The 'zones and collar' experiment was a comprehensive bus priority and traffic restraint scheme introduced in summer 1975 in the western part of Nottingham. Information to assess the impact of the scheme has been obtained from 'before and after' surveys carried out jointly by TRRL, Nottinghamshire county council and the traffic advisory unit of the department of transport. this report gives a comprehensive summary and interpretation of results from all these surveys. Morning peak commuter traffic leaving two suburban residential areas (zones) was confined to certain exit roads where traffic signals controlled the rate at which traffic joined the main road network. On the main radial roads, traffic travelling towards the city was delayed at traffic signals forming a partial 'collar' around the central area. Buses avoided delays at zone exits by using bus-only roads or bus lanes to reach the main roads; delays at collars were similarly by-passed, using nearside bus-lanes. It proved possible to produce only limited changes in the journey times of buses and other vehicles, and no significant change from car to bus travel was observed among residents of the zones. Although Nottinghamshire county council discontinued the experiment after the assessment period, much of value was learnt of relevance not only to Nottingham, but to possible future schemes elsewhere. (Author/publisher)
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