Several major cities in the USA, such as New York, are laudably working towards the same immensely important target, known as ‘Vision Zero’.
This 3-stage pedestrian crossing in Oslo goes over four lanes of traffic and tram lines, plus a bus lane, and has two safety islands to break it all up into manageable sections. (Copyright image, 2019. All rights reserved.)
According to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten (translation here), in 1975, 41 people died in traffic crashes in Oslo, but in 2019 only one person, a car driver, suffered that fate. And the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed in the city in 2019? …… Zero!
A large proportion of Oslo’s city streets are limited to 30kmh (19mph), main rural roads are 60kmh (37mph) and between cities, most of the divided highways have a limit of just 90kmh (56mph), although a few are 110kmh (69mph). So much for the facile argument that lowered speed limits don’t help save lives! (Copyright image, 2019. All rights reserved.)
