Key recommendations 1. Create a better balance between traffic and other city users a)
b) c) d)
e) f)
g)
Make the most of the Congestion Charge to use freed-up space for quality improvements. Reduce through traffic. Create new patterns for goods deliveries. Improve the visibility and accessibility of surface public transport to encourage more bus use and walking. This will take pressure off the road system and the congested tube and rail networks. Dedicated bus- and pedestrian streets can improve the bus system. Improve conditions for walking and encourage people to walk. Create pedestrian streets and pedestrian priority streets where many people already walk to improve conditions for walking and city life, as well as to reduce traffic. Reduce the amount of parking to control traffic coming into the city centre. Copenhagen has successfully used this policy, gradually bringing the amount of parking spaces down and thus achieving less traffic while encouraging use of public transport, walking and cycling.
2. Improve traffic safety a)
b)
Improve traffic safety by introducing precise standards for crossings, stoplights etc. Improve traffic safety to allow disabled, the elderly and families with younger children to move more freely.
3. Reduce the impact of traffic on the city environment a)
b) c) d)
Encourage the replacement of old cars, lorries and buses in order to lower noise, reduce fumes and improve safety. Introduce green waves at stoplights to avoid engines idling. Reduce the provision for cars. Make medians in streets to curb traffic and facilitate safe pedestrian crossings.
Recommendations - page 98
2. Create a better balance between traffic and other city users
A combined strategy ; Strasbourg A survey of travel habits from 1989 showed that 73% drove cars, 11% took the bus, while 15 % cycled or walked on their trips to and from central Strasbourg. Attempts had been made for several years, but Mayor Catherine Traumbert was, in 1989 the first to adopt plans for long-term urban renewal in which city life, cyclists and public transport were given high priority. Car traffic in the centre reduced dramatically. With the introduction of the new north-south tram line, a comprehensive, linear public space policy was well on its way. Pedestrians and cyclists were to have much better conditions, the deteriorating spaces of the city were to be renovated and the new tram line to have first priority in city traffic. These objectives were combined into a strategy in which laying the tram tracks inspired the rethinking of the squares, streets and roads touched by the tram route. Thus both suburban and inner-city spaces were renovated gradually as work on laying the new tram tracks progressed. In the city centre itself, several streets were completely closed to car traffic and reserved for line A and pedestrians. At the same time, streets were renovated from facade to facade. In other streets, a modest stream of car traffic was allowed alongside pedestrians, cyclists and the trams. A modern tram was selected as the new means of transportation in competition with bus systems and underground rail systems. The new trams have an elegant, transparent design. Large, low windows provide a good view inside and out, making passengers part of the street scene at stops and riding through town. An unusually low floor ensures good access for everyone. Strasbourg´s tram system has become a great success and exceeded all expectations. Only a few years after their introduction, the city’s new trams carried 70,000 passengers every day, compared to a forecast of 50,000. Since 1990, the use of public transport has increased by 43% and the number of trams serving the city centre has been doubled by introducing an extra line on part of the line A route. More lines, with a total track length of 35 km, are on the drawing board.
Above: In the central city areas the tram runs quietly through pedestrian areas.
Tram stops have been carefully designed to reflect the good quality public transport system. Above: Place de l´Homme de Fer.