Category Archives: Uncategorized

Breaking point

This piece in the Evening Standard, about an act of violence by a London bus driver, shows how traffic lights can wind us up to breaking point. Imagine driving a bus to a schedule and being held up, more often … Continue reading

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PS to previous post

So the One Show item was inadequate and the studio comments biased (through lack of information). The negative storm being kicked up by the blind lobby doesn’t mean shared space is wrong. It reveals the power of the delusion which … Continue reading

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Blind alley

The One Show had a piece about blind people avoiding shared space (2min in at this link). The report itself was OK, but the subsequent comments of the celebrities in the studio, supported by the presenters, suggests that the case for … Continue reading

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Air quality and mortality

UK deaths linked to particulate pollution, blamed on diesels, is put at 29,000 a year, including 3,400 in London. Moreover, campaign group Clean Air in London estimates that 7,500 people a year in the capital die early from NO2 and particulate pollution … Continue reading

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A Common Sense of Place

6′ video commissioned by the Isle of Man Department of Infrastructure featuring Ben Hamilton-Baillie can be seen here.

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Apathy

For years I’ve tried to tell cabinet ministers and the media that traffic system reform will not only make roads safe and less congested, it offers scope for beneficial spending cuts of £50bn a year. But apart from the North Devon Journal who … Continue reading

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Low-speed environments

Ben Hamilton-Baillie, who coined the term “shared space”, now prefers the term “low-speed environments”, partly because it avoids the confusion that arises between “shared space” and “shared surfaces”. While shared surfaces imply no pavement or kerbs, shared space retains the distinction … Continue reading

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There was a young man in Crewkerne

Who’s demanding the Council make U-turn They want to scrap lights It’s giving him frights He’s raised a petition but (if he reads Equality Streets) he should learn. OK, not my finest poetic hour. I drafted a comment but the … Continue reading

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More painful reminders

The claims and counterclaims about austerity versus tax and spend are further painful reminders that politicians and media are missing a massive opportunity, as I tried to explain again in this piece for the NDJ.

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Pah!king

The 10-minute parking leeway announced today has been largely welcomed. My view is that parking policy still stinks, as most traffic control does. Why was inflexible parking control sanctioned in the first place? How many injustices have been perpetrated over … Continue reading

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