This study investigated the cooperation between municipalities and other parties in the construction of 60 km/h zones. For various reasons it is advisable that municipalities cooperate with for example road authorities and road users like citizens, companies, emergency services, public transport companies et cetera. In the study we examine the effect of this cooperation for the road's safety. The study poses the following question: To which extent did the organization of the cooperation between the parties involved contribute to the policy's effectiveness in the first phase of Sustainable Safety (more concretely the construction of 60 km/h zones by municipalities) and, based on the findings, what can be said about the second phase of Sustainable Safety in a prescriptive sense? This report presents the data that was collected for the study in the municipality of Lemsterland. The study measured two things. Firstly, the cooperation between the parties involved in the decision-making about the construction of 60 km/h zones was measured. Secondly, the effectiveness of the policy was measured. To measure the cooperation we made an inventory of who maintained contact with each other and the frequency of that contact. This was done in interviews with the municipal employee and a survey among the parties with who contact had taken place or should have taken place. The data was translated into a graphic representation: a diagram of the network. We specifically looked at the cooperation with three groups. In the first place we looked at the cooperation with neighbouring municipalities and other road authorities with whom the municipality shares 60 km/h roads with adjoining boundaries. Secondly, the cooperation was investigated with emergency services (police, fire brigade, ambulance) and public transport companies (for as far as their routes make use of the 60 km/h roads). Finally, the contacts with citizens, companies, and interest groups were studied. To measure the effectiveness of the policy we operationalized the results of the decision-making process as the Sustainable Safety level of the 60km/h roads. All 60 km/h roads and intersections were inspected visually and rated with the Sustainable Safety Indicator. This instrument was used to measure certain road features such as edge markings, centre line markings, and direction separators for road sections, and priority arrangements and physical speed reduction measures for intersections. Based on these measurings the Sustainable Safety rating for the 60 km/h zone was determined. Next the roads were assessed on specific characteristics that are connected with the parties that were involved in the consultations. This approach was used to rate the transitions of municipal roads to neighbouring municipalities and the number of measures that are 'friendly' for emergency services and transport companies. In Lemsterland the cooperation with other road authorities appears only to have taken place on one occasion. There was no cooperation with the other neighbouring municipalities and the province about the layout. Cooperation with emergency services and public transport companies was limited to bilateral contact with police and public transport, but no contact was initiated with fire brigade and ambulance. The cooperation with citizens, companies and interest groups remained limited to bilateral contacts with residents' associations. The result of the decision-making process, the rural 60km/h roads that have been realized, has been rated with the Sustainable Safety Indicator. This resulted in a Sustainable Safety level of rural 60km/h roads in the municipality of Lemsterland of 94% for road sections, while the intersections scored 78%. Road sections scored 'not very good' on the characteristics centre line markings and edge markings, and the characteristic 'obstacle free zone' was rated 'bad'. However, on this latter characteristic Lemsterland scores better than the other case municipalities in this study. The presence of priority regulations and the absence of physical speed reducing measures had a negative effect on the rating for intersections. Generally, the 'emergency service and public transport friendliness' of the Zones 60 in Lemsterland was rated 'sufficient'. Finally, it can be concluded that almost all roads that cross the municipal border in a Zone 60 show remarkable discontinuities in the road image. Generally it can be concluded that the roads that were included in the inventory, and particularly the intersections, do not yet entirely meet the Sustainable Safety requirements.
Abstract