Grayshott Society at their recent AGM supported the motion that a village wide meeting should be called to investigate whether "shared streets" could provide a solution to the issue of pedestrian safety and traffic in Grayshott.

One of the major issues raised at every Parish Assembly and in a questionnaire which was sent to every household in Grayshott prior to the writing of the Village Design Statement was traffic issues and pedestrian safety.

Grayshott Society have been looking hard at this issue and looking into the most up to date research on the subject.

Whilst doing this GS also looked at the issue of 'street clutter' as various people had raised concerns of the 'urbanisation' of the village and the unattractiveness of much street furniture. Their research has convinced them that the way forward for Grayshott may well be what are variously called 'shared streets', 'naked streets' or 'home zones'.

There have been several articles about this in the Telegraph, Times and Guardian. One of the problems is that although this type of traffic management has been used successfully in many area of Europe it is relatively new in Britain and it may take some effort to persuade Highways that something, more effective, safer and more attractive than has been previously been suggested for Grayshott is wanted.

At the recent A3 exhibition it was evident that the plans for traffic calming have not moved on in any way from the initial suggestions and anyway they do not include the centre of the village.

GS feel it is vital that this issue is discussed whilst there is some funding available for traffic calming before it is spent in a way that that we may come to regret.

The second GS newsletter refers to Ben Hamilton Baillie, a traffic consultant who has given a talk to West Meon residents whilst Peter Bayless HCC's head of traffic safety was present. GS would now like to organise an open village meeting led by Ben Hamilton Baillie in Grayshott to which all key players, from the Parish Council, Highways, HCC and EHDC be invited to at the very least looking at this as a possibility for Grayshott.

Shared Streets

Most of the problems highlighted by contemporary studies relate to both the impact of motor vehicles on the built environment, and the measures introduced to try and cope with the presence of traffic. The accumulation of 'street clutter' – the signs, markings, signals, bollards and barriers associated with traffic engineering - is the most visual manifestation of measures aimed to regulate and control movement and remains a source of growing concern about the decline in visual and spatial quality in the public domain. But concern about clutter masks a deeper concern about the effect that such measures have on the psychology of road users, and on the interrelationshops between people such as drivers, cyclists, pedestrians. An increasing understanding of behavioural and environmental psychology and the degree to which our environment influences our actions and decisions is prompting a re-evalutation of some of the key assumptions that underpin conventional approaches to safety and traffic engineering.

Back in the '60s the principle of 'traffic segregation' (ie segregating pedestrians and vehicles) was adopted as the keynote of road design. The development of formal crossings with their tradition of zoological names from 'zebras' through to pelicans, with their accompanying lights, bollard and barriers have become such an established part of the urban environment that they are now largely taken for granted. Yet there remains little research into ttheir effects on pedestrian safety, accessibility and behaviour. Due perhaps to widespread popular faith in their effectiveness.

In 1978 Hans Monderhan a traffic engineer from Friesland in The Netherlands was appointed head of Road Safety for the region following growing national concern about rising child pedestrian casualties. Monderhan began to experiment with simple design and landscaping measures deliberately removing or downgrading highway measures such as road markings, signs, chicanes and road humps. The village of Oudehaste was the first experiment in making a village more like a village. Reductions in traffic speeds of over 40 per cent were recorded (conventional traffic calming was achieving reductions closer to 10per cent). Further successful village shemes followed, recording dramatic reductions in speeds and the severity of accidents. This is despite significant increases in numbers of vehicles.

Some have assumed that foreigners, not familiar with local protocols might not respond as locals do. But no evidence could be found from video analysis and observations or from questionnaires, that non-local drivers were unable to respond to the spatial clues. There is also to date no indications that the behaviours engendered by the new arrangements diminish with time
The concept of 'shared streets' has long been familiar in Italy's historic towns. It has been introduced, at the last count, in 3,500 zones in Germany and the Netherlands, 300 in Japan, 600 in Israel, and in cities as widespread as Lyon, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Melbourne and Portland, Oregon. All have experienced a drop in accidents.

So why has the concept not caught on in Britain' The reason is simple. Policy is in the hands of traffic engineers. These people deal with road builders, kit manufacturers, consultants and health and safety inspectors. All have large budgets and a vested interest in treating streets as policed corridors of total control. To them, traffic management involves herding pedestrians into cages and hurling vehicles along as quicky as possible, to bring them to a halt at the next stop light or traffic bump.

One of the few progressive councils in Britain, London's Kensington and Chelsea, has bold politicians leading from the front. The deputy leader, Daniel Moylan, studied shared space abroad and designated Kensington High Street as an experiment. Railings and crossings were removed. Pedestrians were encouraged to cross where they chose. Bicycle racks were placed on the central reservation. The whole street was tidied.

The effect over two years has been a dramatic cut in accidents, down 44% against a London average of 17%. Pedestrians and wheelchair users are no longer dragooned behind railings. Drivers have slowed and pedestrians and drivers look at teach other rather than traffic lights. The experience has been a success.

What pushed the Kensington High Street scheme was an eagerness by businesses to make their street more attractive and we in Grayshott are fortunate in having a thriving business community and shopping streets.

Following the A3 exhibition it is apparent that there is funding for traffic calming in Grayshott also there is the disitinct possibiltiy that we may have a lighted pedestrian crosssing in Grayshott The common assumption is that this constitutes an advance, a machine being invariably better than human awareness and eye contact. This is untrue.

Traffic lights force drivers to watch and obey robots ie lights rather than other road users - an obedience not enforced to the same degree on pedestrians. One result is that zebra crossings are dangerous because drivers no longer use eye contact with other road users. Technology makes them drive like zombies and is particularly dangerous somewhere like Grayshott where pedestrians do not cross the road in just one place but up and down Headley Road and Crossways Road and Fiveways, particulary at school times. Through shared steets drivers are made aware that pedestrains could cross the road at several places, as happens in Grayshott, they are forced to watch for pedestrians as they pass through the village rather than focusing on the pedestrian crossing which it more dangerous for those who cross the road at other spots. And why should pedestrians be forced to make longer journeys in order to cross the road safely'

Of course the edge of the route for pedestrians should be capable of discrimination by children, a cane or guide dogs so that it can be followed safely and with confidence by children, visually impaired people those using a mobility aid.

We are pushing against an open door in raising these ideas as the widespread and growing recognition of the importance of the public realm to social well being and economic vitality of communities, combined with increasing popular dissatisfaction with the state of Bitish streets appears to have prompted strong interest from local authorities (including Hampshire County Council), developers and community groups. English Heritage and the Institute of Highway Engineers amongst others are extending and developing training in the comprehensive design and management of the public realm

Two exciting things are happening in Grayshott already, the redesign of the Square and the extension of the Conservation Area. The Square group have already expressed an iterest in the idea. Hopefully these 2 things will make Grayshott an even more pleasant place to live and shop and wouldn't it be wonderful if we could also make sure that the WHOLE centre of the village was attractive and vibrant with the an up to date, pedestrian friendy, aesthetacally pleasing solution'

read more: Hamilton Baillie, Shared Space: Reconciling People, Places and Traffic