I've come across a wonderful website called Roadwitch. It's about DIY traffic calming - people in a quiet residential street got fed up with traffic speeding dangerously along the road, and fed up waiting for the local authority to do something about it, so they took matters into their own hands in a creative, whimsical, and very effective way. For example, they set up a living room in the street which created a physical barrier to fast-moving traffic and a psychological reminder that the street is there primarily for people to live in, not primarily for cars to race along.I love this. I sympathise deeply with the people v. cars dimension. I love the "power to the people" element. And the humour and whimsy of it is also very appealing.
5 comments:
I love it! Check out this photographer in Amsterdam who sets up furniture in the street; it's not to block traffic but is still neat.
http://www.bakfiets-en-meer.nl/2007/05/21/buurt-op-straat-neighborhood-on-the-street/
What a great idea! However,on warmer days here, we feel as if we are already out amongst the traffic, such is the pace and consequent noise of the speeding cars and lorries, despite it being a so-called 30 mph road with no access for HGVs!
Last year, when the local lollipop man had to retire suddenly due to ill health, the headmistress of the primary school, drew attention to the dangerous driving locally by putting large brightly coloured children's toys all along the lay-by outside the school
Fascinating. Thanks for the link, I'm looking forward to find out more about it. We live on a very quiet street that some people still feel the need to drive through at top speed.
*melanie from www.meli-mello.com
How do people drive 'through' your street, it's a dead end ? Now, the road at the end of it (I've forgtotten its name) that's a different matter. I've seen them motoring down there at 50 to 60mph, if not faster, in spite of the blind bends and narrowness of it.
Bill (Dad), the 'Mel' who commented wasn't Beansprouts Mel, but a different Mel altogether.
I don't mean that she's 'different' in any odd ways, just that she's not the same as our 'Mel' Mel.
I'll shut up now.
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