Traffic Calming, according to Wikipedia, ‘is intended to slow or reduce motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve the living conditions for residents as well as to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Urban planners and traffic engineers have many strategies for traffic calming. Such measures are common in Australia and Europe (especially Northern Europe), but less so in North America.’
Wikipedia also indicates traffic calming can include the following engineering measures:
Narrower traffic lanes — streets can be narrowed by extending the sidewalk, adding bollards or planters, or adding a bike lane or parking. Narrowing traffic lanes differs from other road treatments by making slower speeds seem more natural to drivers and less of an artificial imposition, as opposed to most other treatments used that physically force lower speeds or restrict route choice.
Why do we then experience motorists attempting to overtake cyclists where there is no room to safely undertake? Below is from Douglas Ave, South Perth where there was 5 of us from work doing the Shelley Loop which adds a nice additional 30kms to my daily commute of around 46kms.
Poor Overtaking Douglas Ave, South Perth
With Curtin University a short distance away, Douglas Ave is one access way into this university and it is important to ensure that roads are safe for cyclists.
City of Joondalup recently undertook similar traffic calming on Glengarry Drive, Duncraig (part of my daily commute to Perth), where I have experienced the same issue including a PTA bus who also attempted to overtake me in a similar location.
Glengary Dr, Duncraig - Feb 2012
Glengary Dr, Duncraig - Apr 2011
Response from City of Joondalup - Jan 2012
There is also the case of traffic calming devices installed on Preston Rd, East Fremantle in May 2011. BTA wrote to the Town of East Fremantle on the installation of these traffic calming devices ‘Making roads safer needs more than concrete‘ where response can also be viewed.
City of Joondalup indicates ‘The lane width of the traffic treatment design on Glengarry Drive caters for a regular family size vehicle and a cyclists’ which they indicate is consistent to ‘Australian Standards and is similar to many other traffic management treatments on local roads in the metropolitan area’. If this is the case, then why couldn’t the car on Douglas Ave, South Perth overtake us safely?
Is traffic calming improving cycling safety? I’m not too sure.
Here in Sweden I like it when they narrow the lanes with chicanes because it makes motorists consider more carefully when they are going to pass. Sometimes they pass even when it’s too narrow, like in your film, but I prefer it anyway because they slow down and pay attention. I feel more acknowledged.
On streets with little traffic, I feel narrowing or other calming is better than segregated cycle tracks. Unfortunately, segregated cycle tracks are almost always worse than the ordinary roadway. They are bumpier and less direct. I think it’s worth noting that segregated cycle tracks are built purely to reduce danger and fear from motor vehicles; they are not built to otherwise improve the experience for cyclists. Unless they are built to a very high standard such as in the Netherlands, smooth and direct, they really don’t do much for me as an adult cyclist compared to traffic calming.
Those oblong dividers should be in the bike lane with openings for bike tires to go through. That way if the cars are too close to bikes their hit curb before they hit cyclists. what is shown in that video is a cyclist death waiting to happen. Motor vehicles are too impatient to safely slow down and wait.
The chicanes around Mt Pleasant are fun — to see how fast you can drive through them. The number of tyre marks on the kerb shows this.
It’s rarely ever the cyclist whose dangerous behaviour on the road needs calming. So any traffic calming which punishes cyclists is a failure. The temptation for drivers to squeeze cyclists needs to be removed.
There is some traffic calming in South Perth (e.g Coode St) with separation for bikes but they fail because either 1. the cycle lane deviates from the road up onto the bumpy footpath, or 2. the 1m gap is full of leaves, gravel, glass, sand, etc.
Here’s a link to a photo of my preferred calming. (Location: Belgium). It’s very simple and cheap, doesn’t discourage cycling, and instead of separating the lanes and making a race track, it encourages drivers to look ahead at what’s coming towards them. The speed limit is 30km/h by the way.
Maybe it’s something about Douglas Avenue drivers – I remember a group of us riding up the Avenue towards Canning Highway and an impatient driver passed us screaming abuse on the right (wrong) side of the traffic island. The fact he then had to wait for 5 minutes at the traffic lights didn’t seem to register
I went down Douglas Ave recently and I was reminded about this post. The current “traffic calming” on Douglas Ave is appalling. This road is dangerous for bicycle riders. There is simply not enough space on the carriageway for a motor vehicle to pass a bicycle with any degree of safety.
I had a tape measure with me, the width between curbs was 2.93 metres at one of the several narrow points.
The WA state government’s operational policy for the transport network (Liveable Neighbourhoods 2009) specifies a minimum width of a local neighbourhood “access street” at 3.5 metres. That is a street with less than 3000 vehicles per day. Douglas Ave would have more vehicles.
I think there is a case to be made against the City of South Perth. This road needs to be fixed.