Sustainable Traffic Management in a Central Business District: the Case of Almyros
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT Volume 8, 2014 Sustainable traffic management in a central business district: The case of Almyros Athanasios Galanis, Nikolaos Eliou the city include the development of a complete motorist Abstract— This paper presents the results of a research project parking master plan, combining the on street and off street that evaluates the ability to manage the transportation network in the available parking areas. central area of the city of Almyros, Greece. The proposed network will not only improve the road safety level of motorists and A. Sustainable transportation vulnerable road users but also will provide organized parking areas. Sustainable transport modes contribute into the The proposed traffic management actions are divided into short term environmental, social and economical sustainability of the and long term ones. The short term traffic management actions modern societies. A transportation system serves the demand include the implementation of one way streets, change of traffic signs, the redesign of the sidewalks and the relocation of parking of personal contact. The benefits of mobility rising should areas. The long term actions include the development of a complete balance the environmental, social and economic cost that a motorist parking master plan. transport mode or system provides. There is no commonly accepted definition of sustainable Keywords—Sustainability, Traffic, Management, Pedestrian, transportation. According to the Canadian “Center for Safety, Parking Sustainable Transport” (CST) a sustainable transport system is the one that [1]: I. INTRODUCTION • Serves the needs of accessibility and mobility in HIS paper presents the results of a research project that personal and society level with respect on human and T evaluates the ability to manage the transportation network environment, targeting to balance the needs of in the central area of the city of Almyros, Greece. Mixed presence and future needs. traffic condition in traditional urban areas in Greece and • Is sufficient and effective, offers alternative choices promotion of motorists resulted in many transportation and of transport modes supports a competitive economy environmental problems. The lack of proper pedestrians’ or and a balanced territorial development. bicyclists’ urban road infrastructure and the continuously • Reduces the emissions, uses alternative power raising demand for vehicle parking slots in the central business resources and minimizes the used space. district resulted into a chaotic traffic situation which is difficult B. Pedestrian Safety to be managed. Such problems are not faced only in major Pedestrians are vulnerable roads users as they are exposed cities but also in middle and small sized ones in Greece. to higher levels of risk during their interaction with heavy or Citizens are not used to travel using sustainable or public fast motorized traffic. There is a lot of literature regarding transport modes and furthermore are strongly negative towards pedestrian accident severity. The most common factors which road pricing entering or parking in the central district of their influence pedestrian accidents are pedestrians’ age and gender, city as they consider parking right as a public good. alcohol usage and vehicle type. Sze and Wong applied logistic In the city of Almyros the proposed network and the regression in order to investigate the influence of contributory transportation management solutions will not only improve the factors on the probability of fatality and sever injury [2]. road safety level of motorists and vulnerable road users but In pedestrian – vehicle crashes young (under 19 years) and also provide organized on street parking areas. Short term older pedestrians (over 60 years) are more likely to be transportation management actions include the implementation involved in fatal accidents than other age groups [3]. of one way streets, change of traffic signs, the redesign of the Parameters that significantly influence the severity of the pedestrian network, the relocation of parking areas and adaptation based on sustainable demand. Long term actions in pedestrian injuries are the: vehicle type; drivers’ on pedestrian alcohol involvement and age (over 65 years) [4]. The elderly are more vulnerable, higher speed limits lead to higher injury Athanasios Galanis is with the University of Thessaly, Department of Civil severity, accidents at signalized intersections are less severe Engineering, Pedion Areos 38334, Volos, GREECE (phone: +30-24210- 74174; fax: +30-24210-74119; e-mail: [email protected]) and darkness leads to higher injury severity [5]. There is also Nikolaos Eliou is with the University of Thessaly, Department of Civil an influence of personal and environmental characteristics on Engineering, Pedion Areos 38334, Volos, GREECE (corresponding author to pedestrian severity in pedestrian-vehicle crashes. The provide phone: +30-24210-74150; fax: +30-24210-74119; e-mail: [email protected]). environmental conditions should be examined more ISSN: 2308-1007 92 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of ENERGY and ENVIRONMENT Volume 8, 2014 thoroughly and be an important consideration when planning D. Transportation demand management urban areas [6]. The continuously growing demands of the transportation In USA, 4.378 pedestrians were fatally injured and 69.000 system relates on the raising cost for providing additional were severely or lightly injured in 2008 [7]. The most fatalities infrastructure, protecting the environment and minimizing took place in urban areas (72%), in sites outside intersections energy consumption. This demand has increased interest for (76%), during good weather condition (89%) and during the improving management and operations of the existing night (70%). Men were the most vulnerable group as their transportation systems. Transportation Demand Management contribution to the fatality rate was 70%. Examining the age (TDM) or Mobility Management is a general term for split, 18% of the fatalities were pedestrians above 65 years old strategies that result in more efficient use of transportation and 7% youth below 15 years old. The time of the day and the resources [17]. Transportation Demand Management (TDM) day of the week were also related to the pedestrian fatality rate. 38% of the pedestrian fatalities took place between 3pm represents a valid approach by embracing strategies designed and 7pm. About the half of the pedestrian fatalities took place to influence changes in travel behaviour by affecting modal during the weekend due to higher pedestrian traffic volumes, choice, frequency of trips, trip length, and route travelled usually noticed in this time period of the week. without calling for additional transportation infrastructure In Greece, 248 pedestrian were fatally injured in 2008 [8]. investment [18]. There are many strategies to achieve In EU-14, 3.683 pedestrians were fatally injured in road traffic transportation demand management which are divided into accidents in 2005 [9]. In Greece, 81% of pedestrian fatalities categories according to how they affect travel. The basic took place in urban areas. On the contrary, less pedestrian strategies are the following [17]: fatalities in urban areas were reported in Netherlands (72%) • Improved transport options and Sweden (63%). The greatest risk for pedestrians’ road • Incentives to use alternative modes and reduce safety was located in intersections, where pedestrians are driving forced to conflict with other road users. • Parking and land use management • Policy and institutional reforms C. Built environment features related to walking • TDM programs and program support There are major benefits from the promotion of walking • TDM planning and evaluation both in urban and regional revel. Pedestrians do not consume Some of the “improved transport options” are the following fuel to travel, pollute the air or create noise. In urban areas the [17]: choice to walk depends on many factors. Shay et al propose • Address security concerns: Strategies for improving two groups of factors that influence walking: ability and personal security motivation [10]. The “motivation” factors relate to personal or • Alternative work schedules: Flextime, compresses social characteristics. Only with the presence of the ability work week and staggered shifts factors can be the motivation factors operational in order to • Bus rapid transit: High quality bus service on busy promote walking among citizens. urban corridors The distance and the time that is necessary for a commuter • Bike/ transit integration: Ways to integrate bicycling to reach his destination are major factors in order to travel on and public transit foot [11]. Pedestrians travel slowly, resulting to a limited • Nonmotorized planning: Planning for walking and distance they can reach: 1-2 km. Issues more than road safety cycling and mobility, like personal image the value of time are usually • Nonmotorized facility management: Best practices the critical factors for a citizen’s choice to walk. Especially, for managing nonmotorized facilities such as highly paid workers cannot afford lose working time selecting walkways, sidewalks and paths • Park and ride: Providing convenient parking at transit to travel on foot or with public transport modes. and rideshare stations Personal safety is also a major factor for many citizens to • Public bike systems: Automated bicycle rental walk [12]. Especially women avoid walking during night time systems designed selecting another