Notwithstanding the fact that the rate of future growth in mobility is slowing down in the Netherlands, the mobility and car traffic in cities is expected to grow significantly. This article outlines a major dilemma for the urban transport policy: are Dutch cities tending to accommodate the traffic growth in accordance with Dutch national policy, or do they want to limit the growth? In choosing to limit car traffic growth, a well-directed parking policy is probably the most applicable instrument. In two scenarios the effect of parking policy is illustrated. Figures from Tilburg and Venlo show that traffic towards the city centres increases. The major roads are not adequate to handle this growth. Applying an accommodating policy will most likely result in a high toll for local authorities to solve the resulting accessibility and liveability problems. From the present case study, however, we can learn that a more regulating parking policy, which includes higher parking rates and limitation of parking places, has a significant influence on the traffic flows towards the city centre. Even so a regulating parking policy has to be developed in a careful way, in order to reach the desired benefits and to avoid the possible undesired consequences. (Author/publisher)
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