BIKE: Roads Gone Wild

[Bob Farr]

Worth a read...

>From WIRED on-line:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic_pr.html
Roads Gone Wild
No street signs. No crosswalks. No accidents. Surprise: Making driving seem more 
dangerous could make it safer.


"... Riding in his green Saab, we glide into Drachten, a 17th-century village 
that has grown into a bustling town of more than 40,000. We pass by the 
performing arts center, and suddenly, there it is: the Intersection. It's the 
confluence of two busy two-lane roads that handle 20,000 cars a day, plus 
thousands of bicyclists and pedestrians. Several years ago, Monderman ripped out 
all the traditional instruments used by traffic engineers to influence driver 
behavior - traffic lights, road markings, and some pedestrian crossings - and in 
their place created a roundabout, or traffic circle. The circle is remarkable 
for what it doesn't contain: signs or signals telling drivers how fast to go, 
who has the right-of-way, or how to behave. There are no lane markers or curbs 
separating street and sidewalk, so it's unclear exactly where the car zone ends 
and the pedestrian zone begins. To an approaching driver, the intersection is 
utterly ambiguous - and that's the point.

Monderman and I stand in silence by the side of the road a few minutes, watching 
the stream of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians make their way through the 
circle, a giant concrete mixing bowl of transport. Somehow it all works. The 
drivers slow to gauge the intentions of crossing bicyclists and walkers. 
Negotiations over right-of-way are made through fleeting eye contact. 
Remarkably, traffic moves smoothly around the circle with hardly a brake 
screeching, horn honking, or obscene gesture. "I love it!" Monderman says at 
last. "Pedestrians and cyclists used to avoid this place, but now, as you see, 
the cars look out for the cyclists, the cyclists look out for the pedestrians, 
and everyone looks out for each other. You can't expect traffic signs and street 
markings to encourage that sort of behavior. You have to build it into the 
design of the road."... "

More good stuff at the link:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic_pr.html

Robert Farr
Austin, TX
bobfarr