Thread started by S.B.P. RiDa4LiF! at 11.25.08 - 2:47 pm

In Ashford, Kent UK

Pedestrians are being encouraged to walk out in front of cars and traffic lights have been removed in a unique experiment on Britain’s roads.

Drivers no longer have the right of way on the ring road in Ashford, Kent, and have to negotiate their way across junctions, with no signs or lines to guide them. All road users, whether travelling on foot, by BICYCLE, car or bus, have equal priority and must use eye contact to decide who goes first.

The town is embracing the concept of “shared space”, which was invented in the Netherlands and is based on the principle that creating uncertainty on the roads makes them safer.

Parts of the concept have already been adopted on a handful of roads in Britain, such as Kensington High Street in West London, where railings have been removed.

But Ashford is the first place to introduce the purest form of shared space, under which traffic lights are considered not only unnecessary but a potential cause of collisions.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article5158281.ece