This document disseminates good practice in home zone design and scheme development, drawing particularly on the experience gathered from the UK Home Zones Challenge. Home Zones aim to extend the benefits of slow traffic speeds within residential areas and give greater priority to non-motorised users. Vehicle design speeds are well below 20mph. The process of planning and implementing a home zone is described. While individual schemes may use similar elements, each scheme should reflect the community's aspirations. It is considered that only roads that are predominantly residential and either have very low traffic speeds or have measures applied to bring speeds down to those levels are suitable for consideration as a home zone. A large area may need to be sub-divided in order to obtain consensus among residents on the design of the scheme. Involving the whole community, especially under-represented groups, is considered essential. Critical to the success of schemes is the availability of finance. Involvement of the emergency services, utility companies and potential contractors at an early stage in the process is considered important so that impractical designs are avoided. Monitoring of schemes is discussed. Realistic expectations of what a home zone can achieve should be managed from the start of the project. Three dimensional visualisations of planned schemes were considered very useful for involving a broad range of the public in the design of the scheme. The use of artists can help a scheme express its uniqueness. Ways of dealing with differences of opinion on schemes are outlined. The development of home zones in new housing areas is discussed in relation to the only new build scheme in the UK - Gateshead Staiths. In this case, the home zone is designed by professionals and feedback obtained from residents after they move in, to inform future development. Details of the design elements required in home zones are provided. The main outcome of successful home zones has been the development of stronger and more integrated local communities. The full text of this document may be found at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/homezones/cfos/zoneschallengingth…
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