Signless Streets

Found this article on Marginal Revolution about signless streets in Europe. MR has a long discussion in their comments section - they get more readers than me - about it so check that out.

The utopia has already become a reality in Makkinga, in the Dutch province of Western Frisia. A sign by the entrance to the small town (population 1,000) reads "Verkeersbordvrij" -- "free of traffic signs." Cars bumble unhurriedly over precision-trimmed granite cobblestones. Stop signs and direction signs are nowhere to be seen. There are neither parking meters nor stopping restrictions. There aren't even any lines painted on the streets.

"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman.

This reminds me of something Nancy said in the comments a few days ago about how we shouldn't think of ourselves as fighting others on the road, but cooperating - which this kind of system would require in spades. This would also put an end to people complaining about cyclists running stop signs (cause there would be none).*

Psychologists have long revealed the senselessness of such exaggerated regulation. About 70 percent of traffic signs are ignored by drivers. What's more, the glut of prohibitions is tantamount to treating the driver like a child and it also foments resentment. He may stop in front of the crosswalk, but that only makes him feel justified in preventing pedestrians from crossing the street on every other occasion. Every traffic light baits him with the promise of making it over the crossing while the light is still yellow.

And it does seem to work where it's been tested.

The plans derive inspiration and motivation from a large-scale experiment in the town of Drachten in the Netherlands, which has 45,000 inhabitants. There, cars have already been driving over red natural stone for years. Cyclists dutifully raise their arm when they want to make a turn, and drivers communicate by hand signs, nods and waving.

Now traffic is regulated by only two rules in Drachten: "Yield to the right" and "Get in someone's way and you'll be towed." Strange as it may seem, the number of accidents has declined dramatically.

I was concerned by the use of cobblestone and how that affects cycling, but it seems from the photo (It's the best I could find) that it's a bikeable surface (probably not too rough).

Over the last few weeks I've been thinking and writing about various biking facilities and the philosophies behind them. There's 1) the status quo, bikes on roads like cars; or sidewalks like pedestrians 2) bike lanes separated from traffic by a line of paint 3) separated bike lanes with a line of pylons or a wall and 4) this system of safe chaos. I feel like I've used 1-3 and each has its place. None is perfect for every situation. #4 is interesting because it may be.

*I'm always surprised when people complain, usually quite angrily, about stop light/sign running cyclists. Not because they don't do it, cyclists do, but that their complaints seem so out of whack when compared to the risk. If you could complain about traffic safety 100 times a year maybe one complaint could reasonably be about scofflaw cyclists/pedestrians. Speeding, drunk driving, driving while sleepy, driving while using a cell phone would have to take up around 90 of the rest. I started paying attention to what people complain about and what I hear is this: "I was almost run down by a cyclist." I have yet to hear "I was run down by a cyclist." Not that it doesn't happen, but it's rare. I think some people are really bothered by others breaking the law - regardless of what, why etc... Which is why the illegal immigration issue gets some people so angry. Anyway, if there were no laws per se, then that wouldn't be an issue. As I've said before, I don't care if people obey the law - as long as they drive/bike/walk safely and courteously. Speaking of the law, I saw this letter. I think in DC it's legal to ride two abrest, but I'm not sure about Virginia, still I would've probably switched to single file and let them pass.

Comments

[Nancy]

Signless roads appeal to me greatly. I think people might actually pay more attention to what they were doing and watch where they were going. Also, the profusion of signs is a blight on the landscape, and the signs themselves take up room and get in the way of pedestrians. [It's hard to walk on some Bethesda sidewalks because of all the signs. If you had to use a wheelchair to get around it would be very tough, if not impossible.]

[20902]

Hey, look, stop signs are there for a reason....the guy who got geeked on the W&OD last year learned the hard way. Right of way is there for a reason. At least bloody slow down....I'm not perfect but I do slow dramatically when comming to a stop, more so if its not a 4 way.

[washcycle]

I know stop signs are there for a reason and I would never blow through one (actually, most of the time I don't bike fast enough to "blow through" anything, not even a green light). And your right to point out that it's been the cause of at least two fatal accidents that I know of, so it's important to respect right-of-way. My point was that people complain about the wrong things. Just as people worry about the wrong things (I think I remember reading that people were more worried about being killed in a terrorist attack than getting cancer even though the later is far more likely).

[Contrarian]

Re the Post letter, here's what Virginia law has to say about riding abreast:

"Persons riding bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, or electric power-assisted
bicycles on a highway shall not ride more than two abreast. Persons riding two abreast shall not
impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, shall move into a single file formation as
quickly as is practicable when being overtaken from the rear by a faster moving vehicle, and, on
a laned roadway, shall ride in a single lane."