A woonerf (Dutch plural: woonerven) in the Netherlands and Flanders is a street where pedestrians and cyclists have legal priority over motorists. The techniques of shared spaces, traffic calming, and low speed limits are intended to improve pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile safety.
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In 1999 the Netherlands had over 6000 woonerfs.[1] Under Article 44 of the Dutch traffic code, motorised traffic in a woonerf or "recreation area" is restricted to walking pace.[2]
In Germany, similar zones are termed Verkehrsberuhigter Bereich (litt. "traffic calming area"). Under German traffic law motorists in a Verkehrsberuhigter Bereich are restricted to a maximum speed of 7 km/h, pedestrians, including children, may use the entire street and children are permitted to play in the street.[3]
Woonerfs are planned for Toronto,[4] where they have been approved for the West Don Lands community and are being discussed for Queen's Quay along the waterfront, and for Montreal,[5] where one will replace an alley covering the former course of the St-Pierre river in Saint-Henri.
In the United Kingdom, similar areas are known as home zones, but do not enjoy similar protection in law. Examples of UK practice include Staiths South Bank in Gateshead, which at over 600 homes was the largest newbuild home zone development in the UK at the time it received planning consent. Most contemporary UK schemes have involved public realm works to existing streets in older Victorian housing areas, often to meet regeneration or traffic calming objectives.
In Massachusetts, a pedestrian priority zone has been implemented in Downtown Crossing in Boston, and a woonerf is planned for Union Square in Somerville.[6]
The locality of Hesselterbrink in Emmen, Netherlands, designed as a woonerf in 1970s, is reported to be disillusioned with the way the woonerf principle has become another traffic engineering measure that "entailed precious little more than signs and uniform standards". They have now encompassed the shared space principles as a way of rethinking the woonerf. They are reported to "now know that car drivers should become residents. Eye contact and human interaction are more effective means to achieve and maintain attractive and safe areas than signs and rules".[7]