[xanadohnt]

A highly engineered network of lights, signs, warnings, and all other sorts of traffic guidance actually makes pedestrian and vehicle travel less safe. It's a psychological phenomenon - discussed here: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/traffic.html - where the actors stop using situational awareness and total rely on external devices to do their decision making. Safety takes a back seat to obeying the law. Upon removing most of the signage and guidance do humans become more situationally aware, cautious, and more personally responsible for their safety. Believe it or not, the car driving down the sidewalk ultimately makes everyone safer.

[oftenwrong]

I just watched this short video about a busy intersection that was successfully redesigned in this way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vzDDMzq7d0

[neilk]

There's a difference between a situation where boundaries are not respected (driving on the sidewalk), and a situation where we choose not to orchestrate people's actions (lack of traffic lights).