Shared road space

I posted my thoughts as a cyclist up thread. Not driven thru or walked around there but yes do imagine it's an improvement on what went before. Maybe WW can comment based on experience of driving through?

If people are against it then that possibly suggests it's either not working as intended or folks are misunderstanding what has been done.

there will be a lot of misunderstanding of schemes over the next few years,
by both the engineers designing them and the general public who will have to deal with,, hold your breath,,, change.

There's also the simple fact that in a place like Poynton one shouldn't expect the sort of 'shared space' scheme that we can get in London (one coming soon at Leonard Circus in Shoreditch). It is a small place where driving is a dominant mode, and a small improvement is an improvement, even if it may seem not that progressive. Whether more could have been achieved is simply a question for local politics, about which we know hardly anything. And, of course, you're not ever going to get something that everybody likes.

"Whether more could have been achieved is simply a question for local politics"
give U.K 30 years on that then.....

Just popped up in my twitter feed

"I had the pleasure of driving through the Poynton shared space junction yesterday. I have only just recovered. #traumatic #infrastructure"

Part of me thinks that's good - if people driving have to be cautious because they aren't sure of what's going on they will pay more attention to those outside of their vehicles.

That's right^
When roads are designed for idiots who can drive on autopilot because all potential hazards to them have been removed risk is increased for others in the environment

Just popped up in my twitter feed

"I had the pleasure of driving through the Poynton shared space junction yesterday. I have only just recovered. #traumatic #infrastructure"

Olympic gold medallist iirc?

Olympic gold medallist iirc?

Breeze Ride leader in this case. Who was the Olympian?

Ahh I thought it was one of the women's team pursuit squad that I follow, must have seen it retweeted

It's all about sharing the roads.
Some varied advice how to share roads:
http://nicewaycode.com/
#thinkhorse!
ftw

I love this new ads;

Guy Paterson Cycling Scotland 'HORSE' - YouTube

Share the streets in the City of London
https://www.bikeradar.com/commuting/news/article/city-of-london-road-safety-video-labelled-appalling-38378/
Handle Like Eggs a Road Safety Message - YouTube

^ fuckinell.

Looks like the eggcyclist was trepanned

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/Crane-trepanation-img_0507_crop.jpg/220px-Crane-trepanation-img_0507_crop.jpg

Clearly worked wonders

Meskel Square, Addis Abeba - YouTube

.

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2014-05-06/star-shaped-road-marking-sparks-confusion-in-dagenham/

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/bizarre-star-road-marking-leaves-drivers-baffled-in-dagenham-9327956.html

Wonder what'll happen when the dust settles.

Leonard Circus is nearly complete. Some photos and commentary here:

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/london-cyclists-sharing-space-with-everyone-in-shoreditch

You may have noted my scepticism about other 'shared space' schemes further up in this thread. Leonard Circus is a location with relatively low levels of motor traffic, and I'm confident that this one will work well. It is also the first 'real' shared space scheme in London.

(Exhibition Road (north) was compromised by design decisions which de facto caused very little sharing (the west side of the street is basically for walking and some cycling, then there's a 'divider' made up of car parking spaces, and then the east side of the street, despite sharing the same surfaces etc. is used as a through road much in the same fashion as Exhibition Road had been before the scheme was built. It's not a bad streetscape scheme and has good materials etc. but it certainly isn't a 'proper' shared space scheme.)

We'll see how Leonard Circus actually works in due course.

Was there ^ earlier this week. Seemed to work well especially for walkers

Here's one that wasn't quite so popular:

http://www.barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk/news/dagenham_residents_offered_chance_to_redesign_confusing_star_road_marking_1_3649339

Leonard Circus seems to be working well. Stood in the middle watching one lunchtime last week. People chilling on the benches and drivers really cautious and looked a little confused. This meant they seemed to give up an their usual perceived right to the road, moved very slowly. They'll get used to it as more places like this get built.

@oliver_schick is right about this working were traffic levels are low

Having spent a bit more time at Leonard Circus obersving during a lunchtime I think it's great.

I would not call it a cycling infra project and it is far more about placemaking. There are now food stalls and people siting everywhere and it has made a focal point from a spot that was previously dead.

Yes shared space has it's failings; visually impaired people dislike them and it is not about to make 8 yr olds ride their bikes, but it is the right thing for the location.

I think that the area outside St Pancras (by Battlebridge Place) is supposed to be an example of shared space? It's difficult to tell. They've got the funny coloured pavement blocks that designers are so fond of, and excessively wide carriageways that are difficult and confusing to cross. There's also a very long wait at the pedestrian crossings (which would suggest this is, in fact, not shared space) so most people tend to ignore them and just take their chances on the raised speed table. It's hard to tell what the intention is here, but I think it's supposed to be a shared space concept. I think.

Anyway, it was on the news last night, inadvertently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5al_CP7RUc