Policy instruments (3) - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 219

14 Policy instruments (3)
The regulation of traffic and
development
14.1 Introduction
In this chapter we deal with the physical regulatory instruments which are available
for influencing traffic conditions on individual parts of the highway network. In some
cases control over the traffic using a particular road may be applied solely to reflect
its own characteristics (e.g. a limit on vehicle weight or dimensions because of a sub-
standard bridge). In others the controls applied to individual roads are conceived as
part of a strategy for managing traffic over a wider area.
More ambitiously physical measures may be used in conjunction with fiscal
instruments (notably the pricing of parking) and the provision of alternatives to car
use as a means of limiting the total amount of traffic within an area, i.e. as part of local
strategies of demand management (May et al. 2006; Marsden 2006). These apply in
many larger town centres but can also be used on a permanent or temporary basis to
deal with excessive traffic in the vicinity of other major attractors - e.g. hospitals and
universities, tourist hotspots, sporting venues and so on.
Although individual highway authorities exercise discretion over exactly where,
when and how to introduce traffic regulation measures in their area, they do so within
the context of national legislation and DfT guidance as to both the objectives to be
pursued and the precise nature of the instruments to be employed. In particular, signage
is standardised. More generally a degree of consistency is sought so that, broadly
speaking, motorists can expect to experience similar measures in similar situations,
regardless of where in the country they happen to be.
Safeguarding traffic and associated safety and environmental conditions in an area
is not solely a matter of regulating the vehicles passing through it. Another important
dimension is the traffic generated by the land uses and development within the area
itself - both the overall volume and timing of demand and the particular amount
and type of traffic drawn or discharged on to individual streets. Problems arising
from established developments can only be addressed, if at all, through voluntary
negotiation and travel plans (Chapter 16) but with new proposals highway authorities
have the opportunity to influence outcomes through the development planning and
control processes.
In this chapter we consider first the changing role of traffic management (14.2)
and the basic framework of responsibilities and powers under which it is executed
(14.3), including the more recent concept of network management (14.4). We then
go on to examine in more detail the arrangements surrounding the control of on-
street parking (14.5), speed limits and their enforcement (14.6) traffic calming and