By way of transportation consultant Clive Rock:
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White lines on roads could become a thing of the past in an attempt to slow drivers down because blank roads cause uncertainty and motorists slow down as a result. In a complete switch from received wisdom on congestion and road crashes, research suggests doing so, can cut the average speed on a road by 13 per cent.
So plans for a “shared space” pilot scheme are being drawn in Norfolk which could see lines removed on narrower roads near the Queen’s Sandringham Estate, according to The Timesnewspaper.
Similar trials have already taken place in Wiltshire and Derby and central markings – a feature of British roads for almost 100 years – have not been replaced on three roads in South London. A 2014 trial by Transport for London found that “removing central white lines resulted in a reduction in vehicle speeds,” they said on their website.
The real test isn’t speeds, it’s the frequency and severity of accidents. It should only be considered a success if those also go down.
It’s interesting how the word “accident” persists in this context. As though a car crash were the equivalent of a toddler peeing him/herself.
“I wasn’t paying attention to the road, veered into the oncoming lane, and accidentally hit a car head-on. Oopsie.”
I generally agree with ICBC’s lingo that there are no accidents as someone is almost always at fault, but very few people crash their car on purpose, and when we fall down the stairs and break our leg we don’t say we had a crash, even if we’re not looking where we’re going. There is a perfectly reasonable linguistic reason why accident came to mean car crash, even if it may be, in some contexts, misleading.
A good test would be to try this on Burrard, Broadway, Kingsway, Marine Drive, Clark and Knight, for starters.
Okay, but do the studies show they slow down long term or is this more of a Hey This is Weird short-term novelty of the thing effect?
It keeps you on your toes.
http://youtu.be/vi_asUAIn_4
Road lines already disappear here during heavy rain.
Or conversely, imperfections in the road surface often cause phantom lines to appear – often he memory of ground-away old lines, and it is nay impossible to distinguish the difference.
Lots of other wet places use catseyes … Anyone know why not here?
They do here on newly paved roads, but they are worn away soon enough and often don’t survive the first snow plow that comes along and clips them off.
Love the LED cat’s eyes through the Massey tunnel. They seem to last because they are set into grooves in the pavement. The road was obviously wired.
15 years ago when the city last rebuilt Water Street in Gastown, the road reopened without the line markings. The traffic was much slower. As soon as they added the lane lines, traffic speeded up and the street became much more pleasant.
As far as shared space goes, it only works for people cycling and walking when the traffic volumes are very low. Removing the lines will not transform a busy street into one that is great for cycling and walking.
The reason that people would slow down is because oncoming traffic creates more of a hazard (than with a centre line) and is more apt to veer into your path -. i.e. it’s more dangerous (not just perceived to be more dangerous, but there is an increased risk of physical contact) – just look at the number of times drivers cross the [painted] centre line on the Sea to Sky Highway and cause head on crashes. That number would increase without the benefit of the line.
… and the slowing down would only occur when there is oncoming traffic – i.e. an increased risk. If a driver has clear sightlines (no curves) and there are no oncoming cars, the driver won’t be slowing down just because there’s no centre line.
Part of the reason why painted medians are not allowed in Germany’s 30km/h zones. And are now being removed from many 50 streets too.
Could be fun for self-driving cars.
Interesting .. relevant in an urban context though ?
Granville Island
Based on research I have seen, yes, speeds will go down. But the level of safety (risk) will stay the same, as Target Risk, by Gerald Wilde, suggests. People have an idea of minimum risk they will expose themselves to, and use any excess provided (by guard rails and painted lines) to transfer to time-saving, in the form of higher speeds.