Shared space, also known as “naked streets” has been credited with everything from revitalising the economy of the city centre through to encouraging “general niceness” and of course reducing accident rates.
The reality behind the brochure hype is very different. In fact, shared space has not reduced accidents in Coventry City Centre at all, as the following graph shows:
Note that this graph has been simplified just to show total accidents, and is not weighted by severity. This is because a single fatality would heavily skew the data. In 2007, there was one fatal incident, whereas in 2012, within months of the shared space scheme opening, a pensioner was knocked down and killed by a Stagecoach bus. The data for 2015, in which there was another fatal bus accident leaving two dead, is not yet available.
The post The Naked Truth about Naked Streets ( aka Shared Space ) appeared first on Pedal Parity.