EVALUATING TRAFFIC CALMING BENEFITS, COSTS AND EQUITY IMPACTS
This paper describes a framework for evaluating traffic calming programs. It includes a wider range of impacts than are often considered. Potential benefits include road safety, increased comfort and mobility for pedestrians and bicyclists, increased non-motorized travel, reduced traffic noise and air pollution, increased street activity and neighborhood interaction, and increased street activity and neighborhood interaction, and increased property values. Traffic calming can help create more livable communities and reduce suburban sprawl. Traffic calming costs can include project expenses, vehicle delay, traffic spillover, problems for emergency and service vehicles, driver frustration, and problems for bicyclists and visually impaired pedestrians. Traffic calming tends to provide the greatest benefits to pedestrians, bicyclists and local residents, while imposing the greatest costs on people who are intensive automobile users. Traffic calming can increase horizontal equity by improving the balance between different users of public streets and by reducing the external costs imposed by motor vehicles. traffic calming tends to increase vertical equity because it benefits most people who are physically, economically and socially disadvantaged, while imposing the greatest disbenefits on relatively wealthy, higher mileage, suburban drivers. Each traffic calming project is unique, so each project should be evaluated individually. It is important to avoid double counting. Sensitivity analysis can be used to test whether conclusions are reliable under a range of possible scenarios.
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Corporate Authors:
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, British Columbia Canada V8V 3R7 -
Authors:
- Litman, T
- Publication Date: 1999-3-12
Language
- English
Media Info
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 25 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Bicycle travel; Highway safety; Pedestrian safety; Traffic calming; Traffic congestion; Traffic delays; Traffic volume; Vehicle miles of travel
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00762581
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Apr 5 1999 12:00AM