AIBU that in the UK people don't understand 'Shared Space'.

[UndertheCedartree]

In my city we have a few areas of Shared Space. The idea is to reduce vehicle dominance. The pedestrian as just as much right to be in this space and should be accommodated by the traffic. It drives me up the wall when drivers drive too fast in the space and do not stop/slow to allow pedestrians to move about the area. We have an area along a very busy beach area. There are lots of children around and lots of ice cream parlours etc within this area that the children could be going to. You literally have to walk out in front of the cars to get them to let you move across the area. We have another area which is a big square and is shared with buses. The other day my friend and I were walking across it and a bus came up so fast to us that we were frightened.

I've seen Shared Space in the Netherlands and it works really well. It just doesn't seem to work here and I think probably the beach area they'll probably pedestrianise as some drivers make it dangerous.

You're right the traffic just doesn't seem to get it

I've never come across one of these but frankly as both a pedestrian and a motorist they sound terrifying. I think it's just too unusual a concept here.

@MindyStClaire

I've never come across one of these but frankly as both a pedestrian and a motorist they sound terrifying. I think it's just too unusual a concept here.

Yes, I think to work there should have been much more information given to the public about it. It can indeed be terrifying. There have also been accidents.

We now have shared space in our local high street. My SIL can no longer walk there safely with his guide dog, as there's no pavement and of course guide dogs think it's ALL pavement!

@MindyStClaire

I've never come across one of these but frankly as both a pedestrian and a motorist they sound terrifying. I think it's just too unusual a concept here.

Agree with this. Sounds very dangerous. They should just ban cars and make it. Pedestrian zone.

We have ‘shared space’ on a new build estate here (if you don’t bother with pavements you can squeeze in a million more houses!) and all it means is the kids don’t walk anywhere and the drivers pay no more consideration to pedestrians than they do any where else - which is little enough. Car is king in the UK it seems - it may work as an idea on the continent but here the people aren’t like that

Drivers are a very entitled lot, it takes time to change behaviours

It was scrapped locally here as it caused too many accidents.

We’ve got some shared space in our town. Or it started off as shared space. In practice, it’s just a normal road but with no pavements and pedestrians taking their lives in their hands because the crossing areas are marked out in two shades of grey and so dirty and muted in colour that they’re difficult to see.

I think it sounds terrifying too.

Probably better and safer to just pedestrianise it, perhaps with a clearly marked exception for blue badge holders - but as the exception they’d be very careful, knowing it was predominantly pedestrian.

I’ve never heard of this concept

If shared space is to work anywhere you need those tight squeeze boulders very frequently as traffic calmly, so it’s impossible to get up speed or forget it’s a shared space.

I've never seen this and it sounds quite dangerous if theres a high ish volume of traffic

I voted YABU Mainly because the shared space near me was introduced with no explanation at all. A busy, weird corner was simply painted pink, signs put up with just the word "Shared Space" and that was it. If there was an explanation nobody outside the immediate area got the message.

It's also the place where a rainbow crossing was painted at cost of a day and night road closure and a couple of thousand pounds.

Pedestrians cling to the narrow pavements and walls of shops. Cars have no lane markers and, as it is a very wide corner, the zebra crossing ( yes, they still have one) has a nigh in constant stream of people walking across it.

In fact the only news I have seen about it has been from people with guide dogs, who hate it because it confuses their dog.

Car drivers think they own the road.

It can work well but you need a LOT of street furniture/trees/raised beds to make driving at more than 3 mph impossible. It cannot be done successfully on the cheap.

I think this only works when people understand the concept intuitively. So it would take time to develop that capacity in a new spot.

My city has one place like that which is only about 2 years old. But there are a lot of reminders for drivers - it's bricks on the ground, there are benches around, planters. It's also in an are where cars were often slower anyway.

I’ve never heard of this. Does it mean there are no pavements at all?

In ours it's just a vast expanse of pink road, some pavements and two crossings, pelican and zebra.

Nothing else, no street furniture, no white lines, etc. It makes no sense at all.

@UndertheCedartree

In my city we have a few areas of Shared Space. The idea is to reduce vehicle dominance. The pedestrian as just as much right to be in this space and should be accommodated by the traffic. It drives me up the wall when drivers drive too fast in the space and do not stop/slow to allow pedestrians to move about the area. We have an area along a very busy beach area. There are lots of children around and lots of ice cream parlours etc within this area that the children could be going to. You literally have to walk out in front of the cars to get them to let you move across the area. We have another area which is a big square and is shared with buses. The other day my friend and I were walking across it and a bus came up so fast to us that we were frightened.

I've seen Shared Space in the Netherlands and it works really well. It just doesn't seem to work here and I think probably the beach area they'll probably pedestrianise as some drivers make it dangerous.

If it's Aberdeen you're speaking about, the sense of entitlement several drivers of expensive-mobiles has is very real.

But Aberdonian Audi drivers aside (), when I learned to drive in the UK, I was instructed to approach turns at a cross/intersection in second gear, roundabouts in second gear, and to ignore pedestrians standing on a street corner waiting to cross, lest I be marked down on my driving test. It's a whole culture of "the roads are for cars". You can't undo that without a lot of public re-education.

I hate shared space

I don't drive at the moment so I don't have to deal with that aspect.

as a pedestrian, I try to avoid it because I don't know what it's about and the one time I had to use it, I ended up yanking another person out of the way of a cyclist who was shouting at furiously to get out of the way.

this confused me even more as I then thought "are we meant to be walking here?" There were no signs for clarity at all, but the pavement was a different colour. I found out later that cars are allowed to use it. if I was driving, I wouldn't know.

Wasn't there a cab accident in Chelsea from this kind of misunderstanding?

I don't have a problem with roads being for cars. As a bus user, the recent road changes have caused endless hold ups, but I get the impression they don't really want people using buses either!

I am moving to the very end of a Tube line - well hopefully - where things seem to be set out a bit more traditionally. I might get a car again as it would help taking my elderly mum out shopping etc, but I will be avoiding shared spaces as a driver too.

If there are to be shared spaces in the UK, there needs to be consistency of design, along with intelligent analysis & planning, enough accurate signage & lots of information put out to the general public.

In my experience, there isn't.

One example: a perfectly normal roundabout was replaced with a flat beige-on-beige circle. Vehicles still go round it, but can pedestrians also stroll across it at will? Could a driver legally go the wrong way round, or straight across? Who gives way to whom? Is it still a roundabout in the eyes of the DfT/Highway Code? Nobody knows. In practice, it functions exactly as before, so what was the point?

Never heard of this either.

Why, if this is being introduced here, hasn't there been more information about on tv and in the press.

We have shared spaces where I live that involve pedestrians and cyclists.

The paths are quite narrow as it's the route of what was once a single track railway line. I used to walk my dog - always on her lead - along part of it but I gave up using it because so many of the cyclists would fly along with complete disregard for the walkers, coming up behind you without any warning and expecting you to leap out of their way despite the large signs telling cyclist to give way to pedestrians.

Frankly using it can be really stressful and scary.

Can't imagine what it's like in a similar situation but with cars; pretty terrifying I would think.

This is the accident I'm thinking of

www.standard.co.uk/news/london/boy-one-dies-after-being-hit-by-cab-as-his-mother-pushed-him-in-buggy-a3198251.html

Pedestrians don't belong in the same space as cars and cyclists. I certainly don't want to share it - it's bad enough that cyclists seem to come flying out of nowhere in London.

I see other posters have commented re guide dogs because I wondered that too.

That beige roundabout thing sounds a total mystery. Is it meant to attract UFOs? 😂