What happens when you remove all traffic signs?

[Henk Vreekamp]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Ernst e.d.a.,

In Utrecht voeren ze al tijden een stoplichtloos experiment uit rond het
centrale Neudeplein. Tot ieders tevredenheid. En de mijne. Het aantal
gewonden en besmettingen schijnt sterk te zijn gedaald. Vooral de
laagdrempelige buschauffeurs rijden voorzichtiger...

hv,u
----
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ernst Debets" <edebets1 at euronet.nl>
To: "'Discussielijst over D66'" <D66 at NIC.SURFNET.NL>
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 12:13 AM
Subject: RE: What happens when you remove all traffic signs?


> REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl
>
> Cees,
>
> Klinkt een beetje als woonerven, maar daarvan hebben we er meer dan 100 in
> Nederland.
>
> Ernst Debets/
> Zaanstad
>
> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: owner-d66 at nic.surfnet.nl [mailto:owner-d66 at nic.surfnet.nl] Namens
> Cees
> Binkhorst
> Verzonden: woensdag 31 maart 2010 23:20
> Aan: Discussielijst over D66
> Onderwerp: What happens when you remove all traffic signs?
>
> REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl
>
> Iemand een idee waar die 100 plekken zijn?
>
> Groet / Cees
>
> What happens when you remove all traffic signs? A German town finds out.
>
> In a counterintuitive approach to reducing car accidents and making
> streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, a German town has nixed all
> traffic signs and traffic lights in the town center.
>
> http://www.csmonitor.com/
> By Isabelle de Pommereau, Correspondent
> posted March 31, 2010 at 3:45 pm EDT
> Nieder-Erlenbach, Germany
>
> This unpretentious villagelike neighborhood in Frankfurt's far-northern
> tip is known for the idyllic character of its old half-timber homes and
> its views of rolling hills.
>
> Now it is a symbol of Germany's effort to rescue its streets from the
> hegemony of cars and give more space to pedestrians and cyclists.
>
> To prod drivers to better share the road, in February Nieder-Erlenbach
> got rid of all traffic signs and traffic lights in the town center. It
> also erased marked crosswalks, leaving only one sign that says "common
> street" and calling for a reduced speed of 30 km/h (18 m.p.h.). The only
> other rule: "Always give way to the person on the right."
>
> Thus Main Street turned into a "naked" square shared equally by bikes,
> pedestrians, cars, and trucks. With the change, Nieder-Erlenbach adopted
> a radical traffic-management philosophy gaining popularity in Europe.
> Pioneered by a Dutch engineer who thought towns were safer with fewer
> rules, "shared space" envisions open surfaces on which motorists and
> pedestrians can "negotiate" with one another by eye contact, other
> signals, and a greater consideration for one another.
>
> Segregating cars and pedestrians was wrong, argued Hans Monderman, the
> Dutch engineer who put in place more than 100 shared-space schemes in
> the Netherlands. Prodded by European Union funding for shared-space
> initiatives, seven European towns have launched shared-space
> initiatives, including Ostend in Belgium, Ipswich in England, and the
> small northern town of Bohme, Germany.
>
> But in Nieder-Erlenbach, not everybody is enthused. With no indications
> as to where to park, drivers tend to park everywhere, stalling traffic.
> Ulrike Markus finds the lack of sidewalks unsettling. "Children don't
> know where they feel secure anymore," Ms. Markus says.
>
> While it's too early to assess the impact of the changes on traffic
> incidents, the no-traffic-sign rule is forcing everybody to behave more
> responsibly, most residents agree. Juarita Lascarro says that the
> changes have created a new atmosphere on the street. "We all have to be
> careful all the time."
>
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