MANAGING STREETS AS PUBLIC SPACES

Urban and rural streets have several additional roles besides their use as traffic corridors that has become dominant during the last four decades. In this paper, the Director of the UK's Pedestrian Association presents his views on this issue. He considers that it is necessary to rethink streets and their purpose as public places. They need to be treated as places, not routes, with people having priority over vehicles. This will require some difficult transport decisions, and extensive changes in highway engineering and design. Brixton High Street in London is discussed as an example. It is expected to provide an attractive local community centre, but also a major traffic corridor from Central London to the south. The present belief that the main function of streets is to maximise traffic flow permeates transport planning, but its price is high: noise, air pollution, danger, divided communities, and loss of public space. However, things are beginning to change. Local authorities are preparing to establish pilot 'home zones' where social activity has priority over traffic movement. Local Transport Plans will need to promote walking and cycling. Traditional transport priorities need to be reversed, by giving precedence to the non-traffic functions of roads in urban and rural areas. For the covering abstract see ITRD E105245.

• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  Glenthorne House, Hammersmith Grove
  London W6OL9,   England 
• Authors:
  • PLOWDEN, B
• Conference:
  • PROCEEDINGS OF TRAFFEX '99: INTEGRATED TRANSPORT - POLICY INTO PRACTICE, HELD NATIONAL EXHIBITION CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM, 20-22 APRIL 1999
• Publication Date: 1998

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 6 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: City planning; Conferences; Decision making; Highways; Land use; Local government agencies; Modal split; Planning; Policy; Rural areas; Strategic planning; Transportation; Transportation corridors; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Use
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 8525: Conference; 1116: Corridor (transp); 2248: Decision process; 2755: Highway; 356: Land use; 192: Local authority; 675: Modal split; 143: Planning; 173: Policy; 141: Priority (gen); 328: Rural area; 354: Town planning; 1155: Transport; 8119: United Kingdom; 313: Urban area; 9084: Use
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00794935
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jul 7 2000 12:00AM