What does shared space mean to you? Probably nothing to do with road and traffic management and the environment.
Well, that is exactly what it's about and Ipswich people will get to know a lot more about it in the coming months because the town has been chosen as one of only seven sites in Europe to have a shared space "make-over".
Basically, shared space means road users "share" areas with pedestrians and residents. No, that doesn't mean pedestrianisation or cars on footpaths! It means altering the way people "see" their environment.
And it works. In Holland, shared space is a reality and local councils have installed imaginative schemes, incorporating high quality building materials and street art to improve residents' quality of life.
The Ipswich scheme, which will be funded jointly by the European Union and the Government under the Local Transport Plan, is one of the most advanced of its kind. It is based on a dragonfly wing design and has been created by Sheils Flynn, the consultants working on behalf of Suffolk County Council and Ipswich Borough Council. It will turn the Handford Road area into a more people-friendly environment and reduce the impact of this rather forbidding main road, with its 15,000 traffic movements every day, on local homes and businesses.
At Cullingham Road, the top half will be transformed by the installation of a high quality granite platform, lighting and trees. A similar scheme will be implemented at Mile End Gateway, while access to Alderman Park entrance will become safer. There a welcoming "street door mat", stone platform and lilac lighting will bring huge improvements to the environment.
In Handford Road itself, all yellow lines will disappear but it will remain a restricted parking area.
It's a huge and exciting project and work will begin in early September. Work on the Ipswich shared space scheme will be completed well before Christmas.