The three traffic law instruments of environmental traffic management in the Federal Republic of Germany have been: (1) Tempo 30 zones; (2) pedestrian zones; (3) traffic restricted areas. This paper describes the generally benefical effects of Tempo 30 zones in Germany. Tempo 30 zones apply a maximum speed limit of 30kph to all road vehicles, allow parking (unless specifically restricted), give vehicles privilege on roadways, cover only a few streets, and have large-space application given to residential and central areas. Up to 50% of streets in a German city may be Tempo 30 streets. Normally, an application for creating a Tempo 30 zone is connected with four types of supporting measures: (1) public information and participation: (2) measures of traffic control; (3) measures of road construction and street design; (4) speed control. The following results have generally been obtained in Tempo 30 zones: (1) decreased speeds; (2) fewer accidents, and increased traffic safety and security; (3) lower environmental stresses; (4) greater compatibility of vehicular traffic with other uses of the street, including resedential uses, pedestrian traffic, bicycle traffic, and public transport. No important disadvantages for Tempo 30 have been found. The authors recommend the widespread application of Tempo 30 in cities, towns, and other sensitive areas.
Abstract