Traffic safety is an important issue when (primary) school zones are at stake. The subject is very sensitive for people who have to deal with those zones. Therefore, different studies on the subject are formed in the past and many informal guidelines or requirements for school zones exist. Among municipalities exists the wish for stricter recommendations to increase the perceived traffic safety. Municipalities have the role of road authority. In this role they are responsible for the traffic safety in school zones. The process is explained, for the first time, how municipalities can make school zones more safe for traffic. VVN (2015) claimed traffic safety in school zones nowadays is under the attention. This is because the developments in these areas point at a tendency to decrease the traffic safety. The car usage in bringing the children to school is increasing. Several reasons can be named for this situation: - More and more families consist of dual earners and own two cars. Children are often brought to school on the way to work; - Since the tendency in the Netherlands is to create bigger schools, the average distances towards the schools are increasing. Most of the time smaller schools merge with bigger schools in their environment and therefore, mostly, the smaller schools disappear; - The car usage is increasing and this causes the traffic safety to lower; - It is sometimes just easier to bring your child to school by car, especially with bad weather. The former presented raises the question whether the experienced traffic safety in school environments can be increased. To answer this question in the presented research, a number of research questions has been set up. The research questions answered in the report are the guidance for this summary. (Author/publisher)
Abstract