Shared space
2011
• This Local Transport Note (LTN) focuses on shared space in high street environments but many of its principles will apply in other settings.
• It places particular emphasis on stakeholder engagement and inclusive design.
1.1 Shared space is a design approach that seeks to change the way streets operate by reducing the dominance of motor vehicles, primarily through lower speeds and encouraging drivers to behave more accommodatingly towards pedestrians.
1.2 There is no such thing as a definitive shared space design. Each site is different and the way a street performs will depend on its individual characteristics, the features included and how these features work in combination.
1.3 On the Continent, shared space is often used to smooth traffic flow and reduce delays at major junctions. In the UK, it is usually applied to links and minor junctions with the aim of allowing pedestrians to move more freely within the space.
1.4 This Local Transport Note (LTN) is mainly concerned with the use of shared space on links. While it focuses on High Street environments, many of its principles will apply to other types of shared space. It is intended to assist those designing and preparing street improvement and management schemes. It explains how the scheme development process introduced in LTN 1/08 Traffic Management and Streetscape (DfT, 2008a) can be applied to shared space projects, and presents a series of design considerations and recommendations to inform that process.
1.5 Particular emphasis is placed on stakeholder engagement and inclusive design, where the needs of a diverse range of people are properly considered at all stages of the development process. It also stresses the importance of sustainable design, where long-term maintenance needs are considered as part of the design process.
1.6 In a conventional street, motorist behaviour is largely governed by the highway infrastructure. Although pedestrians and motorists are equally entitled to occupy the carriageway, pedestrians generally exercise little control over vehicular traffic, other than at controlled crossings such as Zebra and Pelican crossings.
1.7 In shared space the messages are more subtle – the environment provides less formal indication as to how drivers are expected to behave, thus making their progress within the street increasingly dependent on interpreting the behaviour of pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists.