A COMPARISON OF FOUR TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Travel demand management is a priority in many cities, but especially needed in historic towns which have greater pressures for environmental enhancement. This paper presents a study, conceived in 1996, which examined four different traffic management methods: parking controls, road pricing, physical restriction of road space, and permits to restrict access. It focused on the English cities of Cambridge, Norwich, and York. The project's objectives were to: (1) predict travel responses to, and traffic impacts of, the methods; (2) assess the perceived and predicted effects of these impacts on the urban economy; (3) study public attitudes to the methods and their predictive effects; and (4) provide guidance on the potential for applying the methods, and the future development and implementation of their enabling technologies. Conventional stated preference surveys were used to assess the traffic and environmental impacts, and 2500 questionnaires were handed out to morning peak parkers, with a 17% return. The business attitude survey focused on perceptions of current problems, current intentions to relocate, and expected impacts of and reactions to demand management measures. All three rounds of public attitude surveys covered perceived problems, attitudes to the strategies, and prediction of attitudes. The paper outlines some conclusions and policy implications.