Painting the Streets as a Community Project

I've just been contacted by one of the people who have set up the website for a street-painting initiative in St Paul, Minnesota, inspired by a pilot project in Portland, Oregon. They have formalised the process of painting their own streets, with full acquiescence of the local authorities. They use ordinary domestic latex paints and maintain it all themselves by formal 10-year agreement with the local authorities.

Although the designs themselves are a far cry from what we've been bouncing around, their methods and experience could be extremely useful if we need or we choose to go down the community painting project route rather than the professional route. This site is a very thorough and useful resource, complete with sample agreements, notices, and a tried-and-tested procedure for getting good results, all of which could have been very useful in making the most of our first paint trial two years ago!

http://www.paintthepavement.org/

On-street residential cycle racks in Hackney

An existing on-street cycle parking place in Hackney. It does have build-outs to protect it, but at least there's something of a precedent in a UK residential street.

http://www.hackney-cyclists.org.uk/parking/

Thermoplastic stencils

The stencil pattern in Providence RI is in fact a pattern done in a thermoplastic product.

The company (based in the US, but active around the world--including the UK, Spain, Canada, Australia, Israel) www.integratedpaving.com

Their products basically divide into two groups. "Streetprint" is more of an imitation brick and paving sprayed through a stencil, leaving the grey tarmac visible in the gaps where the rendering would be. "Duratherm" is in effect the opposite...a thermoplastic stencil that suggests colour 'rendering' and leaves the tarmac to show through, making 'bricks'of the tarmac.

Click links to see:
Standard Duratherm patterns

The project gallery, a mixture of Duratherm and Streetprint treatments

This product must be professionally applied using specialist machinery, so it's a fairly far cry from DIY, and pricier. However, it would certainly last a whole lot longer than any paint.

Plantation Road Coloured Surface

I had a good look at Plantation Road's coloured stone road surface. It's ever so slightly warmer a colour than the standard tarmac, but you'd be forgiven for not noticing it's a different colour at all. Nothing as dramatic a difference as Banbury Road, and even that's not gone far enough to create a 'room effect' in my opinion.

"Victorian" Cycle Rack, version 2

This is version 2 of the "Victorian" cycle rack.

It's composed of architectural salvage I already have.

The OCC has already flagged a concern about the tall archway on one end, so this will either have to be positioned along the gutter side of the road (instead of closer to the centre of the street) or just done away with altogether.

Structurally, the current design needs to have an arch in order to be accessible to cyclists parking inside the two railings, and as the OCC concern was initially about the stability of the stand, I will lobby for it to stay and design more stabilising features. The arch is the old Woodstock Road Baptist Church archway I bought when it was removed a few years ago.

Would the hamlets that include the other two cycle racks prefer some sort of a Victorian salvage constructed cycle rack rather than the standard 3-hoop design?

Click on the image below to see it enlarged.

Road Paint Patterns

It seems these three paint patterns are the candidates for road-painting: "Carpet", "Victorian Tile" (2 different layouts here), and "Fan". All three schemes involve a colour combination of sandstone and terra-cotta, closely matching the colours used in the Victorian tiles in front of many BCR homes.

We'll take a vote on whether we want to use more than one pattern along the street (if hamlets have differing preferences), or if consistency is a majority concern, perhaps we can settle on just one pattern.

PLEASE NOTE that both the Victorian Tile options are shown here as solid colours, where in fact they would need to be applied as smaller squares (similar to 'Carpet') to allow for easy maintenance.

Below
1. "VICTORIAN TILE" OPTION A
2. "VICTORIAN TILE" OPTION B
3. "CARPET"
4. "FAN"










Please see the posting on the paint test issue below.

Road Paint Testing

How many residents would be happy to proceed with a road-paint treatment (subject to agreeing a pattern) based only on artist's impressions? And how many residents feel uneasy about progressing towards any road-painting without some sort of a trial? We dont have any accurate numbers for this, but the paint-test issue came up as the main concern at the January street meeting.

A paint trial presents itself as a sensible way forward for a number of reasons. It would be useful as well as reassuring to assess how effectively (or not) the whole combination of racks/trees/paint works to create the 'room effect' in the street space.

But before the BCRA were to commit to conducting a paint test though, we'd need to consider this:

1. FUNDING FOR THE TEST. We dont have figures for this yet, but at present there's no existing funding for it from Esme Fairbairn/Sustrans nor from the OCC. Existing funds from both these sources still fall short of the funding we need to pave and kerb the street and install the DIY bits. Additional testing funds will have to be found, and additional volunteer time will need to go into campaigning for this.

