Traffic engineer Hans Monderman is stirring debate

In Drachten and other small communities in northern Holland, traffic engineer Hans Monderman is stirring debate by eliminating many of the customary elements of streets and roads, such as traffic lights, speed limit signs, and pavement markings. “All those signs are saying to cars, ‘This is your space, and we have organized your behavior so that as long as you behave this way, nothing can happen to you,’” Monderman was quoted as saying in a Jan. 22 article in The New York Times. Monderman contends that “it is only when the road is made more dangerous, when drivers stop looking at signs and start looking at other people, that driving becomes safer.” Thus, roads in some communities in the Friesland district of Holland are getting rid of center stripes, bicycle lanes, and even the usual curbs and defined sidewalks. The concept is called “shared space.” The drivers and pedestrians operate more as equals, and therefore drivers become alert to clues on how to behave. They slow down and watch for pedestrians, at least in small towns. Monderman has employed features such as trees, flowers, red brick paving stones, and fountains to discourage people from speeding (which indicates that “shared space” is similar in some respects to the American practice of “traffic taming”). “Several early studies bear out his contention that shared spaces are safer,” The Times reported. Monderman says such designs are not appropriate in major urban centers, but they work in neighborhoods that meet certain criteria. The European Union has appointed a committee of experts, including Monderman, to conduct a Europe-wide study. Rick Chellman of TND Engineering in Ossipee, New Hampshire, says “many of Mr. Monderman’s concepts would be dangerous in most US locations — if introduced today.” But Chellman agrees that an intelligently shaped road environment can modify motorist behavior. u