Chain-link water-fillable plastic seats can help trial roadspace reallocations

‘Street kit’, a flexible temporary seating structure inspired by the links of a bicycle chain, has been unveiled by Sustrans as a way to trial changes in street layout.

The street kit can be situated in a parking bay or on the carriageway, reclaiming space from motor vehicles. Made from recyclable polyethylene each link unit is hollow and water-fillable, which means it can be both lightweight to aid transportation and assembly but is very stable when filled. When chain-linked with other units it forms a robust structure.

It is hoped that the kit will be used to test the positioning of new public spaces, wider kerbs at junctions to slow motor traffic, or to try and reduce through traffic on residential roads to make the environment more inviting.

Matt Winfield, Deputy Director Sustrans London, said:

“Streets make up 80 percent of the accessible open space in our towns and cities and offer huge potential as a community resource, as a place to meet our neighbours, and to socialise and play.

“Sustrans’ street kit borrows from a number of successful experiments in San Francisco and Portland in the United States that helped to change the way people thought about roads and public space through semi-permanent installations to reclaim space from motor traffic.”

“I hope that from the confidence gained through testing street redesigns thanks to the Sustrans street kit, communities and local authorities will be able to make permanent changes to our towns and cities to create better places for people.”

Peter Murray, Chairman of New London Architecture, added:

“I’m a great fan of the idea of using temporary installations to try out whether we can change the way we use streets. The great thing about the Sustrans street kit is that it’s adaptable – if people like the new setup they can keep it, if they don’t like it they can change it.”