Woonerf

The term woonerf ( German: Wohnhof ) and since July 1988 Erf ( German: Courtyard ) denotes a developed in the Netherlands in the 1970s approach to traffic calming. This street spaces are created as a mixed traffic area in residential areas and subjected to a special design. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic are not clearly separated and must considerate of each other. Consequently, the cars lose their primacy and must adjust their speed to the given circumstances.

The woonerf principle was a highly regarded international role model and was picked up by other countries, such as in the 1980s with the introduction of the ZTL area in Germany. More recent approaches such as shared space or the Bern model (Encounter Zone) refer broadly to the woonerf.

History

In 1963, the British city planner Colin Buchanan published a report entitled " Traffic in Towns", in which he outlined for the Ministry of Transportation solutions for urban traffic problems and rising car ownership in the UK. He vehemently supported the principle of separation (segregation ), but also showed possibilities of city traffic on the compatible blend. Because the Ministry sympathized strongly with the idea of segregation, a broad implementation of the alternative proposal in the UK seemed unlikely.

Instead, the Dutch city planners Niek de Boer of Buchanan's approach felt inspired and devised integrated residential streets where the residents take public streets again in the future. The development was preceded in the Netherlands, the realization that roads in residential areas are often unsure do not offer quality of stay and are used relatively one-sided, given the size of the exposed areas. The sidewalks and roadways designed de Boer as a plane and traffic rules he replaced by a spatial design using plants, benches and bollards.

These roads would stop the driver to reduce speed and to take more on pedestrians and cyclists into consideration. In the 1960s, a pilot test was conducted in South Holland Delft, is therefore partly also spoke of the "Delft " model. Due to the positive experience of 1976 design guidelines were established by the Dutch government. Over the next seven years, 2,700 Woonerven emerged throughout the country.

As part of a reform of the Road Traffic Act in 1988, the woonerf in Erf was provided unnamed and with a larger application. Since then, the transport concept can also be used in city centers, shopping centers and station areas. Due to the success of the encounter zone in Switzerland, in France, Belgium and since April 1, 2013, in Austria sent the network woonERFgoed ( German: woonerf good) in July 2012, a petition to the Second Chamber of the States General with the request that inaccurate statement to replace " speed step " by tempo 15. The occasion was a request of the municipality of Rijswijk, where some signs have already been pasted over.