A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!
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Could these have been done a lot better with greater design intent? Absolutely! Here are some great examples from a neighbourhood in Vienna.
Safer and more plessent streets (and roads) are about controlling the flow of traffic. Creating barriers is what makes roadways more efficent, its not about removing all barriers.
Amusing that they label these things traffic 'calming', in my experience drivers become far less calm when dealing with obstructions designed to slow them down and add difficulty. It reminds me of the ostensibly calming music companies play while you're on hold for an hour. Why call it calming? It's about control is it not? I find the terminology disingenuous and almost designed to irritate. We're going to calm things down by making things difficult and slow, sure.
If you were the only person in a vehicle on the roadway stopped by a signaled intersection its probably very inconvenient for you, and you may ask for the signal to be removed as its a barrier.
Now if you add in all the other vehicle traffic that uses that roadway with you, that signal now serves a very specific purpose to make your commute more efficient and safe. Without that signal, that exact same intersection would now be completely gridlocked with probably a few collisions, meaning you would get no where quick.
That same light is also a type of traffic calming as it slows vehicle traffic to make the roadway safer for all road users, this includes pedestrians, cycalists and motorists.