Streets
Road noise comes mostly from tyres and electric cars will not fix it
Above walking-pace speeds the dominant sound is rubber on aggregate. Removing the engine removes the smaller part of the problem.
Streets
Pavements, crossings, kerbs and the metre-by-metre design of moving through a city.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 2 of 2
Streets
A crossing that takes too long teaches people to cross elsewhere
Waiting time at a signal is a number somebody chose. Pedestrians respond to it much as drivers respond to a light that never…
Streets
Freight arrives twice a day and the street was designed for neither trip
Every shop, office and flat on a street is a delivery address. The kerb and the footway rarely admit it.
Streets
Pavement clutter arrives one department at a time
No single decision fills a footway with poles, cabinets and bollards. Each item was approved separately by people who never met.
Streets
Shared space removes the kerb and moves the negotiation to eye contact
A level surface promises a street where everyone gives way. That promise depends on who can make eye contact and who cannot.
Streets
A rat run is a symptom of the main road failing
Drivers divert onto residential streets when the arterial route becomes slower than the alternative. The side street is the…
Streets
Guardrail was installed to protect pedestrians and now herds them
Metal railing along a kerb was a safety measure with a clear rationale. Cities have spent years discovering what else it does.
Streets
Gradient decides who can use a street, and maps rarely show it
A route that looks direct on a plan can be unusable if it climbs. Slope is the accessibility variable that almost no navigation…
Streets
Road surfaces are specified for tyres and endured by feet
Surfacing decisions are made on vehicle performance and whole-life cost. What they do to walking, cycling and noise arrives as a…