces may be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act, as blind people can find it difficult to navigate across the road when there are no clues such as kerbs and pedestrian crossings.

I've just found this page from a quick Google: http://www.accessgroupresources.co.uk/resources/the-pedestrian-environment/shared-space