Indicators for traffic livability : elaboration and application of a model for the assessment of traffic livability. In previous intermediate reports within the frame of the Policy Research center Mobility and Public Works, a theoretic base was composed for a methodology for the objective assessment of the effects of traffic on the livability of the environment. The most typical aspect of the proposed methodology is the incorporation of the individual activity and travel patterns. This ensures that not only annoyance at home is included, but also annoyance during trips and at the destinations. This method is therefore expected to offer substantial advantages over the currently used methods, as the Flemish Traffic Livability Index (“Verkeersleefbaarheidsindex”). As an introduction to this report, these two methods are summarized in chapters 2 and 3). The main item of this report is the next phase in the process, being the elaboration of the theoretical methodology to a working modeling application. In this process, the proposed method has been refined of modified on some points (for example depending on the availability of input data). The first part of the report describes the final model for the assessment of traffic livability. After a description of the base data, the procedure is explained for the evaluation of the different indicators, and the aggregation of the indicators to total scores for the Traffic Livability and its different aspects. The model implements the proposed Traffic Livability model (chapter 4), as well as the common method of the Traffic Livability Index (chapter 5). Parallel to the model implementation, also a practical application was built in a case-study for the city of Ghent. This case-study was a first technical test of the model, but will in a later stage also be used for evaluating some policy scenarios for the city of Ghent. The mast chapter in this report demonstrates some of the first model applications, mostly in order to illustrate the reliability and sensitivity of the mode. Tree applications are included: the calculation for the base scenario of the case-study of Ghent (chapter 7), then a comparison between the model results against the Traffic Livability Index (chapter 8), and finally the evaluation of a number of policy scenarios (chapter 9). The model results show that the model results have a realistic distribution, and show a good correlation with the reported satisfaction from the Flemish Livability Survey (Schriftelijk Leefbaarheidsonderzoek, SLO). It is remarkable that the correlation between the Traffic Livability Index and the reported satisfaction appears to be very weak. The scenario calculations show a rather low sensitivity of the model: extreme scenarios are needed in order to achieve significant changes in the model results. Partially this insensitivity is due to restrictions in the base data and in the modeling methodology. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting