I've used the phrase 'fully pedestrianised' at least twice so far,
so I'd forgive you for thinking I'm one of those hardcore
environmentalists who hate cars. But I'm really not.
In June 2010 I attended the Towards Carfree Cities conference in
York, and I was very much looking forward to it.
What happened? I left early. And went for a drive.
If I'm going to drive less, it will be because there are
better alternatives available, not because someone spends 2
hours telling me that
cars are bad.
When I see a pedestrian barrier I just climb straight
over it, even if I wasn't going that way, just to show that I
will not be stopped.
- Matthew Parris, Grumpy Old Men
I want all the benefits of a carfree city – streets dedicated to
people, real communities, excellent public transportation – I just don't
want to give up driving to get them.
Revolutionary Road(s)
What we need is a system that keeps the streets pedestrian friendly,
discourages travelling within the city by car, but has little impact
on out of town trips.
The discouragement of car trips within the city is necessary for
decent public transport, but it also benefits drivers. If everyone
uses the trolleybuses to travel around the city, it means a lot less
traffic when you do need to use your car.
This is accomplished in two ways. Firstly, roads have very few
connections and go around the city rather than through it.
Secondly, roads within the city's districts emphasise a pleasant
pedestrian environment rather than short journey times for drivers.
Speed limits are no higher than 20mph here.
And where roads cross pedestrian streets, raised intersections slow cars further and pedestrians
have right of way.
Likewise, where roads cross over the trolleybus lines, trolleybuses
always have priority.
But a couple of minutes later, once you've made it out of the
district, you're onto the regular road network and you're away.
Indeed, the city would likely be easier to drive around than our
current cities. There are no complicated one-way systems.
Traffic lights, junctions and roundabouts are kept to a bare minimum.
Traffic would be a good deal lighter. But it's only the
trolleybuses that get to take the direct route.
Radburn
For the roads within districts, there are two options available: the Radburn model and
the woonerf.
The Radburn model segregates cars from people, with houses fronting
onto the main pedestrian network, and a secondary road network hidden
behind the backs of houses.
With the woonerf/home zone, cars and people share the same space, but
priority is given to pedestrians and cyclists.
Both concepts definitely have their merits, but I believe the Radburn
model to be superior at higher densities. Without driveways, cars
would dominate the woonerf streetscape. And every extra car
driving on a woonerf street impacts on that street, whereas the
pedestrian streets of the Radburn model are unaffected by traffic
levels.
Thus every house in the city will front onto a pedestrian street.
Buildings adjacent to roads are
orientated away from them, with their gardens acting as a barrier between.
Emergency Vehicles
Standard emergency vehicles are used in the city, with the possible
addition of a second, quieter siren.
They can use the trolleybus lanes for fast movement between
districts, and when using their lights and sirens they are the only
vehicles that may travel above 30mph on the trolleybus lanes, and above
walking speed on pedestrian streets.
Freight
To keep heavy lorries off the pedestrian streets as much as possible,
businesses with the highest freight requirements – furniture stores,
light industry etc. – are located along the edges of car
parks and roads within districts.
Loading zones, highlighted here in yellow, allow for direct delivery/collection of
freight from two directions:
From the exterior road network via conventional lorries and
vans.
From the interior trolley
network.
Since rail is a far more efficient means of transporting
goods over long distances than lorries, companies should be encouraged
to use the city's rail freight depot.
And the most efficient way of delivering containers from
the rail freight depot to businesses around the city is by trolleylorry.
Trolleylorries would share the trolleybus network outside of peak
hours, approaching their destinations as close as possible using the
overhead lines, and then switching to battery power for final delivery.
Where necessary, cars and vans are permitted to use the pedestrian streets for the
movement of
heavy goods, but they may travel no faster than walking speed and pedestrians
still have priority.
