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Friday 21 October 2016

Shared Space - Going Downhill?

We've had Shared Space in the city for quite a while now. Remember we were told how wonderful it would be, how it would somehow align us with the great European cities - people and vehicles sharing quaintly cobbled inner city lanes and byways? It did start off reasonably well I suppose even if our own quaint lanes did not quite mirror those we saw on TV. And you have to admit that in the first month or two the vehicles were oddly respectful of pedestrians, even the courier vans (though you could tell the drivers were viewing those impeding their normal progress with gritted teeth). Then quite suddenly it all began to go downhill and you now take your life in your hands in Auckland city if you dare to attempt to share. And yes, it started with the courier vans but to be honest it didn't take too long to spread to private cars and finally the elderly on mobility machines. One of the latter screamed at me yesterday and waved an umbrella as he hurtled towards me yelling `out of the way...out of the way...' I did not quite have the courage to point out to him the error of his ways; he looked much too aggressive!

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