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Recession in cities: Now is the time

The phrase "traffic recession" folds into it one of the most important and smart safety moves required in city centers, especially in light of the new reality created by the corona crisis.

And what do we think about the right way to do it (hint, reverse what we have done so far)

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• Tel Aviv Jaffa

• safety

• Road Safety

• Tel Aviv Municipality

• Crosswalk

Meital Lehavi, Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo

Tuesday, 01 September 2020, 11:11

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Road accident scene between a pedestrian and a car (Photo: Shlomi Gabay)

Israeli cities are becoming increasingly crowded, everyone who visits them or travels on the roads sees it.

At the same time, this density is still three to four times lower than the average density in major European cities such as Barcelona, ​​Paris or Athens.

That is why the Planning Administration and the National Planning and Building Council are promoting a plan to increase density in cities within the framework of the National Outline Plan TMA 35. It is understood that urban density will increase the number of road users and add public space uses, which will require infrastructure solutions.

One of these solutions is traffic calming.

This is a planning move aimed at slowing down car traffic in the city to improve safety and reduce noise and air pollution hazards.

As part of the reduction of limited traffic, the speed of vehicular traffic on the street to 30 km / h (maximum), and physical actions are carried out to upgrade the space as part of the concept of making it more pedestrian-friendly - narrowing lanes and intersections, raising crossings, widening sidewalks, marking road lanes For reallocation of road rights, expropriation of parking spaces for private vehicles in favor of marking bicycle paths and more.

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Marking crossings, raising, narrowing intersections, some of the ideas for reducing traffic (screenshot, Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality)

A reduction in traffic inevitably slows down driving, improves the field of vision on the road and takes extra care by all road users.

The link between speeding and the damage in fatal accidents or related injuries is clear and proven, hence areas from the waist are safer for both pedestrians, two-wheelers and drivers.

Data released by the British Department of Transportation reveals that a pedestrian hit by a car traveling at a speed of 48 km / h has a 45% chance of dying as a result of the injury, and at a speed of 64 km / h the chance of climbing to 85%.

When the speed drops below 30 km / h, the chance of the accident being fatal is a little more than 5%.

The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality has advanced a move to turn dozens of streets in the city center into moderated streets, by limiting their speed to 30 km / h. So far, 380 km have been marked as part of this plan. This is only the first step in a wider course of strengthening the sense of safety in the public space, especially for pedestrians, but also for cyclists and miniature two-wheeled vehicles. Slowing traffic also on streets of 50 km / h, where it is customary to accelerate beyond what is allowed.

Average annual casualties by cities.

Source: Central Bureau of Statistics

A look overseas reveals that many countries in the world, especially in Europe, are taking similar steps: in the Mohabit district of Berlin, for example, a traffic recession has been set with a limit of 30 km / h and it has been found that the quality of life has increased significantly. Traffic added 10 acres of green space at the expense of roads and parking, the number of fatal accidents decreased significantly and the number of accidents without casualties decreased by 30%. The average travel speed decreased from 50 km / h to 36 km / h and the rate of road accidents involving children Dropped by 70%.

Of course such moves should be part of an overall concept and not just ad hoc solutions. We must produce an orderly system based on the street as a pedestrian-oriented street. Local authorities do not need the approval of the Ministry of Transport to declare a traffic recession. Laws from the Knesset that will make it possible, for example, to enforce the new policy, among other things by installing speed enforcement cameras, as is being done with great success in the IDF and other means.

Prominent marking, raising and creating an "island" in long crossings on busy streets

Meital Lehavi (Photo: PR)

The social distance imposed on us requires the creation of larger spaces for the city's residents and visitors, so that they can meet the guidelines.

This situation has much in common with the transportation vision of the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality for 2025 - the mobility of 25% of road users with tiny and light tools.

Traffic calming is a great tool to get there, and there is no better time for that than now.

Do it right - Keenan Cohen

The idea of ​​reducing road user injuries through speed limitation is a very old idea, on the facts of the reduced damages in case of conflict between vehicles or pedestrians as speed dependent there is no debate.

On the fact that speed causes accidents there is also there.

Although it can be agreed that there is no same law for reducing traffic in and out of the city.

While cities are a multi-component situation and a tangle of variables - the intercity roads, when these are planned and executed correctly are a completely different story and we should not be confused.

Speed ​​cameras on highways, inefficient and only means of collection.

Take them to the cities

Take speed cameras, for example.

Those outside the cities are nothing but draconian tax traps, irrational, unjustified and as it turned out also meaningless in terms of reducing the amount of accidents and casualties.

Their placement has been tainted from the beginning by distorting facts and falsifying tests if not worse.

In contrast, using them as traffic light cameras or inside cities will be a much more effective application for improving road safety.

With regard to the physical means of reducing traffic, among the options listed and applied in the world are road markings, painting areas with a risk factor in prominent colors, signage, raising crossings, narrowing lanes and more.

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However, one traffic moderator is particularly problematic, but unfortunately most local authorities want it - the bumpers or deceleration lanes. This bad hit we have written about in the past contributes mainly to the financial security of the car parts sellers and less to the physical security of the road users. They impair the grip of the vehicle passing over them, encourage algae after passing over them, and with them come noise and air pollution hazards and pose a danger to two-wheeled vehicles. In the absence of a binding standard, each authority erects this barrier as it sees fit at one level of damage or another.

The transition to pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly roads through a reduction in urban traffic is welcome. The bullying mode and the easy solutions in the form of speed cameras and bumpers are the warning signs that should guide the planners of the move.

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