How do we get rid of those awful guard rails?
Guard Rails and Naked Streets, those were the buzzwords of the 11th Annual Quality Streetscapes Conference in London, 3 May 2006. An inspiring conference.The question: how do we get rid of those awful guard rails?
They appear to be a true tradition in English streetscapes. After all, someone might cross the street at the irresponsible place. How do we get to nice, naked streets? Streets that are good to look at, where you feel at home, because they have been stripped from all unnecessary elements.
THE example of the first and apparently only 'naked street' in the UK: Kensington Street. Named in each presentation of the day.
When the first ideas were developed to strip this London street of all of its guard rails, they were mocked and received with disbelief. It would not be legal (it was), it would not be safe (it is: two years later, traffic incidents have dropped 50% because people drive more carefully).
Rob Cowan, director of the Urban Design Group: "It was the only time in history that The Sun ever covered an article on the public realm. Probably because they 
interpreted the term ‘naked streets' in the wrong direction."
And everyone in the UK turns out to be looking at The Netherlands in awe. "You don't count as a politician anymore, unless you have had at least three excursions to Holland".
This lead Hans Karssenberg, ErasmusPC member and invited to speak about the Cultural Coalition for the Amsterdam Olympic Area, to start by stating "Yesterday I have read the seventh article in The Netherlands on how well the UK is doing on its urban regeneration. Many of our politicians fly over for excursions. Probably, these rumours are being spread by KLM and British Airways".
Last but not least. Have you ever thought about the difference between a ‘road' and a ‘street'? John Dales, director of Urban Initiatives, gave an inspiring speech about how design should be integrated into traffic planning, to make better places in our cities. A road leads from A to B as quickly as possible. It is a stranger to its surroundings. One can never seem to cross a road, or it should be because of its ugly flyovers. A road is a non-place.
A street is a place. It welcomes both cars and pedestrians. This is not a question of traffic quantity, but of quality design. After all, the most beautiful street in the world, is also the most busy street in the world: Paris' Champs Elysées. Maybe an inspiration for the next naked street without guard railings?