Safer streets

And the best solution for protecting pedestrians? Remove safety barriers

     They clutter¹ the streets, get in the way when you want to cross the road and, according to
     a study, increase your chances of being run over. Railings are supposed to protect
     pedestrians from cars but they are said to encourage a false sense of security that leads to
     more people being killed or injured. An experiment in Kensington High Street found that
 5   the number of casualties² fell sharply when railings were removed. Kensington and Chelsea³
     removed 600 metres of railings and found that, after two years, pedestrian casualties had
     declined three times faster than the London average.
     In its £4.5 million redesign of the street, Kensington adopted the principle of "shared
     space". Pioneered in the Netherlands, it rejects the concept that pedestrians and traffic
 10  must be strictly segregated. The idea is that cars, cyclists and those on foot will coexist
     more safely. Drivers now realize there is always a risk of someone stepping off⁴ the
     pavement, and so tend to slow down. Pedestrians cease to rely on railings to keep them
     safe and become more aware of traffic.
     Ben Hamilton-Baillie, a street-design consultant advising Kensington, said: "Railings
 15  encouraged people to climb over them to cross the road. They also forced people to
     gather at narrow crossing-points, increasing the risk of someone being pushed out into the
     traffic."
     Graeme Swinburne, Kensington's director of transport, said that visibility had been
     improved for drivers and pedestrians by the removal of railings, street signs and posts.
 20  Traffic lights have been attached to lampposts, removing the need for an extra post. The
     number of signs has been rigorously reviewed, with hundreds taken away or made
     smaller. "Drivers can be distracted if there are too many signs. The less information, the
     better the eye contact."
     Traffic-light phases had been redesigned to allow pedestrians to cross a junction in a
 25  single movement rather than having to seek refuge in a central island, Mr Swinburne said.
     "Where it used to take three phases to cross a junction it now takes one — people are less
     likely to lose patience and run across against the traffic."
     He admitted that favouring the pedestrian had reduced the traffic capacity of the street by
     about 3 per cent. But the improved cycle parking and more pleasant environment for
 30  walkers meant that people were less inclined to drive to the area to work or shop.

The Times, Saturday, April 8, 2006 (adapted)

Vocabulary
¹ to clutter: encombrer
² casualties: victimes
³ Kensington, Chelsea: quartiers de Londres
⁴ to step off (the pavement): quitter (le trottoir)

A. Répondez en français aux questions suivantes, en utilisant uniquement les informations contenues dans le texte : (9 points)
1. Pour quelles raisons a-t-on décidé de supprimer les barrières visant à protéger les piétons dans la rue principale de Kensington ? (1 point)
2. Cette expérience s'est-elle avérée positive ? (1 point)
3. Quel concept venu des Pays-Bas a-t-on choisi d'adopter pour le réaménagement de la rue ? Expliquez en quoi il consiste. (1 point)
4. En quoi l'attitude des conducteurs et des piétons a-t-elle changé ? (2 points)
5. Quels autres changements ont été apportés au réaménagement de la rue ? Citez-en au moins quatre. (2 points)
6. Quels effets ces changements ont-ils eus dans le quartier ? (2 points)

B. Traduisez en français le passage suivant : (3 points)
de la ligne 14 "Railings encouraged people..." à la ligne 17 "...into the traffic".

C. Recopiez et complétez le texte suivant avec l'élément qui convient : (2 points)
Jenny, a mother of three children, is very satisfied...the new layout of Kensington High Street. She used to be afraid...crossing the road because railings prevented car drivers...seeing her children. Since the removal of railings, drivers pay more attention...her and her children.

D. Recopiez l'interview de Ted en mettant les adjectifs au degré de comparaison voulu par le contexte. (2 points)
Ted, who sells newspapers in Kensington High Street, has been interviewed about the new layout of Kensington High Street and is very enthusiastic.
"I think it's a good thing. Kensington High Street is probably the (innovative) shopping street in the area. The street is (attractive) and (safe) than before. And as the traffic is reduced, it is also (noisy)."

E. Expression en anglais (4 points)
Répondez en un minimum de dix lignes à la question suivante :
Can you imagine what the ideal town could be ?