STREET CLUTTER by Maria Burke

I am a walker – I love walking. I love the freedom of roaming around, being curious, looking for often-missed details. I walk on my commute to work; I walk to get my steps in; I walk to take photographs for content for my Twitter and Instagram pages; I walk out of necessity because inner-city parking is too costly and too stressful and public transport is increasingly getting more expensive. I am a proud pedestrian.

Duke Street in Glasgow is a street that I have walked daily for the past five decades of my life. It is Britain’s longest street, stretching from the High Street to Parkhead Cross.

A 1km (0.6 mile) section from the High Street to Bellgrove Street, will be included in Glasgow’s ‘The Avenue’s Project’ which starts this year, which got me thinking. I know the history of many of the buildings that line the street including the Architects’ names and the date of the buildings. I thought I knew that street very well. Or did I?

“The best streets are those that can be remembered. They leave strong, long-continuous positive impressions. Thinking of a city, including one’s own, one might well think of a particular street and have a desire to be there; such a street is memorable……There is a magic to great streets. We are attracted to the best of them not because we have to go there but because we want to go there. The best is as joyful as they are utilitarian. They are entertaining and they are open to all. They permit anonymity at the same time as individual recognition. They are symbols of a community and of its history; they represent a public memory.” (Allan B Jacobs, 1995)

One day as I was walking along Duke Street I looked – like really looked – then I began to feel overwhelmed. Me, the usually underwhelmed walker of these streets, felt completely overwhelmed. All I could see was clutter. Street furniture clutter. It was staggering. Everywhere I looked all I could see were litter bins, street signs, lamp posts and other pieces urban furniture; positioned, without much consideration or an apparent urban design strategy. I started to wonder. If this was overwhelming me, what did it do for others? Those that are neuro-divergent, have anxiety, are visually impaired, or those that use wheelchairs or push buggies, or those with a dementia. How do they navigate cluttered streetscapes?

So, what did I do?

I decided to document the street clutter along the full length of the Avenues Project on Duke Street – all 1000m of it. It would get my steps up plus it would satisfy my curiosity. What is the extent of the street clutter? What numbers are we talking about here? I love a spreadsheet, so I decided to document it. I got out my clipboard and walked, counting and listing every item of street furniture and the results were staggering. They make for sober reading.

My findings:

Overall, I calculated 274 items of street furniture along this 1-kilometre stretch. That’s on average of 1 piece of street furniture every 3.6m. Simply put, it’s chaotic!

Of the 274 items 118 were located on the pedestrian footpath and were predominately relevant to vehicular modes of transport (e.g., cycling, cars, buses). There were traffic lights, 3 traffic signs at Bellgrove junction alone, 42 ‘no loading’ or ‘no stopping’ signs, 4 poles with no signs, 3 ‘Low Emission Zone’ signs, 10 directional wayfinding signs (of which 4 were for parking), 16 bike stands with 4 bollards to protect the bike stands and 2 bike-related signs.

There were also miscellaneous items to support everyday city life such as the 53 utility/communication boxes, 15 advertising signs, 6 CCTV signs, of which 4 state ‘CCTV not in use’, 4 mobile phone masts, and 42 lamp posts (some adorned with street names, ‘no loading’ or ‘no stopping’ signs, banners and wayfinding signage.

Of the 274 items, 22 items provided a civic role, directly relevant to pedestrians: 6 bins, 1 post box, 3 fences and 12 bus stops.

When does street furniture become street clutter?

When it’s superfluous, redundant and/or an obstacle for the intended user of the space.; in this case the pedestrian.

Streetscape – why is it important?

A streetscape is the area in which we live and navigate. That includes pavements, roads, cycle lanes and vehicle lanes. It’s how we transport ourselves from one place to the next, whether that be by walking, cycling, or driving (including as a passenger).

The impact of design choices by those in charge of deciding the landscape of our streetscapes can affect how easy is it for pedestrians, cyclists, or drivers to navigate their surroundings. It can affect whether we feel safe or not. It must accommodate people engaging in different activities and their interactions with other users. If a street is well designed, it can have a significant positive impact upon a community. This includes impacting on health, safety (perception and reality) and mental health. A well-designed street can encourage us out for a walk.

“Streetscape can play a part in creating and maintaining the physical, cultural, and social identities that define places.”

Street Furniture

Street furniture is often an after-thought or a forgotten element of the design of our streets. It has a key role to play in contributing towards the well-being of the community as well-designed and correctly positioned street furniture that encourages an active lifestyle. From cycle stands to lamp posts, each item of street furniture can contribute substantially to the physical and emotional health of that community. When positioned in the right place to a well thought-out, strategic design it can cultivate a sense of belonging and encourage physical activity and help reduce mental stress. Furthermore, it has the ability to enhance the aesthetic of where we live.

Get it wrong, and it can negatively effect its users. Street clutter can overwhelm, disorientate, increase confusion and contribute to a reluctance to enter out.

Wayfinding

It is imperative that wayfinding is placed strategically in effective positions so that people can clearly see and understand the information being presented, usually at important or busy junctions where there are high volumes of pedestrians and/or vehicles. Directional signage helps people navigate. It must be clear and legible. It must also be designed to be sympathetic to the streetscape in which it is placed. Designs for all wayfinding must be consistent in design otherwise it will increase the visual load, resulting in increased confusion and disorientation. It’s crucial that the colour scheme, font size and font type is consistent.  (Palmer.L & Dementia Services Development Centre, 2017)

To plan or not to plan

The Avenues Project in Glasgow, promises to be the ‘biggest transformation of Glasgow’s public realm in decades’ (Glasgow.gov.uk). With works due to start in 2025 the look and feel of Duke Street is earmarked to be transformed from investment from Scottish Government Investment awarded through Sustrans’ Places for Everyone Programme. The aim of this infrastructure redevelopment is to provide more space for pedestrians and active travel, creating more green spaces. Specific improvements will include:

• Green/blue infrastructure (such as street trees, planting, and Rain Gardens)
• Enhanced and widened footways
• Single surface crossing points
• Segregated cycle lanes
• Reduced street clutter
• Intelligent Street Lighting (ISL) and improved lighting features

Conclusion

As a citizen of Glasgow and frequenter of Duke Street, I hope that Glasgow City Council (and other councils who will likely have similar scenarios) will embrace this opportunity and consider the importance of planning to mitigate street clutter. Visual clutter such as street furniture can and should be coordinated to minimise unnecessary obstacles and layers of illegible information to support all users of our streets to navigate without overload, confusion or disorientation. Street furniture which provides a positive investment in the community (such as benches and trees) should be prioritised over excessive, superfluous signage. 

There’s lots you can do to create places and spaces which are more inclusive of our ageing society. dementia.stir.ac.uk

Text edited by Professor Lesley Palmer, DSDC University of Stirling . Article adapted from and first published by Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling. Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling