Shared space and pedestrian priority streets.
Pedestrian priority streets and shared surfaces designed carefully, with the accessibility safeguards that national guidance now expects.
Also known as: shared space, shared surface, level surface street, pedestrian priority, home zone
What’s included.
Shared surfaces can create calm, attractive residential streets, but they have been controversial for blind and partially sighted people. In 2018 the Department for Transport asked councils to pause level-surface shared space schemes in certain contexts while guidance was reviewed. Many councils still accept them in low-traffic residential streets with suitable safeguards.
- Where shared surfaces are and are not suitable
- Traffic volumes and speeds
- Safe spaces and detectable delineation
- Parking and servicing within the street
- Consultation with accessibility groups
- Adoption requirements
Straightforward, proportionate, agreed early.
Right place
Shared surfaces only where traffic is very low and speeds genuinely slow.
Safeguards
A detectable safe space for people who need it, agreed with the highway authority.
Adoptable
Designs the council will adopt, checked against its standards.
Questions we get asked
Is shared space banned?
No. In 2018 the Department for Transport asked councils to pause new level-surface schemes in some contexts. Shared surfaces in quiet residential streets are still widely used with safeguards.
Will the council adopt a shared surface street?
Many will, within limits on the number of homes served and the design. We check the local standard.
What safeguards are needed?
Usually a clear, detectable space for pedestrians, low speeds and low traffic volumes.
Often needed alongside.
Last reviewed October 2026 by Ripple Development Planning. Policy and guidance change; for advice on a specific site, send us the details.
From our insights.
Need help with shared space and pedestrian priority streets?
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