Improve pedestrian comfort and safety in high pedestrian activity areas or local streets or laneways where pedestrians have no alternative other than to walk on the road. Opportune, short segments of shared zones promote access for people walking and cycling, and can achieve local area traffic management in nearby local streets. Category one shared zones have different surface treatments from surrounding streets and usually don't have kerbs. Category two shared zones can include kerbs, footpath and parking.
Benefits
- Protects and legitimises pedestrian behaviours on streets that do not have effective footpaths despite there being a need
- Can provide an attractive social space adjacent to civic buildings, particularly category one shared zones
- May function as a modal filter by inhibiting through motor vehicle movement while permitting active transport modes
Considerations
- Shared zones require particular signage and delineation treatments described in the NSW Speed Zoning Standard
- Where shared zones are one-way only, installing signage to allow bicycle movements in both directions may be necessary
Reference
TfNSW Standard
TS 03631 NSW Speed Zoning Standard
Examples
Alliot Mews, Edmondson Park, is designed as a category one shared zone to accommodate pedestrian and vehicle movements. Flush surfaces, time-limited parking, planting, seating and lighting serve to reinforce the street’s place function.
Location:
Alliot Mews, Edmondson Park between Farrell Street and Oxley Street
Agency responsible:
City of Liverpool
In Clara Steet, Newtown, stamped patterned asphalt is used to effectively indicate a category two shared zone environment, along with regulatory signage and traffic calming treatments.
Location:
Clara Street, Newtown between Camden Street and Alice Street
Agency responsible:
Inner West Council
Application
| Local streets | Main streets | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential lane |  | Destination high street |  |
| Residential way | | Transit street | |
| Yield street | | Connector avenue | |
| Neighbourhood street |  | Arterial high street | |
| Connector street | | Transit arterial | |
| Urban centre street | | ||
| Enterprise street | | ||
| Main roads | Civic spaces | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Transit only corridor | | Civic high street | |
| Rural link | | Transit mall | |
| Rural highway | | Civic lane | |
| Secondary arterial | | Service lane | |
| Principal arterial | | ||
| Motorway | | ||
Legend
| Appropriate treatment |
| Use with caution |
| Inappropriate treatment |
 | Not applicable |