TFL has recently spent a great deal of money making improvements to the layout of the pavements at the bottom of my road.
What were cracked and shabby slabs and sheets of tarmac have now been split into a narrow, bricked pedestrian track, a neatly marked cycle lane and a broad expanse of top soil which either the local council has run out of money to plant, or is using as set-aside to be able to get some money from the EU. What has resulted is a very strange experience indeed…
When before the pavement was assigned as shared between pedestrians and cyclists, everyone looked out for each other, now cyclists whip past in their too-tight lycra and have a palpable sense of “I'm right, get out of my way.” Any sense of communication between the two modes of transport has been lost through the over-detailed pavement markings. Honestly, are cyclists so stupid that they need to be told to Give Way when the cycle lane crosses a road? According to TFL, apparently yes (although Boris Johnson is in charge and he regularly cycles, so maybe they have a point…)
These pavements just now leave me feeling nervous and slightly cross… alternatives to the over-proscriptive approach (Shared Spaced) can be found out about here.
One sees this kind of impact happening in many companies… Being over controlling leads to people becoming less reliant on their own intelligence, and less willing to communicate with each other. This is what also can happen when organisations become over-controlling through their systems and processes. Communication breaks down as “the computer says no”. People unable to interact other than through the proscribed forms and defined workflows…
mmitII 