image from BRAND AVENUE a nifty place/space/identity blog
according to my trusty dashboard dictionary, WOONERF is "a road in which devices for reducing or slowing the flow of traffic have been installed." this definition, however, seems to follow a lot of CONSERVATIONIST TALK, that is to say, its about what you CAN'T do, rather than what you now CAN do. has anyone been to GOLDEN GATE PARK on a SUNDAY???
(yes, this is a roller skate dance party)
(a good idea of the street life with no cars)
anyways, the point is, there is SO MUCH LIFE there on a sunday, solely because there are NO CARS ALLOWED.
now, completely banning automobile traffic is not the ideal goal, but in fact, it's sad that people are not so active in the park every day. .. i imagine it has to do with their fear of being RUN OVER. lets look at a more literal translation of WOONERF:
WOONERF: a street for living, a living yard.
this is more like it. woonerf isn't about restricting anyone, its about INVITING EVERYONE to enjoy the public space equally.
don't get me wrong, drivers have rights, as well as bikers, skaters, strollers, walkers, dancers, prancers, and low-budget fancy-pantsers. but imagine a city that had thoroughfares for driving, but in between these high-speed throughways, there were streets designed for a VARIETY of ACTIVITIES!!!
(a dutch woonerf sign. i like how they STRUT)
it might make driving a little more difficult. but heck, why not put a bunch of easy to access underground parking lots at the outskirts of a congested area, and the put a bunch of EL TRAINS, MONORAILS, even TROLLIES to truck people in a bit further? in this scenario, you could still drive in if you absolutely needed to, you would just have to drive SLOWLY. and that might not be the end of the world its really not that outlandish at all. in fact, its a common concept in many places in europe. i know we created the complicated road system to embody american freedom, but what's freedom if you can't roller-skate-dance?!?! (yes, that is a RHETORICAL QUESTION) hey, speaking of the end of the world:
The End of the World
watch this. its HILARIOUS!!!
if you want some more info on WOONERF, start here.
thats all about woonerf for now. i am le tired.
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