Key elements of safety-conscious planning (reducing vehicular travel, avoiding serious conflicts, compatible traffic in shared areas, and segregation where necessary) are noted, and some contradictions between safety-conscious planning and current planning practices are highlighted. A way to regard the hierarchy of movement spaces in a local area is recommended. The impacts of traffic on residential amenity are in greatest danger of being neglected in the current planning environment. Amenity calls up considerations of environmental capacity, and the influence of traffic flow on neighbourhood interaction and the householder's sense of territory around their dwelling. The documented findings on these matters need to play a bigger part in decisions about traffic networks and flows, and there are strong indications that the appropriate traffic level for local streets serving family housing and for conventional housing fronting arterials is probably a good deal lower than many codes currently allow. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E211783.
Abstract