Strictly Walking
On second thoughts, the sign is suggesting that small children should be closely supervised by adults presumably because other forms of getting around are also allowed in this space, or rather “shared space“. By the way, the connection is child buggies. This deliberate attempt at humour involves a friend (Chad) walking with his son (Alex) in the city of Koblenz, Germany.
I never quite got to the bottom of the reason why this type of sign exists, but it’s likely that although the space looks like it should be a strictly pedestrianised area, it must sometimes carry motor traffic or fast moving bicycles. Shame. Shared spaces rarely serve the potential range of possible users very well and instead traffic should be fully removed. Having said that, bicycle traffic should be allowed, either along a specific route through the area that satisfies a distinct desire line, or anywhere within the area as long as cyclists understand their obligation to behave responsibly (an initiative in a Spanish city managed to improve this by targeting teenagers). Pedestrians rarely use desire lines across such shared spaces, which is interesting because people who plan them assume that they will enable walking anywhere and indeed reduce walking distances. The mistrust over the apparent withdrawal of motor vehicle priority is usually a factor. Perhaps there is a tiny bit of over-protection by the “authorities” implied by the sign, or an acceptance that the shared space concept doesn’t work in practice at this location. Also, judging by the icon on the sign, it appears that mothers are the best option for child supervision at this location. Perhaps there are “father and child” zones elsewhere.
Another problem with the space is the seemingly random positioning of the sign in the middle of the space, which could be a problem for visually impaired people. Indeed, where are the warnings for such people to not wander into the middle of this space; that at a moments notice could revert from being an apparently safe environment for pedestrians to a lethal place inhabited by dangerous projectiles.
I don’t want to be too critical of this space and the strange signage however, Germany is good at providing a good choice of facilities for people on the move, ie pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users etc, and for protecting the rights of vulnerable road users when they’re hit by the less vulnerable, eg car hitting a bike.
Perhaps a sign reminding the less vulnerable users of their obligations would be a better way to approach ensuring child safety in pedestrianised areas of Koblenz. A “Share with Care” message, like the one below in Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham, would suggest that children and others could wander more freely and the message would be a lot less condescending (or indeed gender limiting). Communicating this message to those who are likely to be travelling faster should be part of an education process about how highways and public spaces should be used. The Koblenz sign suggests nothing can be done so “hold on to your kids…and make sure that you keep your wits about you!” (Perhaps someone can enlighten me about the reason for using such signs in Germany…and render the above suppositions meaningless?)
Back in the land of child buggies, there is an issue about where and how they can be used on buses. The space nearest the bus entrance with no seats is reserved for wheelchair users, but can also be used for child buggies as long as there’s no demand from disabled people or other people who need to sit on the fold-down seats. Buggies would need to be folded or the driver might even refuse entry if there’s no space. The photo below (of my wonderful daughter, Eira) extends the idea of the area being used by someone who isn’t yet very stable on their feet. We would of course try to sit elsewhere on the bus given the right circumstances…assuming I could get Eira to sit still for the whole journey!
