The paper reports on a study into the stopping activity of vehicles in a shopping area on a radial trunk road in London, the majority of which involved illegal parking. The objective of the study was first to identify the scale and causes of the problem, and second to consider how traffic regulation and road layout options might be designed to accommodate local vehicle activity, while maintaining capacity for through traffic. A video survey was carried out over a twelve hour period, logging all stopping activity outside frontages on both sides of a 150 metre stretch of road; this included a bus stop cage, white zig zag lines, and single yellow lines. Excluding buses, around 750 stopping acts were recorded, less than ten per cent of which appeared to be legal. With the aid of the video, it was possible to identify the individual frontages that generated the vehicle stops, and to measure the proportion of all entrants to premises that came from parked vehicles: the proportions ranged from 1% to over 50%. Drivers who stopped in the area were asked whether they thought they were parking legally or illegally, and what they would have done if the regulations were strictly enforced. A number of options for re-allocating road space were drawn up, giving more or less priority to different groups of road users, and were discussed with local shopkeepers, residents, and delivery drivers. Although only one case study, a number of the conclusions are likely to be of wider value. The research formed part of a larger study carried out for the Traffic Policy Division of the Department of Transport. (A)
Abstract