2. REMOVABILITY. A worthwhile test, using the exact materials and pattern, could be quite difficult to remove entirely, just as removed grafitti is often hard to completely iradicate. Tennis court paint might prove to be an even more formidable removal challenge. Removal would also incur still more expense, both for materials and labour. Would we as a street prefer a test even if it meant possibly living with the incomplete pattern or a paint 'ghost' until the street was resurfaced?

Just thought I'd get the discussion going...

Has Your Hamlet Met Yet?

Individual hamlet meetings should be arranged by each hamlet. Please forward all modifications and tweaks to the BCR/Sustrans DIY Streets Proposal Map Draft 8 to Ted Dewan, headwitch@roadwitch.org.uk so they can be forwarded to Sustrans and OCC. Bear in mind that in the absence of any detailed comments formally agreed upon by individual hamlets, the specification of items such as cycle racks and tree planters will be the standard ones sourced by the BCRA Management Committee with the agreement and advice of OCC. For details of these items, please refer to the specification document in the LINKS section to the right (BCR_Sustrans draft 10_2 illustrated spec 3_09 lo.pdf) Specifications are subject to possible change as a result of the ongoing discussions with OCC. Paint patterns still need to be decided upon and as of March 2009, no single hamlet has put forward a description of their preference. PLEASE MEET WITH YOUR HAMLET TO CONFIRM YOUR DESIGN PREFERENCES.

BCR/SUSTRANS DIY Streets Proposal Map 10.2

Here's the map (10.2) that took into account the comments from the all-street meeting at the end of January. It's the map that was forwarded to Oxfordshire County Council. The map is mainly concerned with the footprint of each of the items, with the details and spec coming into focus as different hamlets discuss and fine tune their preferences. You can view this map at a larger size by clicking on the thumbnail below. The latest specification document that accompanies this map is also available in pdf format. You can find this spec doc on the following linked page on our old Google Groups site. If it doesn't appear near the top, then click on the heading 'sort by date' at the top of the dates column on the right side of the window: BCR/SUSTRANS DIY STREETS DRAFT 10.2 ILLUSTRATED SPECIFICATIONS, VERSION 03_09

You will also find a high resolution pdf copy of the BCR/SUSTRANS DIY Streets Proposal Map 10.2 on that same page.

Psychological traffic calming report

In an effort to raise the quality and integrity of the discussion about road colour and its effect on traffic, here's a link to a 44 page pdf report on "Psychological Traffic Calming" prepared for the Department of Transport's Traffic Management Division by the consultants TRL LTD. It covers a number of tests done with different types of psychological traffic calming techniques, but it's specifically page 11 that I'd draw attention to.

http://groups.google.com/group/beechcroft/files

It's well illustrated, so the 44 pages go fast for those who want to study a bit more in depth. I've also set up a link to this pdf in the links column on the right side of this blog.

You will need Acrobat Reader to open this pdf file. The link I've posted here will take you to the top of the documents storage area of the old BCRA Google Groups site. The title of the report is "1_Psychological traffic calming 2005.pdf". You may need to scroll down the list of documents to find it--the list of documents seems to rearrange itself in no particular order.

New road surface possibilities

The City Council is not promising anything just yet, but there is a possibility Beech Croft Road could be resurfaced this year.
Resurfacing can mean anything from just a bit of grit and tar spread on top of the old bumpy road to a whole new inch of top surface. Obviously, we would all like the potholes at the edges filled in, provided, as people often say, it doesn't encourage cars to race down the street. But, hopefully, our range of psychological calming methods will induce less frenetic responses in drivers. This top end possibility would make the road smoother, more waterproof, and leave no potholes or rough edges. However, we might lose the three rows of setts (cobbles) at the edges, although they could re-used as part of a new dropped kerb treatment to keep the pavement flat and level all the way along (see other posts on this blog). If we were to get this Rolls Royce surface then the street's drainage would also improve, as the road surface would at last be higher than the gullies!
Another possibility is a less comprehensive resurfacing - a cheap job. But this still gives us a great opportunity to change the colour of the road if we wish to: the road doesn't have to be Henry Ford black. The new Summertown scheme has white chunks in the road which creates some psychological impression on drivers (pedestrian area? car park? you are on a runway?), and Plantation Road has been turned brown recently, so have a look, think about it, and let us know your views.
But road resurfacing also offers us another great opportunity: to temporarily pilot, and live with, alternative road painting designs, before they are covered by the new surface. All we need is advance notice of when the resurfacing is going to occur, a small budget for paints (we have), and some volunteers. Then we can trial designs, live with them, and once the road has been resurfaced (in a new colour?), take our time to reflect on which designs worked best, and how we liked living with them.
So some exciting possibilities in 2009. First, though, we must wait until we have a definite work proposal from the Council. We'll keep you posted on this blog, but let us know your views on designs and road colouring.

