"Traffic calming"
The term "traffic calming" is not very popular with us. Given the condition of our roads, we are more likely to think about speeding up.
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Islands slightly narrow the light of the road and the driver they automatically slow down. For pedestrians to divide way to 2 stages - another relief – they do not have to wait until both lanes are free. |
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Different texture and surface color inside intersections are designed to attract the attention of the driver. entrance at the intersection is quite gentle at the same time lying policeman. At a speed of 40-50 km / h I can hardly drive we feel but at higher speeds we enter accompanied by adverse effects. |
Meanwhile, in the west and north of Europe, where the expressway system works well, there is a growing focus on slowing down speeds and improving safety in communities. Driving through Germany or Austria, you can find islands at the entrances to towns that you have to zigzag around on a slightly narrowed road. A curve and a narrow road are two factors that almost unconsciously cause the driver to slow down.
Islets, compact roundabouts and various speed bumps are already common there. We're just starting to show up. So far, in the form of separate components, and not a complete system. This year, near Miedzyzdroj, I found the village of Kolchevo, which can be a model for calming traffic.
A roundabout, islands, and even speed bumps were built in the village, covering entire intersections. These are not such decisions as the high, almost forcing to stop the thresholds set in our cities in front of schools. But they cause unpleasant suspension compression if we drive at speeds over 50 km/h.
In Katowice, there is a threshold of this type, for example, at the checkpoint at the rector of the Silesian University. In Kolchevo, on the busy Kolobrzeg-Swinoujscie road, there are three intersections: one with a roundabout, and two more have turned into speed bumps. There are islands on both sides at the entrance to the village.
It is difficult to expect that soon all our cities will be like this, but such solutions will appear more and more often in the so-called. living areas.
