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 other 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 presents 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? In the study cooperation is defined as joining the forces that are aimed at a common target. Effective policy has to meet a number of specific demands of 60 km/h roads. These demands are discussed below. Prior to the study we formulated some presuppositions and expectations. These involve three topics in which municipalities should cooperate with other parties: 1. Transitions between municipal 60 km/h roads and the 60km/h roads of adjoining municipalities. It is not desirable to have discontinuities in the infrastructure within one speed regime. We expect cooperation with neighbouring municipalities to result in transitions without discontinuities. 2. Speed reduction measures that can be inconvenient for emergency services and public transport. From the Sustainable Safety point of view 60 km/h zones should have low speeds, especially on intersections. We expect that consultations with public transport companies and emergency services will stimulate municipalities to take more speed reduction measures that are not only sustainably safe, but will also cause less hinder for public transport companies and emergency services. 3. Measures that affect citizens, companies and interest groups. The input of citizens, companies and interest groups is expected to have varying road safety effects. Citizens can indicate trouble spots that the municipality overlooked, or urge for stricter safety measures. Alternatively, they can also block measures because of expected hinder due to vibrations, noise, or comfort. The study has been carried out in fourteen municipalities. To enable accurate comparison, they were selected on the number of inhabitants and the road length in the 60 km/h zones. Two things were measured. The first is the cooperation between the different parties in the decision-making process for the construction of the 60 km/h zones. We took stock of who was in contact with whom and how often this contact took place. To do this we used interviews with the civil servants that were involved and we carried out a survey among the parties that were contacted or that we expected to have been contacted. Secondly we measured the effectiveness of the policy. We operationalized the decision-making's result as the Sustainable Safety level of the 60 km/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 number of measures that are 'friendly' for emergency services and transport companies. A positive, however not significant, relation seems to exist between the cooperation with neighbouring municipalities and a well-designed transition. The qualitative data indicates that a regional approach has positive effect on well-designed transitions. A positive and significant relation exists between consultation with emergency services and transport companies and the number of emergency service-friendly measures. The qualitative data supports this relation. Finally, the qualitative data shows that citizens, companies and interest groups have a large influence on policy. There seems to be a negative relation between the moment these parties give their input and the Sustainable Safety score: the earlier the input, the lower the Sustainable Safety scores for road sections and intersections, and vice versa. This relation is not significant either, and is only supported by qualitative data. The different parties generally are positive about the cooperation with the municipality in their case. In addition to the factors discussed above, local custom-made constructions and a limited budget are of importance for the effectiveness of the 60 km/h policy. For the future construction of 60km/h zones, for instance in the Second Phase of Sustainable Safety, we make the following recommendations: - More regional cooperation between municipalities and their neighbouring municipalities can result in a better layout of the transitions. Provinces and city regions can perform a stimulating role. - Municipalities can give a higher priority to consultations with emergency services and transport companies. They can realize more measures that are friendly for emergency services and transport companies by actively involving these services in the decision process. - Municipalities can involve a wide group of interested parties in the early stages of the decision-making process. However, it is important to establish minimum demands for the safety level, for example using the CROW guidelines.
Abstract