House prices go up when traffic slows down

The very interesting (in parts it can have too much detail!) book "Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do (and What it Says About Us)" by Tom Vanderbilt highlighted a few studies that show traffic calming increases house prices. One of the references is to a paper by the Victoria (Canada) Transport Policy Institute that itself has references to some peer-reviewed journals with articles about increases in house prices due to traffic calming measures.

The VTPI paper states: Most homebuyers prefer homes on streets with lower traffic volumes and speeds...Reduced traffic speeds and pedestrian amenities can also make small commercial districts more attractive and accessible to nearby residents. One study found that traffic restraints that reduced traffic volumes on residential streets by several hundred vehicles per day increased house values by an average of 18%.84 Other studies find similar results.85

84 Gordon Bagby, "Effects of Traffic Flow on Residential Property Values," Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 46, No. 1, January 1980, pp. 88-94. doi:10.1080/01944368008977020

85 William Hughes and C.F. Sirmans, "Traffic Externalities and Single-Family House Prices," Journal of Regional Science, Vol. 32, No. 4, 1992, pp. 487-500. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9787.1992.tb00201.x

House Prices?

"In home zone areas throughout the country house prices have risen from 10-58 per cent of their regional value and properties are selling faster than in areas outside the home zone." (Source, Bournmouth City Council)

Although a DIY BCR would not be as transformed as the street in the photo, the evidence from homezones suggests that our project could have a significantly positive effect on house prices. I believe that BCR's value as a street is let down by the current domination by cars in gardens and street. Far from facing a threat to the house prices, I think failure to do everything we can to redesign BCR to signal its role as a multi-function space would cause the most damage to house prices.

In addition, data from Victoria, Canada, suggests an increase in house values with every mph of lower traffic speed (see above posting)

And an integral part of the proposal is how we handle all those acres of very non-period tarmac.

A full-blown homezone costs £150K to £200K for a street like this, most of it going into repaving with non-tarmac materials. DIY Streets is all about exploring just how inexpensively a similar effect can be achieved without looking cruddy.

There's nothing inherently flaky about painted roads (pardon the pun). The lace-brick paint pattern that I showed from Providence Rhode Island is in the middle of a very sensitive 18th/19th century part of the campus of Brown University, where the ferocious Providence Preservation Society is heavily involved. Many streets in French villages use painted or otherwise coloured road surfaces to signal a different form of use other than just cars and parking.



I think the whole paint issue hinges entirely on quality of materials and design. I hope fear of uncertainty doesn't end up ruling our thinking about this before we've had a chance to give it more thought and discussion. At a recent hamlet meeting, the best way forward to resolve the paint issue emerged as a testable paint trial. This way forward would significant logistical and financial issues that need to be resolved.

Any further thoughts on either side? Please keep this thread on subject, or post a new topic in a separate post.

Another 'listed' cycle rack

Here's a cycle rack composed of cast iron pieces I already have. The arch I bought from the Woodstock Road Baptist Church four years ago when they removed it. The railings currently form an ad-hoc cycle rack in my front garden (a bit beat up right now). The brown trough/trellis planter at the northern end is readily available for £31 (it's about a metre tall). This design would create a nice profile on the street while offering parking for four cycles and have a planter to buffer the traffic. It would probably cost no more than £400 to cover what I paid for the materials (around £100), and to put it together and install...the same price as a three hoop ordinary cycle rack. Kate Arnold-Foster has raised the prospect of BCR possibly installing the country's first 'listed' cycle racks.

Prefab Cycle rack ideas

Amongst the pre-fabs, my favourite style is by a US company called DERO although I dont have prices for the UK. This may not be the best type of rack for BCR as is, since each one would individually have to be drilled into the ground. The other prefab is the 'toast-rack' or 'hoop' style. These are less inspired, but might be the preferred choice of an individual hamlet if they dont want to go to the trouble of commissioning a bespoke cycle rack.

