Many traffic management schemes are reactive: they are motivated by failures within the system to cope with the demand. The demand for movement on any given road link or the demand for any given moment at a junction is itself determined by the collective decisions made by drivers about their choice of route. In effect, therefore, engineers are reacting to what drivers want - regardless of whether this makes best use of the existing network. By contrast, the authors' research is aimed at a proactive approach which involves a reorganisation of the routing pattern in such a way as to reduce unnecessary conflicts (and hence relieve congestion) at junctions. In the congested urban situation this should also help to reduce pollution and also help to reduce pollution and accidents. The CROWN design tool has been developed to assist this approach. Examples of how it might be used are given in the paper. (A)
Samenvatting