In two urban areas in the netherlands, each covering a surface of about a hundred hectares, a demonstration project of traffic measures was carried out; these areas were redivided and redesigned with the aims: (a) of better separating traffic zones and residential areas; (b) within the residential areas, of diverting through-traffic (countermeasure type 1), reducing the speed of the remaining traffic (type 2), and increasing environmental amenity (type 3, "woonerf"); (c) within the traffic area, of organising safe and speedy traffic for all types of road-users, by separating the different kinds of traffic, and by making provisions for pedestrians, cyclists and mopeds. A before-and-after research study has been carried out to examine the effects of the countermeasures on traffic safety, traffic flows, environmental protection and socio-economical aspects. This paper reports on the traffic safety part of the study, in which changes in accidents, behaviour and experience have been considered.
Samenvatting