Traffic flooding the low countries : how the Dutch cope with motorway congestion.

In this report the road congestion problem in the Netherlands is addressed. The focus is on congestion development and congestion patterns on the Dutch motorways. A description is given of the special features of the Dutch motorway network in order to understand the nature and extent of motorway congestion. Special attention is devoted to the design principles that explicitly take congestion into account. Figures are presented on the level, nature and extent of the congestion pattern using a variety of congestion indicators. An analysis is presented of the main factors causing congestion in the past decades and in the future. This forms the stepping stone to a presentation of Dutch transport policy towards curbing congestion and improved traffic flow quality. This presentation focuses on the target group approach and on dynamic traffic management including congestion pricing. The conclusions attempt to give an assessment of the possibilities for achieving improvements. (A)