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April 2009 Blog Posts (29)

Revenue generation trumps road safety

Marked by flowers is the spot at the Elephant & Castle where a cyclist was killed this week. Next to it is a congestion charge sign. Livingstone preferred to spend millions on punitive control than on making roads fit for people.

Elephant & Castle is typical of our roads that are allowed to carve through communities and dominate the public realm at the expense of quality of… Continue

Added by Martin Cassini on April 11, 2009 at 16:30 — 1 Comment

Manual for Streets ignored in Wales.

All Local Authorities in Wales have failed to respond to the offer of training or more information on the Manual for Streets according to one of its authors. The document is based on solid research and has won much praise and many awards and yet Local Authorities continue to design streets as they always have...

Only one person at a presentation on the Manual for Streets organised by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, held in the council offices of Cardiff Council out of… Continue

Added by Ian Perry on April 10, 2009 at 22:30 — No Comments

Death of a Cyclist

An as yet unnamed female cyclist was killed on a London road yesterday, the third this year. It happened at Elephant & Castle roundabout. If there were no traffic lights on that lethal racetrack (I use back streets to avoid it), and if the street design encouraged egalitarian space-sharing instead of competition for green time, would she, along with all the others, be alive today? Related item here.

Added by Martin Cassini on April 9, 2009 at 16:30 — No Comments

Infantilised pedestrians

Maybe I'm a dying breed - the kind of ped who crosses the road diagonally, using the middle of the road as a safe haven, taking the shortest route between two points. Pythagorean, John Adams would say. Yet peds these days seem to take the long route devised by the engineers. How often do you see a ped press the pelican button, only to look up, see the road is clear, and cross against their red? When they've long gone, traffic is halted at the red just called - for no-one.

Added by Martin Cassini on April 8, 2009 at 14:00 — No Comments

Presidential support

On his visit to Turkey, President Obama said, "We stand together in the fight against injustice and intolerance." He was referring to the twin threats of terrorism and inequality, but presumably he opposes injustice and intolerance wherever they rear their evil heads, i.e. on the roads too, so welcome to the struggle, Mr President.

Added by Martin Cassini on April 6, 2009 at 18:03 — No Comments

The Truth about Traffic

Driving in London after a break, I was re-awoken to the stupefying incompetence of a system that stops you time and again at one red light after another, and then makes you wait an age for no reason. It is clearly, "criminally" responsible for delaying us and producing chronic congestion. If I drive on after seeing nothing is coming, am I a criminal? The law says I am. I'm an RLJ = a 'red light jumper'. If the police stopped me, I'd say, Give me a good reason why I should wait when nothing is… Continue

Added by Martin Cassini on April 4, 2009 at 23:30 — 1 Comment

Changing lightbulbs

Clever article by Michael Blastland about spurious journalistic use of numbers here. Some good comments too. The author cites traffic lights in disdain at Prof Mackay's loose use of the word 'huge', when in fact the CO2 savings from changing traffic lightbulbs to LEDs would be negligible (how many engineers would it take to change them anyway?). Having witnessed efficient flow and civilised interaction between all road-users at… Continue

Added by Martin Cassini on April 3, 2009 at 23:00 — No Comments

“Tough new powers to make roads safer”

Today’s announcement by the DfT was mainly about roadworthiness, but as ever, the sentiment behind the closed fist of enforcement is mean-spirited. It bespeaks ignorance about the system flaws over which the DfT presides. The prerequisite for safe roads is civilised interaction: the very thing the rules of the road subvert, and the DfT loves to enforce. The other basis for safe roads is intelligent design that communicates context and stimulates civilised conduct. If the DfT ever discusses it,… Continue

Added by Martin Cassini on April 1, 2009 at 20:30 — No Comments

Update from Ashford, UK

The following press release has been issued by Ashford Borough Council this week. This is very positive news.

"Where Ashford leads in urban planning and street design, others follow – that seems to be the message after it was revealed that more than a dozen UK towns are also adopting shared space concepts to help improve their streetscapes.

Last month it was reported that Staines, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hereford and… Continue

Added by Ian Perry on April 1, 2009 at 12:39 — 1 Comment

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