John Rowland wrote:
Hi all,

Nearly all London squares have a clockwise one-way system, even
though when all of the roads in and out of the square are one-way,
an anti-clockwise one-way system is superior (because drivers have
better visibility when curving to the left).

I think that's a very marginal advantage, offset by the better view of
vehicles joining the roundabout from the driver's left.

Many squares, such as St James, have roads which are wide enough
to be two-way, and the squares are large enough that you don't
particularly want to be forced to go the long way around for no
reason, so I don't know why they one-way at all.

The road around St James's Square is not all that wide, but it does
allow a slow car, whose driver is seeking a parking space, to be
overtaken. Two-way traffic would make that hazardous, and would also
lead to lots more conflicting movements at junctions. Forcing you to go
the long way round is a well-known technique for discouraging through
traffic from a residential area that is not a main traffic artery.

Belgrave Square in particular has a phenomenal width of tarmac for
no reason, leading cars to speed up noticeably as they circuit the
square, when making the grassed area a lot larger would lead to a
safer and more pleasant environment while only adding a few seconds
to car journeys.

I think the wide road is a deliberate design feature intended to
impress. I'm not sure whose environment you are trying to improve here.
Drivers are presumably happy. The "grassed area" that you want to make
larger is already 4.5 acres and contains not just grass but "large plane
trees... pergolas with wisteria, roses and passion flowers. There is a
quiet garden, a play area for children, a tennis court and a collecttion
of statuary reflecting the international nature of the square."*
Extending this historic garden just to snarl up the traffic seems
pointless.

*from advance publicity for Open Gardens Square Weekend, 11/12 June 2005
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/london.ga...res/index.html

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)