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No accidents and slower traffic - Ashford's shared space enjoys successful first year
Ashford’s pioneering shared space road system has marked its first anniversary without a single personal injury accident. Average traffic speeds have also been cut.
In November 2008, Ashford completed the first phase of its shared space project to transform its 1970s ring road into quality, two-way streets in which drivers, cyclists and pedestrians have equal priority.
The scheme has opened up the town centre to make it more attractive to residents and businesses. The £15.6m scheme has been implemented by Kent County Council.
Unnecessary street furniture, road markings and traffic lights were removed and the speed limit cut to 20mph. Road surfaces have been replaced with high-quality materials, wider footpaths and low kerbs, to create a distinctive streetscape, while artists have transformed the public space along the road into an attractive tree-lined environment.
Despite winning a host of awards, the scheme attracted criticism from some high-profile commentators in its early days. Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson predicted ‘traffic carnage’, while groups representing people with visual impairments also voiced safety concerns.
But Ashford’s Joint Transportation Board has now been told there have been no personal injury accidents in the first year of the scheme’s operation. Speeds have been slashed – from 85% of drivers travelling at 30mph 12 months ago to an average of just 21.5mph now. The scheme has many supporters now including Kent’s Chief Constable Mike Fuller.
Judith Armitt, managing director of Ashford’s Future, the agency overseeing Ashford’s £2.5bn public and private sector growth programme, said the shared space scheme had exceeded all expectations in its first full year of operation: “It has made our town centre attractive and accessible, it’s playing a vital role in unlocking the development potential of Ashford and above all it has improved road safety.”
Urban design expert Ben Hamilton-Baillie, who was involved in the shared space project in Ashford, said he was not surprised that the scheme had confounded its critics.
“While Ashford is one of the first in the UK to adopt the shared space approach to urban street planning, it is a popular sight on the continent and the clear evidence there is that it is hugely successful in making streets safer for all road users. It is the way forward.”
Mr Hamilton-Baillie said that other British towns and cities were looking to follow in Ashford’s footsteps. At least a dozen are considering redesigning their streets using the principles of shared space which have been introduced in Ashford. They include Edinburgh, Oxford, Felixstowe, Ipswich, Macclesfield, Torquay, Blackpool, Staines, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Hereford and Colchester.
For more information visit http://www.ashfordbestplaced.co.uk/
Source: Ashford's Future / Edwards Harvey
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