Beverley Civic Society - Clearing up the Clutter

Beverley is a much-admired town. One of the keys to its success as both a place to live in and visit is its distinct character. Beverley’s physical character has been built up over the centuries to create a rich tapestry of buildings from different periods to line its ancient streets. Our physical and visual experience of these streets, the ‘streetscape’, are what, for most of us, lends Beverley its particular appeal, its identity.

But during the last century of its life Beverley has had to deal with the threat to its fabric from the motor car. Long gone are the days when the town’s streets were home to nothing more than people and horses and carts moving little faster than walking pace. Now vehicles made substantially from steel and moving 10 times faster than pedestrians dominate the streets. Along with cars comes the control of cars and cars from people in the form of a plethora of visually unsympathetic signs, lighting, physical barriers, traffic lights, CCTV and control boxes lining the streets. Beverley’s precious streetscapes are being rapidly obscured by a visual cacophony. The design and management of streets is dominated by the needs of the car to promote through traffic. Highway engineers who control the street environment can pretty much do what they like and they don’t have a brief to harmonise the needs of traffic management with the needs and aspirations of the people who live in the town.

Below are some examples of typical arrays of street furniture to be found in Beverley.
Click on the thumbnails for bigger pictures and comment.



Clearing up the Clutter
Beverley is a much-admired town. One of the keys to its success as both a place to live in and visit is its distinct character. Beverley’s physical character has been built up over the centuries to create a rich tapestry of buildings from different periods to line its ancient streets. Our physical and visual experience of these streets, the ‘streetscape’, are what, for most of us, lends Beverley its particular appeal, its identity. But during the last century of its life Beverley has had to deal with the threat to its fabric from the motor car. Long gone are the days when the town’s streets were home to nothing more than people and horses and carts moving little faster than walking pace. Now vehicles made substantially from steel and moving 10 times faster than pedestrians dominate the streets. Along with cars comes the control of cars and cars from people in the form of a plethora of visually unsympathetic signs, lighting, physical barriers, traffic lights, CCTV and control boxes lining the streets. Beverley’s precious streetscapes are being rapidly obscured by a visual cacophony. The design and management of streets is dominated by the needs of the car to promote through traffic. Highway engineers who control the street environment can pretty much do what they like and they don’t have a brief to harmonise the needs of traffic management with the needs and aspirations of the people who live in the town. Below are some examples of typical arrays of street furniture to be found in Beverley. Click on the thumbnails for bigger pictures and comment.


It need not be like this!
Dealing with clutter - method 1
A lot of the signs in Beverley are unnecessary, ill positioned and made from the cheapest materials. Without compromising road safety, and with a little thought and design input, the quality of the signage can be much improved as well as reduced. The Society calls on the ERYC to:
Develop a policy in the Local Transport Plan to protect and enhance Beverely's character Work with urban design professionals, interested groups and the wider public to develop a traffic management and design guide. Undertake a 'Clutter Audit' throughout the town to assess each piece of street furniture to examine whether it still fulfills a purpose or could be amended to better reflect the character of its surroundings. More reading: CABE and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have collaborated in writing a study which looks at the challenges facing design professionals to change ingrained attitudes and cultures that fail to treat streets as quality places in themselves. 'Paving the way: how we achieve clean, safe and attractive streets'
Dealing with clutter - method 2 (the radical method)
A Dutch traffic engineer designed a radical pilot road scheme in Friesland, northern Holland. There’s no doubting that it’s a radical departure from the normal - no signs or markings, and no divisions between road and pavement. Hans Monderman's experiment in 'shared space' evolved from conventional traffic-calming schemes. When, in a small village whose residents suffered 6,000 speeding cars a day, he took away all signs, lights and pavements, 'within two weeks, speeds on the road had dropped by more than half...' In fact, he says, there has never been a fatal accident on any of his roads. To make communities safer, Monderman argues, we must remove 'traffic lights and signs exhorting drivers to stop, slow down and merge, centre lines separating lanes, even speed bumps, speed-limit signs, bicycle lanes and pedestrian crossings...it is only when the road is made more dangerous, when drivers stop looking at signs and start looking at other people, that driving becomes safer...' More information: 'The end of the white line' by Max Glaskin of the Sunday Times
		All traffic control features, including traffic priority rules, signs and road markings, were removed. Street design was changed to reflect the historical pattern of the settlement. The footway is now almost level with the highway and segregated from traffic by bollards. The edges of junctions have been kept square and there is no footway. The main junction has been redesigned to resemble a public square, using brickwork instead of asphalt. The ‘square’ is used far more as a public space, with extension of street cafes, seating areas and a great deal more use by children.(think Saturday Market!) Road casualties have been significantly reduced Traffic speeds have been significantly reduced to less than 25 mph.
You didn't think it could happen in Britain? Think again, Exhibition Road in central London is just about to get a make over: 'Will the first naked street make drivers slow down?' by Ben Webster of the Times
Now think what Beverley could look like!
If you have any comments on roadsigns / street furniture in Beverley go to our Forum and post a comment in the Townscape section.