Sutton Living Streets

Tony Armstrong (Photo: Charlotte Gilhooly)

Tony began by saying that Living Streets existed to make walking safe and attractive, and then went on to give some reminders of what could detract from these ideals, including: subways[1]; complicated and bewildering junctions (poor desire lines, often prioritised against people on foot); railings (as many are not there for safety but were installed before parking restrictions)[2]; pavement parking; lack of capacity (narrow pavement width with capacity traditionally provided for the motorist); the breakdown of communities (as highlighted by Professor Donald Appleyard in Liveable Streets, San Francisco (1981), and in a study by Joshua Hart, Bristol (2008)); and the obsession with street signs that, amongst other things, can give too much information to the motorist[3]. (Another twist on how roads are given priority over pavements was highlighted through the example of how roads were gritted during the snowy weather in February but pavements were not[4]). On the positive side Tony was generally supportive of the current policy climate including Manual for Streets (which Tony described as “an amazing document”, although he noted that some traffic engineers still do not know of its existence or, if they do, they may not refer to it simply because there is too much prescriptive guidance elsewhere), and sustainable transport initiatives (and again it was noted that there were some gaps between policy and reality). Continue reading ‘Tony Armstrong, chief executive Living Streets — new strategy and plans for years ahead [Supporters' Conference 2009]‘