European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs

Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and regions in Europe are giving it a try -- with good results.

"We reject every form of legislation," the Russian aristocrat and
"father of anarchism" Mikhail Bakunin once thundered. The czar banished
him to Siberia. But now it seems his ideas are being rediscovered.

European
traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives.
They want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way,
as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye
contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and
warning signs.

A project implemented by the European Union is currently seeing seven
cities and regions clear-cutting their forest of traffic signs. Ejby,
in Denmark, is participating in the experiment, as are Ipswich in
England and the Belgian town of Ostende.