David has found that where traditional traffic calming (i.e. chicanes, speed bumps) generally reduces traffic speeds by 10%, the holding of a street party or similar will generally reduce speeds by up to 50% weeks after the party was held.

The reason for this is that drivers will slow down if there is any uncertainty or interest in the streets they are driving in – that is why he advocates the removal of all traffic signs (expect the unexpected).

BTW there is a train driver simulation game that can be found in the arcades of Japan – i think i would enjoy playing that over being a traffic light controller!

Traffic planners, however, aren’t entirely on board with that philosophy. At least, with respect to intersection planning. Maybe they should all go get econ degrees in addition to help spread those ideas…

With Monderman though, the goal was not just more intelligent traffic control, but, ultimately, more intelligent drivers. Their intelligence, awereness and reason, not convenience, he appealed to. Monderman’s roundabouts, “squareabouts” as he preferred to dub them, dropped all the monumental striping and curb treatments that North American traffic engineers somehow think they need. Instead, Monderman created situations where the pedestrian and traffic space melded…necessarily requiring drivers to be more alert and behave like people, not insulated automatons. Counter-intuitive as it may be, Monderman’s great insight was that the driver’s discomfort and sense of danger needs to be augmented, rather than lessened, to create inherently safer streets.

Thanks for covering Monderman.