Can removing kerbs, traffic lights and signs as part of psychological traffic calming measures really work?
Urban planners claim that removing visible road markings, an approach which has been used with some success in Holland, Germany and Sweden, reduces speed and accidents by encouraging drivers to be more considerate to pedestrians. Reports that the technique could be applied to Exhibition Road in west London, the home of the Science, Natural History and Victoria and Albert museums, have been played down by local authority chiefs. But the idea seems to be gathering steam. The approach has been tested in Seend, a Wiltshire village, where white lines were removed from the road last April. Wiltshire County Council said accidents in the village dropped by a third and speed has fallen by an average of 5% after the markings were removed. It seems to be just a matter of time before other parts of the country try the idea out. Instead of relying on the street system for security, drivers are forced to use their reactions Ben Hamilton-Baillie Urban design specialist Motoring psychologists and urba
