Forum Topic

There are numerous examples of pedestrian priority signs in the UK if you search on Google. Most of them are from picture agencies so I won't copy here but this is an example from Norwich.
As for whether they are DfT approved I don't know but the argument that they are unenforceable is not a valid one. If you were to hit a pedestrian on Devonshire Road the legal relevance of the sign is that it should have prompted you to drive with more care and attention.  It is also worth recalling that the original post on this thread related to the two way use of Devonshire Road by cyclists. There is no enforcement to stop this as there is no enforcement of people driving up the road when access is supposed to be restricted. Pedestrian priority works in other areas both in the UK and on the continent because people observe it, which is clearly more effective than having rules that may have legal backing but are generally ignored. On Ed's suggestion of just simply introducing two way operation for cyclists along the length of Devonshire Road, that may be a good idea. One reservation would be that it is a fallacy that all cyclists ignore the rules, I don't use Devonshire Road when travelling north and I believe the vast majority of cyclists would use an alternative route as well. This means that if two way access was allowed, it would become the main south north route in through Chiswick and cyclists numbers would surge. Perhaps the reason that this measure has not been considered is that it is felt this would have a negative impact on the shopping environment on the street.

Mark Evans ● 19d

I presume this report follows on from reaction to the changes made in South Kensington among others. In these schemes the purpose was not simply pedestrian priority but the removal of pavements and the complete blurring of the differential between space for vehicles and pedestrians.Each can form their own views about how this is working by walking from South Ken station to Hyde Park. Personally I like it but can fully understand why people with impaired vision might feel uncomfortable with it and why the Department for Transport felt obliged to act.However, the potential drawbacks of this scheme would not apply on Devonshire Road where it is unlikely that funding would be available to bring the road surface up to the level of the pavement. Therefore there would still be a delineation between road and footway with paint and signs being used to indicate pedestrian priority. This sort of scheme exists in town centres across the country and, as far as I am aware, there is no bar on councils introducing them.On the available research, most if not all relates to European countries other than the UK but the conclusions seem to be pretty consistent - more minor collisions, fewer serious ones. Whatever the impact of pedestrian priority, reduced speed limits are likely to have this effect.Full pedestrianisation seems to me a classic example of the 'perfect' being the enemy of the good. It would probably mean the end of cycle access either way and with deliveries still allowed, the experience for pedestrians wouldn't be that much different to what it is now. Pedestrian priority would boost footfall by a similar amount, retain access to the Glebe Estate for residents and allow cyclists to travel both ways. It seems to me this would give everybody more or less what they want.

Mark Evans ● 19d