RESTRAINT OF THE AUTOMOBILE IN AMERICAN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS

Two techniques for restraining the use of the automobile have recently become popular in the United States: residential parking permit programs and traffic restraint devices. While both the these approaches are aimed at restraining the use of the automobile in residential areas, they have little in common as far as appearances or specific purposes. The residential parking permit programs employ a licensing technique to prevent non-residents from coming into an area and parking their cars, while the traffic restrain programs use physical devices to prevent or minimize traffic from passing through an area. The first half of the paper discusses parking policies in residential neighborhoods. The causes of the parking problem, the effects it has on the neighborhood and its residents, and the potential solutions are discussed. A summary of parking policies in forty communities is also included. The second half of the paper is devoted to the use of traffic restraint devices in residential neighborhoods. The problem of through traffic and its negative effects on a residential neighborhood are discussed as the issues related to their implementation and effectiveness. Traffic restraint devices that are being used in the United States are described and traffic restraint devices in 37 communities are summarized. Case studies are given for Berkely, California and Seattle, Washington.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at the Meeting of the Group of Experts on Traffic Policies to Improve the Urban Environment, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, France, April, 1978.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Systems Center

  55 Broadway, Kendall Square
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02142

  Moore-Header Architects

  806 Massachusetts Avenue
  Cambridge, MA  United States  02118
• Authors:
  • Simkowitz, H J
  • Heder, L
  • BARBER, E
• Publication Date: 1978-4

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 57 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Implementation; Licenses; Parking regulations; Policy; Residential areas; Traffic restraint
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Policy; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00179166
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Urban Mass Transportation Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT-TSC-UMTA-78-24 Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: DOT-TSC-1405
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 14 1978 12:00AM