You need to design your streets appropriately and the speed limit will be followed. If you design stroads like a race track, people will speed on it like a race track
If your streets are narrower, has curves, chicanes and trees, it naturally forces drivers to reduce speed without needing speed bumps / radars / giant speed signs (the faster you go, bigger signage is required)
I absolutely know what should be done, but it’s extremely difficult to convince planners and decision makers to do it.
Hell, I was told by a city planner that the only way they could put painted lines on some bike routes was if they kept on-street parking (NIMBYs did not want safe roads).
So, now have bike routes with painted “bike lanes”, but people just use it as a parking lane, making it more dangerous for cyclists… maddening, and unnecessarily frustrating.
And in other areas, we have bollards to slow down traffic, but guess what? Assholes park in a way that makes it dangerous for cyclists!
Not really sure how to say this in english, but this case i’d say the problem in not only at the front-side (bad design) but also on the back-side (enforcing the rules). Rules that aren’t enforced are merely suggestions.
That’s a strong argument for measures that make it more dififcult to drive unsafely.
For example, if a vehicle exceeds a safe speed (plus a reasonable margin for error), a trapdoor opens in the road and they and their car fall into a deep hole.
I’m inventive and have more suggestions, many inspired by ACME products in Road Runner cartoons.
You need to design your streets appropriately and the speed limit will be followed. If you design stroads like a race track, people will speed on it like a race track
If your streets are narrower, has curves, chicanes and trees, it naturally forces drivers to reduce speed without needing speed bumps / radars / giant speed signs (the faster you go, bigger signage is required)
I absolutely know what should be done, but it’s extremely difficult to convince planners and decision makers to do it.
Hell, I was told by a city planner that the only way they could put painted lines on some bike routes was if they kept on-street parking (NIMBYs did not want safe roads).
So, now have bike routes with painted “bike lanes”, but people just use it as a parking lane, making it more dangerous for cyclists… maddening, and unnecessarily frustrating.
And in other areas, we have bollards to slow down traffic, but guess what? Assholes park in a way that makes it dangerous for cyclists!
Like this guy:
Or this guy:
Not really sure how to say this in english, but this case i’d say the problem in not only at the front-side (bad design) but also on the back-side (enforcing the rules). Rules that aren’t enforced are merely suggestions.
A lack of enforcement is very much a problem around here.
People speed, illegally park, don’t stop when they should, turn when they shouldn’t. All because they can get away with it.
That’s a strong argument for measures that make it more dififcult to drive unsafely.
For example, if a vehicle exceeds a safe speed (plus a reasonable margin for error), a trapdoor opens in the road and they and their car fall into a deep hole.
I’m inventive and have more suggestions, many inspired by ACME products in Road Runner cartoons.
Keep sharing them, cause I like the trapdoor solution a lot more than a complex road sign ;)