Increasing motorisation of urban travel brings with it heavy social costs and degradation of the living environment. Freedom of mobility conferred by the car has reduced as car use has spread, while freedom to use urban spaces for activities other than driving has been severely eroded. The congestion, noise, dirt, danger and ugliness brought about by motor traffic now makes it essential for traditional urban centres to take counteraction in order to retain their viability. Centres failing to improve their environment will decline in the face of competition from car-dependent developments such as out-of-town retail parks and spacious business parks. These trends are forcing a rethink of urban planning priorities and techniques throughout Europe. The paper first outlines the new counter strategy that is required for "town-friendly" transport, and the contribution of traffic calming to its achievement. The basic techniques of traffic calming, and how they differ from conventional practice are outlined. Second, the potential of traffic calming as a solution for environmental, safety and local economic problems is discussed, and an attempt is made to quantify the contribution of traffic calming to the UK government's target of reducing road casualties by a third by the year 2000. Third, seven steps in the development of traffic calming are described, and progress in the UK on each of these steps is reviewed. Finally, the paper concludes that too little has been achieved in the UK to date, that progress requires money, planning and promotion to shift away from conventional practice to develop the new approach. It is further argued that progress is currently hampered by an unnecessarily cautious approach, and insufficient autonomy for local authorities to act. Promotion of awareness of the dangers of speed is considered important for traffic calming policy to be fully effective.
Abstract