An initiative to develop a Home Zone at the Park.
Home Zones are residential areas where street space is shared between pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
Home Zones are based on a change in the way that people perceive the street. Motorists should feel they have left the normal highway and have entered an area where they can expect to find people using the whole of the street. In essence, the Home Zone should make motorists feel they are guests in a pedestrian environment. As a result they should adjust their driving behaviour, significantly. This should be reinforced by physical measures incorporated in the design of the street.
The low vehicle speeds and enhanced environment should change local people’s perception and use of the street space. By providing areas for play, sitting out or simply chatting with neighbours, Home Zones should improve people’s quality of life, making the street an extension of their gardens and even their homes.
Other benefits should include greater levels of community interaction and community spirit, greater levels of community supervision or self-policing and improved play opportunities for local children. Home Zones may contribute to safer routes initiatives and may encourage people to walk or cycle in preference to driving.
quoted from Home Zones Guidance Consultation