The Feet First initiative provided an opportunity for a comparative study of the consultation processes used in traffic calming schemes in four British towns and cities (Brighton, Leicester, Sheffield and York). The research used evidence from opinion surveys of local residents and interviews with council officers, councillors and community activists to draw some conclusions about the relationship between the acceptability of traffic calming schemes to the public and the openness of the consultation process. The process of gathering opinions from local residents went through various stages, from discussion groups to in-depth qualitative face-to-face surveys before the piloting of postal postal questionnaires in the seven schemes studied. At the same time, the local authorities' consultation processes were monitored, and interviews were held with key actors. The study did not conclude that any single consultation method was "best". Rather, it concluded that "success" in calming schemes depends not only on objective empirical measures, but on the overwhelming support of the local community, which in turn depends upon the openness of the consultation process. The study also provided a wealth of information about the attitudes of local residents to traffic calming and to how local streets could be used. Another aspect to the study was an attempt to identify which sections of the community (by gender, age group, existence of a family or a car) might be more predisposed to supporting traffic calming.
Samenvatting