Traffic, its impacts and public attitudes - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 48

transport policy is having to become more focused on seeking to influence individual
behaviour and on the social - hence political - constraints which surround this.
3.4 Perceived danger and insecurity
The danger from traffic as perceived by pedestrians can be considered in three main
contexts. The first is conditions generally on minor streets within residential areas
where the main threat is from individual speeding cars. With estates built since about
1965 this threat has been much reduced by the widespread use of loop and cul-de-sac
layouts, although at the price of introducing distributor roads which can create an
unfriendly pedestrian environment at the neighbourhood level. Over the last decade
the effects of 'rat-running' traffic through older estates and pre-1914 housing built
along grid patterns have begun to be addressed through the use of traffic-calming
measures (14.7).
The second context is on main roads within settlements where a complex mix of
factors will affect pedestrians' perceptions. In addition to traffic volume and highway
geometry (including pavement widths and the presence of refuges) these will include
the speed and arrival pattern of vehicles, the intimidation presented by large buses
and HGVs, and the obstruction or distractions caused by parked vehicles and turning
movements. The introduction of signalised crossing points does not dispel anxiety
from these sources especially amongst people with limited vision or physical mobility.
Traffic on main roads has two further impacts on pedestrian movement. The first is
on the ability to move reasonably freely within and across the street itself and hence to
utilise it as a 'place'. This can be critical in the functioning of the centres of small towns
and in local urban centres. The second is a broader concern for severance, whether
this applies to a whole village or neighbourhood community divided by a main road or
to particular individuals in being able easily to access facilities which involve crossing
the road. Measures which 'force' pedestrians to divert to signalised crossing points or
to subways or overbridges may reduce danger and improve safety but risk aggravating
severance. The possibility of redesigning and managing roads in these situations so as
to achieve a better balance between the interests of motorists and other road users is
only beginning to be explored (14.7).
The third context is the centres of towns where some combination of road-building,
redevelopment and traffic management measures have typically led to the creation
of pedestrianised areas. These offer the freedom from anxiety and intimidation of
motorised traffic but there can be difficulties at their boundaries if this involves a
sudden transition to the 'normal' regime of traffic priority. Unfortunately the price of
achieving many pedestrianised centres has often been the creation of 'inner ring roads'
dominated by fast-moving traffic which have the effect of denying local neighbourhoods
safe and pleasant access to and from the centre on foot or bicycle.
Some evidence of perceptions of conditions for pedestrians in residential areas exists
within the National Travel Survey which asks parents whether they allow children to
cross roads on their own. Amongst 7-10 year olds 49% are not allowed to cross any
roads on their own whilst amongst 11-13 year olds 32% are not allowed to cross any
roads or only minor ones. Both these percentages are up 8 points in just the four years
from 2002 to 2006 - a period during which child pedestrian casualties actually fell by
nearly 30%!
Evidence about adults' perceptions and responses to conditions in influencing their
own behaviour is contained in the ONS Omnibus Survey. Thirty-seven per cent of