Bye Bye Curbs: Safer Streets in the UK Mix Cars and People

You can be forgiven if, as a pedestrian or cyclist, you would like to see a barrier (heck, a forcefield) separating you from cars. After all, you're very vulnerable and people can be careless while driving.

But new research from the UK shows that under some conditions, the opposite is true: An effective way to protect pedestrians and cyclists is to actually erase the distinctions that separate car traffic from foot and bike traffic.

Under the "Shared Space" concept, popularized by Dutch engineer Hans Monderman, curbs and sidewalks are eliminated in favor of flat passageways that accommodate cars, bikes and those on foot. Counterintuitively, this arrangement induces drivers to behave more cautiously. By keeping them vigilant, it keeps vulnerable users safe.

Adam Davies at Network blog Walkonomics explains how shared streets are working as well a some of the difficulties encountered in the UK:

Elsewhere on the Network today: The League of American Bicyclists explains how the transportation bill negotiations going on right now in Washington threaten to undermine two decades of progress on cycling and walking. Beyond DC details how the greater Washington area has been sapping transportation funds and encouraging sprawl by building a piecemeal outer-outerbelt. And The Political Environment explains that a Milwaukee suburb can't rightly claim that its economic success is a boon to the central city while simultaneously cutting transit connections and making it impossible for many urban residents to share in its prosperity.