Traffic Calming in the United Kingdom : The Implications for the Local Economy

Abstract

The car symbolises the growth in mobility during the late twentieth century, and a part of that philosophy has been the right to use that car wherever and whenever one wished. That right is now being questioned, with the ever increasing levels of congestion in urban areas, and the priorities for transport planning are now switching from increasing the capacity of the urban road transport system to ensuring that the rights of car owners are balanced with those of other people in cities. Traffic calming is an evolving transport policy concept which is intended to reduce the environmental, safety and severance effects of the car and to improve the urban environment as a place in which to live. Within residential areas, where most traffic calming has taken place, the aim is to reduce or eliminate through traffic, speeds of traffic would be reduced to be compatible with pedestrians, and there would be no difference in levels or surface materials between the road and the pavement. In addition, the streets would be designed for people and the priority for traffic engineers should not be to maximise the traffic flow but to manage traffic for the benefits of residents and the environment. The concepts relate to the most appropriate form of city development with the needs of through traffic being balanced against those of the local residents. The benefits of less traffic and a quieter, less polluted environment, may be more than outweighed by increases in the levels of pollution and energy consumption elsewhere in the system. The net effect may be an increase in the use of resourcesand a less sustainable city (CEC, 1990; Banister, 1992). Most schemes have been introduced in the Netherlands