Urban roads and the environment - some planning considerations

As urban areas continue to grow in size, and as road travel continues to increase, traffic congestion will extend over larger areas for longer periods of the day, with resulting substantial social, environmental and economic costs. An integrated and coordinated five pronged approach is necessary to tackle this problem of increasing traffic congestion. It involves comprehensive traffic management of existing arterial roads, local area traffic management schemes, encouraging. the use of public transport, travel demand management and the construction of selected new high capacity urban arterial road links. The progressive implementation of this approach should result in a reasonable level of safe, efficient, effective and equitable mobility, with an acceptable balance between the harmful effects of travel and its benefits in urban areas in the future.