I came across a fascinating experiment going on “back home”, today – see this Times article:
Drivers no longer have the right of way on the ring road in Ashford, Kent, and have to negotiate their way across junctions, with no signs or lines to guide them. All road users, whether travelling on foot, by bicycle, car or bus, have equal priority and must use eye contact to decide who goes first.
The theory is that lights lull people into a false sense of security, meaning that they pay less attention on a green light and fail to notice someone stepping off the pavement.
Four sets of lights have been removed from Ashford’s ring road. The road surface has been relaid with red and grey bricks in a herringbone pattern to remind drivers that they are not on a conventional street. Pedestrians can cross the road wherever and whenever they choose, without waiting for a gap in the traffic … Kent County Council has spent more than £13 million [$20+ million] turning a three-lane fast-moving one-way system into a two-way road where the pavement is twice as wide as the carriageway …
A VERY expensive experiment, if it doesn’t work!
(some of the related comments are interesting, too)