The vision of many transport strategies is one of a balanced approach to transport provision and use, where the domination by low occupancy car use is reduced through a transport system in which public transport and non-motorised transport options are feasible for many trips. The problem is that to meet vehicular road safety objectives it seems that urban design and liveability are being sacrificed. Will zero tolerance mandate poor urban design in some circumstances, creating un-liveable neighbourhoods? There is a safety driven preference for tributary street layouts replete with culs-de-sac and a predominance of three-way intersections that has impeded pedestrian, cycle and bus access in our residential subdivisions. Limitations on direct property access have also denuded our local and district distributors of active frontages and a safe and attractive walking environment. Road safety audits are now being proposed for subdivision design approvals yet the engineers who would undertake them are the ones promoting the automobile dominated standards that have taken over our street layout, design and intersection control methods. Good urban form and design can contribute to rather than conflict with road safety objectives. Solutions are offered in relation to street layout for legible and walkable neighbourhoods, street design and intersection control to give pedestrians and cyclists a fair go. This paper draws on work carried out for the Western Australian Government on balanced transport, the development of traffic management guidelines for interconnected street systems and road safety audits in order to highlight the issues and set an agenda for wider debate. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E205861.
Samenvatting