woonerf
{{Short description|Type of living street design originally implemented in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium)}}
{{Italic title}}
File:Rijnsweerd - Esther de Boer van Rijklaan.jpg ]]
A {{lang|nl|woonerf}} ({{IPA|nl|ˈʋoːnɛr(ə)f}}) is a living street, as originally implemented in the Netherlands and subsequently in Flanders (Belgium). Techniques include shared space, traffic calming, and low speed limits.
The term {{lang|nl|woonerf}} has been adopted directly by some English-language publications. In the United Kingdom, these areas are called home zones.
Etymology
The word, of Dutch origin, literally translates as {{gloss|living yard}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vta.org/inside/boards/committee_advisory/bpac/agendas_minutes/2012/01_jan/bpac_011112_workshop.pdf |title=Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee - Agenda - Wednesday, January 11, 2012 |date=11 January 2012 |publisher=Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority |page=2 |access-date=25 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910041228/http://vta.org/inside/boards/committee_advisory/bpac/agendas_minutes/2012/01_jan/bpac_011112_workshop.pdf |archive-date=September 10, 2013 }} or {{gloss|residential grounds}}.{{cite web|title=Woonerf|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/woonerf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722232312/http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/woonerf|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 22, 2013|website=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=2015-07-13}}
History
Since the invention of automobiles, cities have been predominantly constructed to accommodate the use of automobiles.{{cite web|last=MacPhee|first=Ian|title=Is Vancouver ready for pedestrian priority streets?|url=http://regardingplace.com/?p=3529|publisher=re:place Magazine|access-date=29 March 2012}}
The woonerf was created by residents of Delft who tore up pavement late at night to make it so cars had to drive slower to avoid the obstacles.{{Cite book |last=Lydon |first=Mike |title=Tactical urbanism: short-term action for long-term change |last2=Garcia |first2=Anthony |date=2015 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=978-1-61091-526-7 |series=Urban planning & design |location=Washington, DC |pages=28}} The woonerven (plural) was incorporated into the national street design standards in 1976.
The entire locality of Emmen in the Netherlands was designed as a {{lang|nl|woonerf}} in the 1970s.
In 1999 the Netherlands had over 6000 {{lang|nl|woonerven}}Home Zones briefing sheet, Robert Huxford, Proceedings, Institution of Civil Engineers, Transport, 135, 45-46, February, 1999 and today around 2 million Dutch people are living in woonerven.{{citation|title=Sterke woonerfwijken: voorkomen is beter dan herstructureren|url=http://g32.nl/DATABANK/Nieuwsarchief/2011/September_2011/Sterke_woonerfwijken_voorkomen_is_beter_dan_herstructureren|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903112801/http://g32.nl/DATABANK/Nieuwsarchief/2011/September_2011/Sterke_woonerfwijken_voorkomen_is_beter_dan_herstructureren|archive-date=2014-09-03}} The benefits of the {{lang|nl|woonerf}} are promoted by {{lang|nl|woonERFgoed}}, a network of professionals and residents.{{citation|title=The woonerfgoed network|url=http://www.woonerfgoed.nl/int}}
In 2006 it was reported that people in Hesselterbrink, a neighborhood of Emmen, were disillusioned about how the {{lang|nl|woonerf}} principle had become another traffic engineering measure that "entailed precious little more than signs and uniform standards". They have now adopted the shared space principles as a way of rethinking the {{lang|nl|woonerf}}. They are reported to "now know that car drivers should become residents. Eye contact and human interaction are more effective means to achieve and maintain attractive and safe areas than signs and rules".{{cite web|title=Final evaluation by imma-san|publisher=Shared Space|year=2006|url=http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/immawidyawatiagustin-693595-final-evaluation-by-imma-san/}}
Regulation
= Belgium =
File:Belgian road sign F12a.svg
Belgian traffic regulation (art. 2.32){{cite web |title=Belgian traffic regulation, article 2.32 |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=nl&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwegcode.be%2Fwetteksten%2Fsecties%2Fkb%2Fwegcode%2F100-art2%232.32 |access-date=1 June 2021}} defines the {{lang|nl|woonerf}} and the generic erf, and their traffic sign. The {{lang|nl|woonerf}} has a residential focus; the erf can have other primary uses like “crafts, trade, tourism, education and recreation”.
In art. 22bis,{{cite web |title=Belgian traffic regulation, art. 22bis |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=nl&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwegcode.be%2Fwetteksten%2Fsecties%2Fkb%2Fwegcode%2F182-art22bis |access-date=1 June 2021}} the Belgian traffic regulation describes what is and what isn’t allowed in a (woon)erf:
{{Blockquote
|text=Within erven and woonerven:
- Pedestrians can use the full width of the public road; and playing is also allowed.
- Drivers may not endanger pedestrians or hinder them; if necessary they must stop. Furthermore they need to be twice as careful regarding children. Pedestrians may not obstruct traffic unnecessarily.
- Speed is limited to 20 km per hour.
- Parking is forbidden, except where there are visual markings like different surface colors, a letter P or traffic signs allowing parking.
|multiline=yes
}}
= Netherlands =
Under Article 44 of the Dutch traffic code, motorised traffic in a {{lang|nl|woonerf}} or "recreation area" is restricted to 15 km/h in the Netherlands.[http://www.verkeerenwaterstaat.nl/Images/RVV_UK-versie_tcm195-163061.pdf Road Traffic Signs and Regulations in the Netherlands] Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat, June 2006 Accessed 7 February 2007.
Notes
{{reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{citation|title=Why don't we do it in the road? A new school of traffic design says we should get rid of stop signs and red lights and let cars, bikes and people mingle together. It sounds insane, but it works. |author=Linda Baker|date=May 2004|work=Salon.com|url=http://www.salon.com/2004/05/20/traffic_design/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127035435/http://www.salon.com/2004/05/20/traffic_design/|archive-date=2012-01-27}}
- {{citation|title=Where 'Share the Road' Is Taken Literally|author=Paul Hockenos|date=April 26, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/automobiles/where-share-the-road-is-taken-literally.html}}
- {{citation|title=Traffic-Restricted Streets: Woonerfs and Transit Malls|author=Paul Chasan|publisher=University of Washington/Open Space Seattle 2100|url=http://depts.washington.edu/open2100/pdf/2_OpenSpaceTypes/Open_Space_Types/woonerfs.pdf}}
- {{citation|date=June 30, 2014 | work=Streetsblog Chicago |publisher=OpenPlans|title=Woonerf in the West Suburbs Offers a Sneak Peek at Uptown Streetscapes | author= John Greenfield|url=http://chi.streetsblog.org/2014/06/30/a-woonerf-in-the-west-suburbs-offers-a-sneak-peek-at-argyle-shared-street/}} (about a Batavia, Illinois, {{lang|nl|woonerf}})
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150227041112/http://www.catsip.berkeley.edu/walkbikesafer/Woonerf Case Studies: Woonerf] at California Active Transportation Safety Information Pages (UC Berkeley)
- [http://www.canin.com/world-woonerf/ What in the World is a Woonerf?] (Canin Associates)
{{Road types}}
Category:Cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands
Category:Transportation planning