AN ‘UNORTHODOX’ road layout in Poundbury has divided town councillors.

Queen Mother Square has been designed as a ‘shared space’, which mixes pedestrians and vehicles together with no rules governing road users.

The scheme is designed to slow motorists down but some councillors say it is dangerous and unsafe.

Members of Dorchester Town Council’s planning and environment committee debated the issue at a meeting.

Councillor Karen Armitage said: “I found it very unsafe as a pedestrian up there. More care should be given in the square.

“I had never heard of shared space before and I’m not sure what the objectives of it are.

“I’m just not convinced, it seems dangerous if you’re on foot.”

Chairman of the committee Fiona Kent-Ledger said: “I go through the square a lot and my concern is habitual users who go too fast.

“It tends to be the buses and delivery drivers who know where they’re going.”

Ian Madgwick, of Dorset County Council’s highways department, also ex pressed concerns about motorists speeding through the square but said the design is safer than a traditional road layout.

He said: “The people who are driving quicker than we expected are professional drivers like taxis, buses and I even saw a driving instructor going too fast through there the other day.

“It’s a design concept of handing responsibility back to users of the highway. It simplifies roundabouts and traffic lights and makes it more user-friendly because people really do share the space.”

He added: “We haven’t had any road traffic collisions in Poundbury. It just hasn’t happened and all the fears haven’t been founded so far.

“It’s about innovative use of the highway and common sense.”

Mr Madgwick said: “At the moment the square doesn’t have the textured surfacing or lighting which will be finished by May.

“The area will be more readable around there after that happens.

“Bear with us while it’s a work in progress and let us get to the end of May when we have all the surfaces in place and then look at it.”

Simon Conibear, Poundbury development manager, told councillors they were not the first people to raise issues with the square.

He said: “It is unorthodox. It slows down motorists and makes them think more about how they conduct themselves. We understand that it is safer and causes greater caution in drivers.”

Councillor Molly Rennie said: “I’ve not found it difficult, it’s scary at first but you get used to it.

“It’s fear of the unknown and it’s a shame if the professional drivers aren’t using it properly.”

theory of 'shared space'

A ‘shared space’ typically has no kerbs, no pedestrian barriers, no barriers to vehicle movement, no road markings, no traffic signals and no pedestrian crossings.

There is also a presence of features such as cafes, markets, abundant seating, planting or public art.

A Department of Transport report said: “Shared space is a design that seeks to change the way streets operate by reducing the dominance of motor vehicles, primarily through lower speeds and encouraging drivers to behave more accommodatingly towards pedestrians.

“In a conventional street motorist behaviour is largely governed by the highway infrastructure. In shared space the environment provides less formal indication as to how drivers are expected to behave.”

The design has been successfully implemented throughout Britain in places such as London, Brighton, Surrey and Gloucester-shire.