Illegally parked vehicles, that restrict both the capacity and speed of a road, are the cause of traffic congestion in most urban areas. CENTRO (the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive), in association with the West Midlands District Councils, the West Midlands Planning and Transportation Joint Data Team, West Midlands Travel (the county's largest bus operator) and the West Midlands Police, have recently carried out a series of Illegal Parking Initiatives. The study took place during January to April 1992 in the districts of Birmingham, Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall. This followed a similar study the previous year in Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton. The primary objective of the study was to enable bus services along the routes to run faster. In addition, the scheme aimed to achieve a reduction in traffic congestion and to increase the free flow of traffic. Data collected in surveys before, during and after the Initiative included full traffic counts, monitoring of bus services to measure patronage and speeds, and traffic speed surveys. This information was used in a cost benefit analysis, where the monetary savings in journey times and the increase in road capacity, both due to faster traffic flow, were compared with the costs of police monitoring. The methodology used in the scheme shows how, in certain cases, police monitoring of a stretch of road that suffers from illegal parking can be more cost effective than employing other traffic management measures. The scheme can also reduce the journey times and increase the reliability of bus services. (A)
Samenvatting