Shared Space
Cyclist and Pedestrian Deaths Skyrocket in 2018 as Motorists Stay Safe
Let's face it: America's roads are safe increasingly for only those who drive on them.
June 18, 2019
Atlanta May Convert Main Drag into a Dutch ‘Woonerf’
A "shared street" — a concept imported from Europe — does away with curbs and gives pedestrians the priority. Atlanta is considering the design for its famous Peachtree Street.
May 1, 2019
Study: “Shared Space” Slows Drivers While Letting Traffic Move Efficiently
The idea behind "shared space" street design is that less can be more. By ditching signage, traffic lights, and the grade separation between sidewalk and roadbed, the shared space approach calms traffic and heightens communication between drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Instead of following traffic signals on auto-pilot or speeding up to beat the light, motorists have to pay attention to their surroundings.
February 8, 2016
Shared Space: The Case for a Little Healthy Chaos on City Streets
Dick van Veen is a Dutch architect and engineer at consultancy company Mobycon. This post originally appeared on the blog of The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.
November 17, 2014
Buenos Aires: Building a People-Friendly City
Buenos Aires is fast becoming one of the most admired cities in the world when it comes to reinventing streets and transportation.
July 30, 2014
A 12-Block Shared Space Neighborhood Rises Along the Potomac
Earlier this month, Streetsblog went on a streak about "shared space" -- the idea that some streets can work better when, instead of using curbs and traffic signals to separate users, pedestrians get priority using subtle but effective visual cues. We interviewed a key shared space messenger, Ben Hamilton-Baillie; we showed off built examples in Pittsburgh and Batavia, Illinois; and we discussed the potential of shared space to transform the narrow streets of New York City's Financial District.
July 14, 2014
Talking Shared Space With Ben Hamilton-Baillie
"Recovering architect" and street design expert Ben Hamilton-Baillie launched a broadside against the rules of traffic engineering during a plenary speech to the Congress for the New Urbanism's recent annual meeting in Buffalo. Baillie urges widespread adoption of "shared space" -- a design concept popularized by Hans Monderman over the past generation in the Netherlands that has only just begun to make headway in the United States.
July 3, 2014