"Period" cycle rack design

I'd like to consider how we could use bits of architectural salvage iron to create cycle racks with more imagination than the off-the-shelf stuff. Here's a piece that I think could be incorporated into a terrific cycle rack that would also work as a bollard. They're from Brighton seafront. They're being sold as a lot of 11 for £1150. With some engineering work to transform them into cycle racks, that would work out to a price comparable to the cheapo 3-hoop cycle racks. If other hamlets are interested in exploring a consistent cycle rack design for the street, this might be our answer. Any thoughts?

Oral history of Beechcroft Road?

Having just read Seven roads of Summertown by Perilla Kinchin- in library- about the development of the Lonsdale to Hernes Road estate from 1902 to 2006.
I am sure that Beechcroft has a better story to tell ? from when farmland was sold to the Oxford provident building society in 1895 to 2009/10 a unique traffic calming pilot.


My guess is the following:

1897-1914- rented to trades/lower middle class
1918-1933- move towards landlord selling to tenant/spinsters/widows from the war
1933- 1940- refugees/incomers settled
1945-1975- further conversion to owner occupation from rent
1975 onwards- gentification from academics, medical and professionals to city workers

I am sure they are some lovely memories that we could capture to celebrate when our road " returns" to a safer and friendly outlook?

A good school project for a Beechcroft student?

DIY STREET PROPOSAL MAP draft 8

This is draft 8 of the street proposal map. Click on the map to see a larger size. The map is also available as a downloadable pdf in the "LINKS" section to the right (you might find it easier to view the pdf file). There are notes that accompany this map which you'll find here: http://groups.google.com/group/beechcroft/web/proposal-draft-8

A 15-minute shared space introduction

There are a great many shared space concepts that apply to BCR. The most interesting psychological bit is the first four minutes of part 2.

SHARED SPACE PART 1: This video stutters a bit unless you pause it for a minute or so before attempting to play.




SHARED SPACE PART 2: This video streams better than part 1.

Clogged drains as a traffic-calming device

Ed Pentz posted these photos taken in 2007 when he caught a driver changing their mind after seeing the mother of all puddles.

BCRA Hoping to advise County Council on pavement repairs

BCR is definitely going to have its pavement repairs some time in 2009/10. In addition, Cllr Fooks is busy discussing with the council BCRA's interest in working with the highways engineers to have some say in the way the pavement is remodeled, rather than just having the current undulating profile of the pavement smoothed over and the stone kerbs chucked out. We hope to end up with a level pavement that doesn't tip buggies and wheelchairs over, but still allows cars to access front drives.

BCRA Meetings with County Council

Mark Hull, Ted Dewan and Ed Pentz from BCRA and Alexandra Allen from Sustrans met in September with Cllr Jean Fooks and Cllr Ian Hudspeth (Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Transport) to talk about our plans for Beech Croft Rd and the DIY Streets project. The next BCRA meeting with the Council is scheduled for 10 November. We need to get the Council to adopt the concept of the DIY Streets Scheme in order to progress.

Kerb treatment idea

I've done a bit of research on the whole dropped-kerb business, and how we might avoid ending up with rampy, undulating pavement. The standard practice is to create at most a 1:12 ramp from kerb to drive. Yet, other officially adopted solutions exist right here in Oxford.

Here's a good one already in place in Headington on St Andrews Street, just north of London Road..

This treatment levels the pavement, retains the stone kerb and the cobbles, offers good drainage, and still allows cars to drive into their off-street parking spaces.

St Andrews Street has a slightly higher street-to-pavement level change than we have on BCR, so the cobble ramp is higher along the wall frontage. Where a car needs access to a drive, the pavement drops ever so slightly, but this dropped kerb is actually approximately as high as our un-dropped kerbs are relative to the street level. Kinda hard to see from the photos, but that's my estimate from being on-site.

I'm currently drawing up a sketch of how I think we could adapt this sort of treatment to BCR. The idea could translate to BCR by using the existing gutter space as a ramp rather than cut it out of the narrow pavement area, and shift the drainage burden to the channel along the join between the cobbles and the street tarmac.

It makes for a slightly bumpier ride up to the front drives, but hardly worth worrying about in my opinion, especially if it makes the pavements suitable for non-motorised use.

There are six drains along BCR, but only two drains along the frontage of houses with drives at numbers 1 and 37. I'm no civil engineer, but I reckon these two drain regions would need to come in for some sort of special attention to the profile of the cobble ramp. The other four drains are adjacent to full-height kerbs where no front-drive access exists so they could be left alone.

What do you think?