30 Planning October 2006 American Planning Association 31 By Bruce Appleyard, A I C P , and Lindsey Cox A bo v e Wall Street in and left: downtown Asheville, B en North Carolina, H amilton-B (left) incorporates some of the traffic aillie; calming techniques text abo associated with home v e b y zones: cobblestone-like B r uce pavement, bollards, A ppleyar Home lampposts, and parking. Slow vehicle d speeds encourage people to walk in the street. Above: elements The result is a loss of opportunities for neigh- of a woonerf in borhood residents to build stronger and safer Denmark, one of the communities. in the European countries Now consider the alternative: We can design that has adopted streets that incorporate traffic calming devices the concept. Right: and placemaking elements such as street furni- At Woonerf residents at ture, play areas, and landscaping. We can modify an alfresco birthday our existing street standards and vehicle codes to party in Copenhagen. create neighborhood streets that work for people, den ur B as well as cars, and that allow the negotiations an D Creating livable between residents and drivers to take place on streets in the U.S. a more equal footing. The model The shared street known as a woonerf is a model “We should raiseZone our sights for the moment. What could for the kind of street we are talking about. The ven after 25 years, these words remind hood residential streets should be livability. concept originated in the late 1960s in the us that streets, which constitute most The street is a place where drivers, pedestri- Dutch city of Delft. Local residents who were a residential street—a street on which our children are of the public space in our cities, are for ans, and bicyclists engage in informal negoti- upset about cut-through traffic in their neigh- people, not just cars. Streets are our most ations over who’s in charge. This split-second borhood tore up their brick streets and replaced brought up, adults live, and old people spend their last accessible public spaces. They should be choreography is strongly influenced by how the them with traffic-slowing serpentine paths. days—what could such a street be like?” places where neighbors socialize and build street stage is set, both physically and visually. These shared streets came to be known as Ecommunity, and where young and old On streets engineered for fast-moving cars— woonerfs, translated literally as “residential Donald Appleyard, Livable Streets, 1981 alike engage in activities that strengthen with their wide lanes, traffic signals, and strip- yards,” making the point that neighborhood their physical and creative health. Thus, ing—the noise, exhaust fumes, and threat of in- streets serve homes rather than cars. (They have the guiding design principle for neighbor- jury force pedestrians and bicyclists to retreat. also been described as “living yards,” “streets for 32 Planning October 2006 American Planning Association 33 living,” “living streets,” and, in Great Britain, as to speed. Instead, drivers and pedestrians are be integrated on one shared surface. The key to character, will make it clear to drivers that the “home zones,” which can also refer to a network placed on the same level, and drivers are directed lowering speed is to change the “feel” of the street home zone is a special place. Adding spaces for of neighborhood streets.) by bollards, street furniture, trees, and varied and the attitude of the drivers. That requires a both formal and informal public art, whether The The newest phase in the evolution of this pavement treatment. multipronged approach, combining engineering, temporary (chalk drawings and sand castles) or transformation concept is the “shared spaces” movement that • Providing parking, but with intermittent education, and enforcement. permanent (murals and sculptures), will add to of a Dutch is emerging across Europe. Variously referred spacing so the woonerf does not feel like a Step one is to design the street so that drivers the atmosphere. street; drawings to as “legible streets” or even “naked streets,” parking lot. think of themselves as guests. That means making Robin Moore and Susan Goltsman, principals from Donald these streets have been stripped of the signs and The woonerf concept was a new and use of such traffic calming measures as signage, of Moore Iacofano Goltsman and internationally Appleyard’s markings that make them a conduit for speeding powerful idea that legally changed the rules road narrowing, speed tables, varied pavement, renowned experts in designing learning environ- Livable Streets. traffic. They are designed as integral extensions of traffic behavior within a protected area. It and striping. Britain’s home zone design guidelines ments for children, put it this way: “Neighbor- of the surrounding community. gives residents stronger legal rights over their recommend that such speed control measures be Before hoods need to be designed for children, and Woonerfs were officially endorsed by the streetscape by placing the burden of proof on spaced no farther apart than 30 meters, or 100 since streets make up most of the open space in Dutch government in 1976, when a set of traf- the driver in the event of an accident. feet. (The Dutch recommend a distance of about a neighborhood, it is logical that they be places fic regulations for the shared street concept was All in all, these measures give residents a 50 meters.) The guidelines also recommend that for play and community gathering.” Children adopted. The idea spread to other countries, greater sense of comfort. A 2003 study by public forward visibility should not “significantly” exceed thrive in spaces “that are diverse in character, including Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Britain, health consultant Peter Jacobsen showed that about 12 meters (40 feet). with different kinds of surfaces, adequate space Japan, and Israel. Today, the Netherlands has having more people participate in the street As part of this process, we must ask our- for street games, and places where they can build about 6,500 versions of the woonerf. environment actually improves safety. He selves, “How wide do our streets need to be to things such as sandboxes.” That description Donald Appleyard’s Livable Streets gave U.S. found that relative collision rates declined as the accommodate cars, trucks, and fire engines?” would apply to home zones as well. audiences the first handbook on traffic calming numbers of pedestrians and cyclists increased, In Europe, the recommended travel lane width Generally, traffic should be discouraged. and the then-new Dutch woonerf program. suggesting that drivers exercise more care when ranges from nine to 10.5 feet. Signage and full or partial barriers can block Appleyard viewed the woonerf as the “latest they expect people to be using the street. This Nor are narrower streets necessarily unsafe. entrance to the home zone street, or prohibit stage in the evolution of the protected neigh- suggests that there is a “tipping point” that Engineer Peter Swift looked at the relationship turns. On a larger level, neighborhood street borhood,” helping to fulfill the promise of what we need to consider when redesigning a street between the physical characteristics of streets eets tr networks can be designed to avoid channeling S our residential streets could be. environment for community reengagement. and the number of accidents. He found that the able traffic onto the street and to provide adequate iv L In the late 1990s, Great Britain imported typical 48-foot-wide street had a crash rate that travelways for all users, including cyclists. Ap- om After r Definition the woonerf concept in the form of a “home was 18 times higher than that of a 24-foot-wide F propriate paving (colored or stamped pavement, What exactly is a woonerf? It’s a shared street zone” initiative. The idea was supported by two street. for instance) can also encourage pedestrian use that incorporates a range of modes and activi- nonprofit organizations, Transport 2000 and the To enhance the home zone’s sense of identity as A woonerf in Delft, the Dutch city where the concept originated. of the street. ties. It allows for moving traffic and parking but Children’s Play Council. Early results showed a neighborhood space, local officials can remove Homes should be designed to have a strong primarily is designed to encourage neighbors to an increase in the number of children playing in the conventional straight stretches of pavement, onment relationship to the home zone street. One way nvir E socialize and to permit children to play safely the street in over half of the home zone projects. allowing instead for bends in the travel lane. They to accomplish that is through the orientation of rban in front of their homes. Traffic speed is slowed Some home zones also have seen falling crime can also install physical barriers such as bollards U rooms, doors, and windows. Residents should the by both physical and visual measures. rates and rising levels of community activity in to help reduce car speed. The resulting “outdoor have direct views of the outdoor living room for The Dutch initially set the woonerf traffic the form of neighborhood litter pickup, festivals, living rooms” can be furnished with benches, from their indoor living room, enhancing the nstitute I speed at about 10 miles an hour, the pace of a and street parties. plantings, and play equipment. sense of safety and community. walking horse. (Most people walk at about two There are subtle differences between home There is general agreement that home zones On-street parking helps to calm traffic. How- nternational I to four miles per hour.) A key traffic-slowing zones and woonerfs.