When the snowplows clear the court in front of my home, they leave a round mass of snow. The kids call it the doughnut. Children stateside would call it a donut. Me? I call it a woonerf: a living street.
I believe woonerf are a Dutch creation by Niek De Boer. Woonerfs, or living streets, are streets designed to force drivers to slow down as they share the road space with cyclists, pedestrians and children. Woonerfs are generally residential in character with the first one built in the City of Delft in the '60s.
I never cease to be amazed at how our court accommodates playing children, strolling neighbours walking their dogs and joggers. We see a few cyclists but they are on the court to enjoy the lookout and not to take advantage of the street itself.
At some point in the future the City of London will probably destroy our woonerf. A sidewalk will be built and the expectations of drivers to see folk on the road will diminish. The car speed on the street and the court will possibly increase.
Pedestrians will keep to the sidewalk, kids will go to to the nearby park to play ball and kids sliding down the snowy doughnut will, uh, will continue. Somethings I'm sure never change.
1 comment:
We have such streets here. Speed bumps, traffic calming adjustments of the curb, that sort of thing that obliges the driver to slow down.
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