Despite a growing acceptance of traffic calming, the authors suggest that too much consideration is still being given to cars and propose a complete restructuring of our built-up areas. The ideas put forward by the authors, Vahl and Giskes, who received the 1986 Volvo Traffic Safety award for their work on traffic calming, are first summarised. Their theories for redeveloping specific areas are then outlined with a suggested sequence of operations. The realization of some of their plans in the Dutch city of Lelystad is then described. In the Waterwijk district the entire neighbourhood (5-6000 housing units) has been designed for pedestrians and cyclists with speed limits of 15 or 30km/hr and the inclusion of all facilities. A traditional and innovative town plan are compared. Application of the technique to France is then described where Vahl and Giskes have worked in Chambery, Rennes, Romans-sur-Isene and Saint Audre. The results show that drivers spontaneously adapt their behaviour if traffic calming situations are well integrated into their environment.
Abstract