Home zone

Home Zone is a term used in the United Kingdom for a residential street or group of streets that are designed using principles similar to those of living streets, primarily to meet the interests of the local community, whether on foot, cycling, or in a car, enabling the street to operate primarily as a space for social use. These principles are similar to those of the "shared space" type schemes, which apply also to a wider range of environments.

Encouraging children's play is an important aim of many home zone schemes. Home Zones have a very good safety record, but are not primarily designed as road safety schemes. They follow closely the pattern of the Dutch woonerf schemes.

When Home Zones are created from existing streets, community involvement is vital to ensure that the scheme meets local needs. The process of designing the home zone with the participation of local people in itself strengthens the community. Home Zones are also encouraged by the UK Government as part of new residential areas. Although it is not possible for prospective residents to be involved in the design of new streets, steps can be taken to involve them in their maintenance and management. Residents will also need to be consulted by the local Traffic Authority on the precise uses that can take place on the street (specified through a 'Use Order') and the appropriate speed of traffic on the street (specified through a 'Speed Order') before the Home Zone can be legally designated and signed.

Home Zones often involved the use of shared surfaces, where the street is not strongly divided into exclusive pedestrian and traffic areas. Concerns have been expressed over the inability of blind and partially sighted people to use shared space streets. Providing a clear route for pedestrians that is kept free of traffic, by using street furniture for example, is one way of meeting the needs of the visually-impaired.

Home Zones often include features such as benches, tables and play equipment to encourage social interaction. Street trees and areas of planting, ideally maintained by residents, will often feature. On-street parking also forms part of the layout in most schemes.

Traffic speeds are kept low - with a typical target speed being around 20 km/h (10-15 mph) - through the overall design of the street and features such as sharp changes of direction for traffic and narrowings where only one motor vehicle can pass at a time. Traditional traffic calming features such as road humps can also be used, but should be integrated into the design rather than being added as an engineered afterthought.

In Germany similar shemes are known as "Verkehrsberuhigter Bereich".

See also

*Living street
*Woonerf

References

External links

* [http://www.homezones.org.uk/ Homezones.org.uk - The Home Zones page of the Institute of Highway Incorporated Engineers]