CALMING INFLUENCE

This article examines the large part that traffic calming plays in Hampshire County Council's budgetary planning. During the last four years, the Council has implemented over 60 schemes with an annual budget over #700,000. The two main criteria for implementing traffic calming schemes continue to be injury accident rate and response to excessive vehicle speeds. The most extensive project so far has been the Leigh Park Area Safety Scheme in Havant, which was installed in two phases and has raised tables, mini-roundabouts, and 132 Traficop rubber speed cushions, mostly 3.3m long and 1.6m wide. Within this scheme, traffic flows were reduced by up to 35% and the largest speed reductions, up to 12mph, were achieved in the centre section of the 30mph zone, where there are speed cushions. The accident rate there has been reduced by nearly a third. In another scheme, at Southampton Road, Ringwood, the installation of speed cushions has so far reduced accidents to zero. In the UK as a whole, traffic calming has become just one of many tools available to engineers and planners, to reduce accidents and congestion, improve public transport, and provide a safer, cleaner residential environment. Highway engineers especially want to learn from the traffic calming experiences of UK local authorities, through the research work of the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) and other organisations.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/3831968
• Corporate Authors:

  Alad Limited

  P.O. Box 135
  Sutton, Surrey  United Kingdom  SM2 7JP
• Publication Date: 2000-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 13-4
• Serial:
  • Highways
  • Volume: 69
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Alad Limited
  • ISSN: 0142-6168
  • Serial URL: http://www.highways-mag.co.uk

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Budgeting; Crash rates; Injuries; Local government agencies; Planning; Policy; Prevention; Research projects; Roundabouts; Safety; Speed; Speed control; Traffic restraint; Urban areas
• Uncontrolled Terms: Traffic relief
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• ITRD Terms: 1661: Accident prevention; 1612: Accident rate; 257: Budget; 2163: Injury; 192: Local authority; 143: Planning; 173: Policy; 8557: Research project; 438: Roundabout; 5408: Speed; 2833: Speed control (struct elem); 631: Traffic relief; 633: Traffic restraint; 8119: United Kingdom; 313: Urban area
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00798016
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Sep 8 2000 12:00AM