Monthly Archives: August 2015

People choose to live on quiet streets – so why is it so hard to close residential streets to through traffic?

Posted on August 31, 2015 by

An interview with the founder of housebuilder Redrow has been floating around in my drafts as a potential basis for a post for a while. It caught my attention because it touched upon residential streets and how they should be … Continue reading →

Posted in access roads | 29 Comments

Deaths on the road

Posted on August 25, 2015 by

It goes without saying that the crash of a plane onto the A27 on Saturday was a terrible tragedy, an incident in which at least 11 people died, and many more were seriously injured. Rightly, the crash is being investigated thoroughly, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

The 85th percentile as a tool for improving roads and streets

Posted on August 21, 2015 by

The “85th percentile” speed is a speed at which 85% of traffic will be travelling at, or below, along a street or road (under free flow conditions). It’s typically associated with the setting of speed limits, and (more controversially) often used … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 41 Comments

Entrenching car dependence with brand new development

Posted on August 18, 2015 by

A few months ago I commented on the new Waitrose/John Lewis retail site in Horsham, principally in relation to the way the visualisations of the (then yet to be opened) new development ducked the problematic issue of a very busy road severing the site … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Horsham, Horsham District Council, Infrastructure, Town planning, West Sussex County Council | 35 Comments

Talking about ‘danger’, again

Posted on August 13, 2015 by

Some thoughts about ‘danger’ and ‘dangerising’ cycling had been floating around in my head, following recent local discussion about whether talking about ‘danger’ puts people off cycling, and whether we should refrain from talking about it all. This issue has … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 66 Comments

British ‘Simultaneous Green’ junctions, in… 1979?

Posted on August 11, 2015 by

I’m currently working my way through a DVD set of films from the BFI on cycling in Britain. One of these films is called ‘Free Wheeling’, which you can watch yourself on the BFI site (although it will cost you … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments

Cycling and the Royal Parks

Posted on August 10, 2015 by

TfL’s response to the consultation on the route of the Superhighway through Hyde Park was released last week. It reveals, yet again, a curious hostility to cycling from the Royal Parks, the (government) agency that manages the eight Royal Parks … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 19 Comments

Blindness to motor traffic

Posted on August 4, 2015 by

An essential component of whether a road or a street is a pleasant place is the amount of motor traffic travelling down it. It isn’t the only component, of course, but it’s going to be a struggle to make somewhere that … Continue reading →

Posted in access roads, Shared Space, Sustainable Safety, The Netherlands | 16 Comments