My town has a busy 4-way intersection on the Main Street where all businesses, cafes, shops etc are. Last year the local authority remodelled the entire area. One thing they did was accept government money for doing an experiment called the ‘Shared Space Scheme’. The idea was... remove all traffic lights and crosswalks, including the buttons and poles and indications this is actually a crosswalk from the intersection - and just see what happens!

The entire town campaigned against it for months as it could be extremely dangerous and there have already been lots of near misses and a car crash. Everyone in the town hates it and even many people in the government got involved, going against the scheme. Nobody has been told how to work this - cars don’t know what to do and drivers get confused and frustrated as do pedestrians.

The main problem is my town has a high elderly and disabled population. They also removed the beeping noise that tells you when it’s safe to cross and the green/red indications. As a blind person who literally cannot exist without going to this Main Street, I have has several scares and near misses myself. It’s so awkward and difficult to navigate this street as more things have been changed since this scheme - they made the sidewalks the same level as the road, so there’s no step, guide dogs are incredibly confused.

So yes, my town essentially hates me and all the residents. I can’t use the intersection anymore and need to find alternate routes, the main one being a busy cycle path beside a lake without a railing. So that’s fun. It’s only a matter of time before someone, likely a disabled person, gets into an accident.