I took a short movie from atop the Arc de Triomphe. We had noticed that many of the largest streets and interchanges in Paris had no lanes. As I say in the little video, they would just be a distraction.
On the other hand, we also didn't see any accidents. So the chaos system is not actually chaos. But neither is it government-controlled, in any important sense. (I suppose the gendarmes would come if there was a fight, and a tow truck would come if there were casualties, but that's it).
If you just leave people alone, they can figure stuff out.
Anarchy is not chaos!
3 comments:
Interesting. But I would say that lanes are a small issue--I prefer to have far fewer stop signs and more yield signs, far fewer traffic lights and more 2 way stops, etc. I have tried to return lights to flashing status near my house in Berkeley, but it is difficult.
I highly recommend Tom Vanderbilt's wonderful book, Traffic. You will discover how Hans Monderman transformed Drachten's (in the Netherlands) main thoroughfare by getting rid of all signs, stoplights, and crosswalks. In some sense, he made it more dangerous for motorists and pedestrians (but also more pleasing to the eye), which led to fewer accidents (no fatalities; there is an optimal level of minor accidents that is beneficial, so some fender-benders occur, but that's a good thing). Motorists and pedestrians both report the intersection being more efficient as well.
Check out this link for more: http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/01/08/hans-monderman-livable-streets-traffic-engineer-1947-2008/
Did you notice any "stuck" foreigners in the inside circle a la Clark Griswold in European Vacation?
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