A product of car-centric planning. Along with walkways, the idea was to separate traffic and pedestrians, the problem being that the cars were given the flat priority route and pedestrian sent down dark tunnes or up stairwells onto the walkways. The basic problem is we tried to design the city for cars rather than people. It was a failed experiment which maybe we're beginning to reverse, but the problem is cars.
Alexei Sayle once said "Architects and town planners are very clever people - you don't catch them living in the sh*t they build." The Scotswood underpass is absolutely the worst I've ever seen.
there's an underpass in great park that had some lovely murals painted on it. the council, in their infinite wisdom painted over it, in grey paint. which is now tagged and looks a complete mess. less adverts and more art in our cities please
The question that springs to mind, and this covers many architectural decisions, who in their right mind thinks these are a good idea? Judging by Gateshead town centre, these people are also incapable of learning from even recent history!
Utopia syndrome. On paper, these look like complete solutions for pedestrians. In practice, they would be except for the human element, which can be mitigated by pro-active measures no one seems to ever adopt.
I was a police officer in Newcastle in the 1980s and we used to patrol the underpasses our Panda Cars were small enough to drive through and we could keep an eye on the locations If the police had the man power and were committed to paroling them 90% of the issue of unsafe under passes would go and the public could use them today a Camera network could also be used The problem with the police today is they abdicate there duties to councils and the councils dont have a clue
I've grown up having a fear of these places and public toilets and being streetwise I sussed at an early age if anywhere makes you uneasy vulnerable and just out your comfort zone we'll avoid at all costs. For to enter somewhere and you're entrance and exit could be compromised never sat easy with me I.e. subways public toilets! Iam in my 50's and have stayed safe 🤞 Take care people 👍
Roadway surface crossings obviously hinder the traffic - although this is sometimes the plan. The underpass is the solution to this, but they must be clean and light. Maybe the responsibility for keeping them clean and light could be placed in local residents, who would work a sort of concierge system as employees of the council. Heavy refurbs would be carried out by the council's direct labour organisation, but day to day upkeep by local concierges. Personal touches would be e.g. allowing the concierge to name the underpass or decide on wall colours. I noted that the most presentable of the exemplified subways was the one with the mosaic murals, there's a lesson in there somewhere.
