Poznan calm down, where do you rush?
It turned out that the speed of 50 km/h is too much
and on some streets in center of Poznan,
the speed is limited to 30 km/h.
In this episode we will talk about traffic calming.
Lets' watch!
Restricted speed zones are supposed to be drug for three diseases spreading in Downtowns of Polish cities.
Often central area is treated by drivers as a great transit route,
because it is the shortest.
So what that we generate congestion, noise and pollution in this area?
Zone is thus to discourage use of these roads
and lead congestion out on alternative main routes surrounding the Center.
Second important issue is improving safety in these areas.
Why speed is limited to these 30 km/h?
It turns out that after accident with car and pedestrian at this speed,
probability of pedestrian death is more than 8-times lower
than in case of 50 km/h speed,
which is standard speed for built-up areas.
For pedestrians this is no longer safe speed -
in more than eighty percent of cases –
accident at this speed may end with death.
Similar dependencies also apply to other road users:
cyclists or people on scooters or motorcycles,
although speed differences between vehicles can be even greater
– to disadvantage of more susceptible on injuries drivers of two-wheelers.
And thirdly, comfort of living in these areas.
In order for us to enjoy the city center,
we would like it to be relatively quiet,
with no pollution
and plenty of space
- generally nice.
Walking zones in the heart of many cities we already have.
It is harder to get into those zones from rest of city,
where pedestrians are pushed to the edge.
We are at the moment
when we start talking about intermediate zones
- with streets adapted to pedestrian or cyclist perception,
but with allowed car traffic,
although at reduced speed.
We already have concrete implementations of this type of zones in Poland,
we will see the realization in Poznan.
"Tempo 30" zone is determined by vertical and horizontal signs on entry and exit from area.
In Poznań so far, area cover selected streets in western part of city center,
centered around Wolności and Ratajczaka Squares.
According to plans, Zone will be further expanded,
covering streets around Old Market Square
and southern part of city center.
Designing a zone is just beginning,
the heart of the matter lies in means to physically and mentally exert an influence on drivers
to remain at low speeds.
In zone you will see narrowed lanes or their smaller number relative to previous state.
For example, St. Martin's street
on some fragment was narrowed to one lane
and inclined parking,
which occupied space of sidewalks,
was turned into parallel.
The edges of the narrow lanes can be delimited by delimiters.
Part of the recovered space is used to designate parking spaces
or to set up bicycles stands.
Instead of traffic junction with preference direction,
priority to the right intersections were implemented,
which is supposed to force speed limit.
Similarly, in case of elevated pedestrian crossings,
speed is limited with fear of suspension loss,
but also improvement visibility of crossing.
Pedestrian crossings on wide roadways
can also be facilitated by providing intermediate asylums.
One of the most difficult issues in such zones
is parking policy.
Minimum number of places for vehicles in such areas must always exist
- not all destinations are accomplished on foot or on bikes.
Improving street lanes geometry and designating bike lanes
often means, however, that there is a limit on number of parking spaces available for cars.
If there are such financial opportunities,
we build underground parking spaces.
Cities should, however, be able to freely charge parking fees according to their own needs,
which is currently regulated by law.
This is a de facto basic tool for managing the available number of parking spaces in paid parking zone.
In area of limited speed, traffic lights are also switched off.
It is recognized that at such a speed, the traffic will well and safely
adjust on its own.
After observing some of these intersections in the city I have mixed feelings,
some of them had potential collision situations
and at peak hours,
at high traffic vehicles remained on center of intersections,
blocking traffic to other directions.
Purpose of speed limit actually was accomplished in this way.
However, it must be acknowledged
that traffic of pedestrians, cyclists and tramways
- took place without long lasting stops under the lights.
In such a zone we can also make it easier for passengers traveling by public transport -
in a single tram will be much more passengers than in one car.
One of the solutions are Viennese stops,
where we raise the level of roadway in place where passengers get off at it -
at level near the entrance to bus or tram.
On the other hand, stop again forces speed limit
and stopping of car in front of lifted surface
when tram stops,
until it leaves the stop.
Cyclists are feeling a special change inside Poznan zone 30.
There are special lanes on roadways, only for bicyclists.
Due to counterlanes, bicycle traffic was also allowed in many unidirectional streets "upstream".
These measures are designed to provide most possible driving directions,
streamlining and accelerating movement in city center on bike.
So far, these solutions have not been used by too many bikers,
but looking at Warsaw -
as bike network grows - bike traffic also grow,
so increasing bicycle traffic seems to be a matter of time.
Greater bicycle accessibility is also contributing to increase of public bicycle system.
Every year number of stations and bikes is growing
and currently system in Poznań has 88 stations
and 963 bicycles.
Zone is already a part of tourist area of Poznan
and there is also a place for tourists to get off the coaches.
For these vehicles, special parking spaces have been designated for up to 15 minutes,
which allows for a "landing"
but while waiting for tourists return,
coach must park outside the area.
The primary purpose of setting speed limits is to improve traffic safety.
Smaller differences in speed between vehicles and other participants
mean less risk of collision or accident
and its possible consequences.
In city centers we have been concentrating our development for centuries, so as to use as much valuable space as possible,
but something went wrong along the way.
Cars showed up, our private means of transport
and we began to limit our space to live in cities.
There are more and more vehicles and first problems with smooth traffic appeared,
so roads were widened to the limit.
City streets became extremely unattractive:
most of their cross-sections were occupied by roadways and parking spaces,
pedestrians were pushed onto narrow pavements
and cyclists had to cope in one or the other space
– feeling unwelcome on both.
Treating inner city roads as a transit routes
we stop in congestion,
travel for a longer time,
air we breathe is polluted.
Now we face the question of whether cities and especially their centers,
should be for people or remain dominated by cars?
Is center to be space in which we live, work, relax and have fun?
Reducing speed often raises objections to road users,
but is it right in case of central areas?
Please let us know what you think in the comments.
Meanwhile, thanks for the great attention and see you next time!
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