How to make traffic calming more walking friendly: directions to increase intersections performances for pedestrians

Traffic calming is usually implemented to manage and to slow down fast vehicular flows in residential areas, to avoid queues, to increase traffic fluidity, etc. Sometimes it is useful to make intersections safer for pedestrians, but it is seldom designed to guarantee also comfort, ease and accessibility for vulnerable users. The common cliché that roundabouts are more suitable to calm drivers than to make pedestrians crossing is the result of this kind of old design practice, that doesn't take into account the context of application. These are also the reasons why roundabouts are preferably located at intersections with high traffic volumes, than in quiet residential streets. On the contrary, in zones with low traffic and speed limits, intersections, if re-designed according to the formal schemes of small/medium roundabouts, are very suitable to become protected, comfortable and appealing places for pedestrians, besides being safe junctions for drivers. This paper deals with two case studies of the research "Widespread interventions in urban areas for the creation of best solutions for the pedestrian mobility", funded by MIUR - Ministry of the Education and University and run by DITS - Department of Hydraulic Transportation and Roads, of University "La Sapienza" of Rome