Huntsville Urban Bike Share Coop reposted this
People Centric Planning of our Streets (and Roads) The safe system approach to road safety is people centric. It acknowledges that humans make mistakes and that humans are vulnerable. The level of vulnerability depending on the speed and mass of vehicles and whether a person is in or outside a vehicle. During my recent trip to the US it was great to see the emphasis being place on people centric design, as a key point of different with the safe system approach. The priority being placed on moving people rather than vehicles, no matter what mode they choose. I do like the complete streets concept in the USA which looks at how to safely accommodate all modes of transport in the design of a street. This leads naturally on to a discussion on the safe target speed for a route, given the modes of transport present. The movement and place framework is also a very useful tool in moving our thinking to this people centric approach. We acknowledge that roads not only have a movement function but also a place function. That the placemaking function is as important, and many would argue more important, than moving vehicles. Places are important for a variety of reasons, for local communities, businesses, visitors and tourists. As the place function of a street increases then it becomes increasing important to prioritize vulnerable road users safely in street design. As outlined in early posts this is particularly difficult on StROADS which have both high place and movement functions. Even in these streets/roads we need to be people centric in our design, if we are embracing the safety system approach. #safesystem #roadsafety #trafficsafety #movementandplace #completestreets #peoplecentricdesign