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“Naked Streets†Without Traffic Lights Improve Flow and Safety
October 18, 2010
By Jonna McKone
Read More: http://thecityfix.com/naked-streets-without-traffic-lights-improve-flow-and-safety/
Portishead is a coastal town in England about 120 miles west of London. The town of 22,000 people experimented with turning its traffic lights off on a major road in September 2009. Despite the traffic chaos, the streets still seemed safe. The removal of the lights in Portishead, a city that has grown quickly in the last decade, was part of a four-week study “to solve long-standing congestion at the junction,†which was so debilitating and disruptive it sparked street protests and political campaigns from frustrated residents.
But the intersections became permanent after travel times for vehicles fell with no loss of pedestrian safety despite increases in the number of people using the road (more than 2,000 vehicles and 300 pedestrians per hour.) An article in a local Bristol newspaper explaining the effort stated, “drivers will now be expected to use a combination of common sense and courtesy to negotiate the junction of the town’s High Street, Wyndam Way and The Cabstand.†The method is much in contrast to one British publication’s description of car drivers’ relationships with traffic signals.
The thinking is based on the way drivers habitually race through lights before they turn red and who are lulled into a false sense of security by the confidence that they have right of way – making them less aware of potential hazards.
For the trial period, roads were monitored using cameras to see the impact of no traffic signals on congestion. (A 20 mile-per-hour speed limit was instituted over that same period.) In the video and in comments on articles about the initiative, residents said there have been big improvements—drivers pay more attention to the road and nearby pedestrians as opposed to traffic lights. Plus, there are savings, as each traffic lights usually costs 30,000 to 50,000 pounds to maintain.
These lightless traffic junctures are known as “naked streets.†Trial projects that challenge the importance of traffic lights have occurred in other areas of England and Europe. (The first traffic signal, according to this video report, was erected in London in 1868.) The Portishead experiment is not alone in its redesign. Transport for London (TfL) worked to remove lights in the central downtown with hopes of getting rid of as many as 20 percent of existing traffic lights with support from Mayor Boris Johnson. Recently the city aimed to eliminate 145 lights it deemed useless.
[video=youtube;vi0meiActlU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0meiActlU[/video]
October 18, 2010
By Jonna McKone
Read More: http://thecityfix.com/naked-streets-without-traffic-lights-improve-flow-and-safety/
Portishead is a coastal town in England about 120 miles west of London. The town of 22,000 people experimented with turning its traffic lights off on a major road in September 2009. Despite the traffic chaos, the streets still seemed safe. The removal of the lights in Portishead, a city that has grown quickly in the last decade, was part of a four-week study “to solve long-standing congestion at the junction,†which was so debilitating and disruptive it sparked street protests and political campaigns from frustrated residents.
But the intersections became permanent after travel times for vehicles fell with no loss of pedestrian safety despite increases in the number of people using the road (more than 2,000 vehicles and 300 pedestrians per hour.) An article in a local Bristol newspaper explaining the effort stated, “drivers will now be expected to use a combination of common sense and courtesy to negotiate the junction of the town’s High Street, Wyndam Way and The Cabstand.†The method is much in contrast to one British publication’s description of car drivers’ relationships with traffic signals.
The thinking is based on the way drivers habitually race through lights before they turn red and who are lulled into a false sense of security by the confidence that they have right of way – making them less aware of potential hazards.
For the trial period, roads were monitored using cameras to see the impact of no traffic signals on congestion. (A 20 mile-per-hour speed limit was instituted over that same period.) In the video and in comments on articles about the initiative, residents said there have been big improvements—drivers pay more attention to the road and nearby pedestrians as opposed to traffic lights. Plus, there are savings, as each traffic lights usually costs 30,000 to 50,000 pounds to maintain.
These lightless traffic junctures are known as “naked streets.†Trial projects that challenge the importance of traffic lights have occurred in other areas of England and Europe. (The first traffic signal, according to this video report, was erected in London in 1868.) The Portishead experiment is not alone in its redesign. Transport for London (TfL) worked to remove lights in the central downtown with hopes of getting rid of as many as 20 percent of existing traffic lights with support from Mayor Boris Johnson. Recently the city aimed to eliminate 145 lights it deemed useless.
[video=youtube;vi0meiActlU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi0meiActlU[/video]