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I once read about a city in Europe - maybe it's the one in the article - which ripped out half of the signs along the roads, and found the drivers paid much clo

I once read about a city in Europe - maybe it's the one in the article - which ripped out half of the signs along the roads, and found the drivers paid much closer attention and drove more carefully. I heard of another city in England which removed its street lights (and didn't install stop signs / roundabouts) with the same result. It's fascinating to look at some 3rd world locations, where there are far fewer rules, and many modes of transport sharing the same street. This YouTube video really drives the point home. Scooters, walkers (some heavy laden), and cars all chaotically (at first glance) going every direction on a piece of asphalt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4BN9kInXg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4BN9kInXg As Richard Fernandez says, look closer ... watch a few times ... and a few basic rules pop out. http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/12/into-heart-of-chaos.html http://fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com/2006/12/into-heart-of-ch... As the veteran of many a Third World traffic jam, I think the vehicular flow situation is a little more complex than Economics with a Face suggests. But he may be correct in thinking that under certain circumstances and in particular cultures fewer rules or perhaps the appropriate rules make more sense than the overly regulated forms the First World is used to. It reminds me of that old Artificial Life program "Boids", which implemented just 3 very basic rules, and from this produced very organic flocking and obstacle-avoidance behaviors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boids http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUkjC-69vaw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUkjC-69vaw

twic 12y ago
This business about taking out the road signs and so on is called "naked streets", and is part of a broader "shared space" theory. It is far from settled that it is a helpful tool in any situations, let alone all situations. We have to be very careful in interpreting the outcomes of experimental applications of naked streets (or other large interventions). Firstly, because of a Hawthorne effect - when a road is changed, drivers become more cautious because it's different, so safety improves, whether or not the change itself improves safety. Secondly, because it's a change that is very context-specific; naked streets seem to work well if the motor traffic level is intrinsically (or is engineered to be) low, but that doesn't mean they're a good way to handle a flow at a higher level. The English example you may be thinking of was Exhibition Road, in Kensington, London. This rather long blog post takes a good look at it: http://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/lessons-from-exhibition-road/ http://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/lessons-...

twic 12y ago

This business about taking out the road signs and so on is called "naked streets", and is part of a broader "shared space" theory. It is far from settled that it is a helpful tool in any situations, let alone all situations. We have to be very careful in interpreting the outcomes of experimental applications of naked streets (or other large interventions). Firstly, because of a Hawthorne effect - when a road is changed, drivers become more cautious because it's different, so safety improves, whether or not the change itself improves safety. Secondly, because it's a change that is very context-specific; naked streets seem to work well if the motor traffic level is intrinsically (or is engineered to be) low, but that doesn't mean they're a good way to handle a flow at a higher level. The English example you may be thinking of was Exhibition Road, in Kensington, London. This rather long blog post takes a good look at it: http://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/lessons-from-exhibition-road/ http://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/lessons-...