The increased ownership of cars has on the one hand extended the range of travel for a great part of the population, while on the other hand it has created new problems. The crux of the problem is that motorised traffic occupies an unproportionally large part of public space, increasing the danger to slow-moving traffic by causing more accidents, unfavourably influencing the feelings of traffic participants and impairing the environment to an ever growing extent. These problems are the most acute in towns, on account of the high concentration both of driver vehicles and of parked vehicles. The traffic function of the town increasingly restricts other functions of urban areas. The multifunctional character which for many years dominated residential streets, is slowly but irresistibly being eroded. In the demonstration project "reclassification and reconstruction of urban areas", the policy aimed at improving the quality of life is put into practice by dividing the urban spaces into areas with a dominant traffic function and areas with a dominant "habitat" function, thereby giving them a new design. The residential areas are so reconstructed that motorised traffic is curbed in order to improve other functions of the area. The goal of the reconstruction of traffic areas is to obtain a safe and smooth through-flow of the traffic. In this respect special attention is given to bicycle traffic and to pedestrians crossing the street.
Abstract