Publisher's Synopsis
Traffic congestion is a serious and chronic problem in all western cities. The unrestricted use of private motor cars which clog roadways and use vast tracts of valuable urban land for parking space is the principle cause, and the problem is greatly compounded by the car's malign environmental and safety effects. Urban planners now realize that if cities are to function adequately they need to exclude or control strictly personal car use and encourage the "green transport modes" - walking and cycling.;This collection of essays presents the argument for the necessity of green modes in modern city transport and illustrates how they can be incorporated into integrated transport plans. The first section addresses the principles of green transport planning and outlines the environmental, social and economic issues. The policy obstacles to implementing green modes are analyzed and compared, and the concepts of environmental traffic management are developed, particularly in relation to road safety. The second section illustrates the practice of environmentally-aware transport planning with examples of successful traffic restraint and exclusion in a variety of urban settings and policy environments. The book concludes with a review of present achievements and future priorities.