TABLE OF CONTENTS Traffic calming has two main objectives: the reduction in numbers of personal injury accidents and improvement in the local environment for people living, working or visiting the area.
Traditional traffic management uses physical measures and legislation to coerce, and mould driver behaviour to coax higher capacities out of the highway network, with improved levels of safety. Traffic calming now uses an expanded repertoire of measures and techniques to change driver's perception of an area. Many streets portray the impression that they are vehicular traffic routes that have some other uses of lesser importance, such as shopping streets or for residential access. Traffic calming can alter the balance and impress upon the driver that the street is primarily for shopping or residential use and that vehicular traffic is of secondary importance.
Regardless of the prime cause of accidents, it has long been recognised that there is a direct correlation between accident severity and vehicle speed. Excessive speed for the prevailing road conditions can in itself be the prime cause of some accidents. Speeding traffic can cause severance effects between two parts of a community due to the difficulties experienced when pedestrians attempt to cross the road. High speed vehicles produce high noise levels and consequently degrade the environment. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has identified that a 3 7% reduction in accidents can be expected for every 1 kilometre/hour reduction in vehicle speeds in urban areas.
Increasingly traffic calming is being seen as part of the urban design toolkit. This...
