BANGATAN IN LUND: POSSIBLE WAYS OF IMPROVING THE TRAFFIC SITUATION

A large number of people are on the move in the area around the train station of the city of Lund. Daily about 9 000 vehicles pass the street of Bangatan and over 35 000 people get on or off a bus or train at the station. Traffic jams and traffic safety conflicts appear around the zebra crossing in front of the station at rush hours. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the traffic situation at Bangatan can be improved. To get an idea of the kind of traffic that use Bangatan, a number of car drivers were interviewed. Questions were asked to determine the origin and destination of the drivers. Bearing the problems of the street in mind, three objectives for improvement of the traffic situation were formulated: - Improved speed for public transportation (buses); - Increased level of safety and feeling of safety for vulnerable road users; - Good accessibility for cars to the station area. Measures that have potential to improve the situation at the street towards the objectives have been outlined and their impact on different issues have been assessed. This report deals with six alternative measures: I. Closing of the street to unauthorized traffic; II. Turning Bangatan into a one way street; III. Pedestrian subway below the street; IV. Traffic signal at the zebra crossing; V. Bus lane; VI. Temporary parking in the northern part of the station area. Some of the alternatives can be combined with another. This applies for alternative III, IV and VI. The impact assessment covers the following issues: - Cost of investment, operation and maintenance; - Pedestrians and bicyclists; - Car traffic: - Bus traffic; - Intermodality (interchanges between modes of transport); - exhaust emissions; - Noise; - Impacts on commerce. (A)