TOWN PLANNING AND ROAD SAFETY IN SMALLER URBAN AREAS

The paper makes some observations on the application of town planning measures in smaller urban areas with the objective of reducing road accidents. It is argued that smaller urban areas are not inherently safer than the larger cities, and neither can safety problems in country towns and cities be attributed principally to highway traffic passing through. A preliminary exploration of some Victorian towns suggests that, as in the suburbs of metropolitan cities, a significant minority of road casualties occurs within residential areas. These areas appear to be most suitable for the application of town planning measures. The paper discusses five commonly-stated planning rules for road safety, relating to (a) the road hierarchy, (b) t-junctions and cross-roads, (c) segregated movement networks for cyclists, (d) Radburn-type residential layouts, and (e) pedestrian malls in town centres. In all cases, it is observed that a demonstrable improvement in safety does not necessarily result. Application of the principle is not enough; the method and consequences of its application are important. The paper concludes with a number of suggested planning measures which could be expected to improve safety in smaller urban areas. These cover the classification of a road's function through frontage management, the nature of the local street network, the size of residential areas, influencing driver behaviour in local streets, criteria for cycle planning, and action in town centres (a). This paper was presented in Session 1--Local Area Planning. (TRRL)