The process of design and application of an Urban Transport Plan developed for the town of Villa S. Giovanni, a small town of twelve thousand inhabitants which owes its importance to its geographic location, being the gateway to Sicily, is presented. The case introduced aims to improve the quality of life, improving access for more sustainable patterns of development and in the same time not harming urban mobility, creating a model that can be applied to the neighbouring urban areas. The high costs of construction of additional road space, and the consideration that greater availability of road space is an incentive for greater demand of private car traffic, led the planning in the direction of using existing road space more efficiently, by using traffic control mechanisms, and shifting demand to alternative modes. The town falls in what is known as the metropolitan area of the Straits of Messina, area formed by the cities of Reggio Calabria on the continental side and Messina on the Sicilian side, an area which just falls short of a million inhabitants. Heavy traffic crossing the Straits, a relatively high population density (1000 inhabitants per square km) and the growth of car ownership in absence of a transport policy has resulted in congested local traffic. The design and adoption of the plan was preceded by the analysis of the running system, which required the quantification, of demand and supply, road occupation and environmental effects, all of which required a campaign of measures and counts. The plan has introduced a parking policy, which aims to redistribute on and off road parking, discouraging parking in what is the central area by the means of charging policies and the institution of a Controlled Traffic Zone, and doing so shifting long term parking to fringe areas, with the adoption of Park and Ride facilities. A key factor of the success of the proposed parking policy is the adoption of a public transport service, combined with pedestrian routes and precincts promoting walking and cycling. In order to make the most of improvements in each individual transport mode, modal integration was introduced. The planning of the Transport System includes a mix of measures designed to encourage people to use public transport and, where appropriate, measures to reduce the use of private cars. For the covering abstract please see ITRD E135207.
Samenvatting