overdefended space_1: retractable bollards

Having recently finished reading Anna Minton's 'Ground Control', I've been thinking more than usual about the concepts of defensible space, shared space and the control of public space in general. With that in mind I hope to begin a series of posts highlighting specific examples of overdefended, overcontrolled public space that I have encountered.

Corporation Street in Manchester has, since 2006, been the host of an infamous set of bollards. The council's intention is to avoid drivers "taking on the shoppers" (perhaps an unintentional indication from Cllr Pat Karney that shoppers are the only people that should be permitted to access this part 0f town), and this has been successful, with a reduction in injuries to pedestrians since the scheme's introduction.

Commendable as the council's efforts are in attempting to free up parts of the city from vehicular traffic, this particular strategy seems rather half hearted and ineffective in creating a truly pedestrian friendly environment.

Physically, the street retains it's kerbs, differences in surface material, double yellow lines, and traffic lights. As such, pedestrians tend to remain on the designated pavements and the benefit of the traffic free space isn't fully felt. It still feels wrong to be walking in the roadway. People continue to cross at the crossing points rather than meandering through the space. Add to this the frequent need to avoid a Metroshuttle bus, post van or emergency vehicle, and the effects of the scheme are severely limited in improving the street for users of the city centre.

The more obvious and well reported failure (or success?) of the scheme is the persistent inability of individual drivers to understand (or accept) the controls in place. See YouTube for numerous CCTV examples. As delightful as videos of cars impaled on street furniture can be, the distress, inconvenience and cost of each incident are probably not worth the limited improvement the scheme brings. The council blames the selfish nature of drivers trying to sneakily find an easy route across the centre. They fail to acknowledge that some drivers may not be aware of their unusual scheme - a visitor from another region, or even country, may well fail to understand the restrictions whilst trying to navigate an unfamiliar city, presented with an overload of unusual markings and road signs. (I accept the majority of these incidents will be down to selfish locals trying to beat the bollards, but it's not much of a welcome to those few who are unfamiliar to Manchester)

Rather than a draconian physical enforcement device, perhaps the council should look at subtler methods of creating a more user-friendly city centre street. As a city that considers itself to be "free-spirited" with a "liberating open-mindedness" I'd suggest the council should be considering more forward thinking policies for Manchester's public space than barriers, signs and CCTV.

I will be attending Making Places Living Spaces: Control & Contestation of the Public Realm on 01/10 at MMU, a public debate, proceeded by a book signing with Ms Minton herself.