Monitoring of the traffic parameters in the city area
Up to 2001, there was no
periodic traffic monitoring in Utrecht. In 2001, the Traffic research group of the
Town Development Division (Dienst Stadsontwikkeling/
DSO) put forward a plan aimed at facilitating periodic traffic monitoring. This plan was accepted in March 2002 and now
a monitor report is published yearly: the Traffic Policy Monitor.
The purpose of the Traffic Policy
Monitor is to collect traffic data that is needed for establishing, assessing
and re-adjusting the traffic policy of the Municipality of Utrecht. The section responsible for this is the DSO -
Traffic Research Group. This is the
section that is responsible for developing and assessing Utrecht’s
traffic policy, since this section has substantive traffic knowledge. From 2002, the same data is collected
annually in the city of Utrecht so that
ultimately developments and trends become visible. Apart from the PRIS (Parking Route
Information System), which keeps track of the number of occupied parking places
in car parks and supplies this information, Utrecht has not
(yet) got a system that keeps track of the actual traffic situation.
When the Traffic Policy Monitor
was drafted, the ‘Measuring = Knowing’ system was assumed. This system distinguishes between the various
stages of the policy process: how many
means are used (input), what has been done to reach this (measures/output), and
what has been reached (effects). For the
time being, the Traffic Policy Monitor will focus on the measures (for example,
number of parking places and volume of bicycle facilities) and the effects of
the traffic policy (for example, the number of parking places and the degree to
which they are utilised).
As far as possible, this data is
obtained from existing sources, but new measurements are also taken. In both cases, the reliability of the data is
considered in advance, so that sufficient measurements can be taken to ensure
reliability.
From the following existing sources the following data is
collected:
§
From the annual Mobility Behaviour Research (nationwide inquiries). We receive data for the entire city and per
district, with respect to at least the selection of means of transport (modal split); travel times, the motives for the
movements, automobile possession, car availability, the possession of bicycles
and the possession of mopeds.
§
From the biennial NUP inquiry among the inhabitants of Utrecht. This inquiry, made by the Administrative
Information Section, collects information on how satisfied the inhabitants are
with various aspects including traffic.
§
From the road control system of the Urban Management Department. Each district is remapped each year, which
provides the following data:
-
Quantity of surface per
sub-district and for the entire city: 1) bicycle paths and bicycle lanes, 2)
automobile infrastructure, 3) parking infrastructure, 4) bus lanes, and 5)
footpaths.
-
Per sub-district and for the
entire city: length of bicycle paths and bicycle lanes, length of automobile
infrastructure, length of the street parking places, length of bus lanes and
length of foot paths.
§
From the various timetables of urban and regional
bus carriers (GVU and Connexion): figures about frequencies, schedules,
exploitation period, and number of seat kilometres.
§
Accident rates, with up-to-date figures each year.
§
Per district and for the entire city: the number of complaints about
traffic and transport, subdivided into different subjects.
§
Parking figures (such as number of parking places, capacity utilization
of the car parks, number of storage places for bicycles, accessibility hours,
loading and unloading locations).
In addition to the above, the following new measurements
are performed:
§
Automobile intensity measurements: data indicating how much traffic
enters and leaves the city of Utrecht, how much traffic enters and leaves the
individual areas of 'centre’, ‘Jaarbeurs’ and
‘Station’, and how much traffic uses the urban ring road, divided into heavy
and light cargo trade, passenger cars, motorcycles (annual counts
(observations) from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm).
§
Intensity measurements of cyclists at a number of locations along the
main bicycling routes (annual counts from 7:00 am to 7:00
pm).
§
Distance rates/travelling times for automobiles: on 25 routes the
travelling times of automobiles will be measured; inwards from the edge of the
existing city (from the ‘ring’ around Utrecht to the ‘ring’ around the centre),
outwards towards Leidsche Rijn
(from the edge of a number of traffic sources up to the motorway approach
roads) (annual counts (observations) from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm).
§
Measurement of waiting times for cyclists (for trajectory
rates/travelling times): on a number of routes, the waiting times for cyclists
will be measured towards the city at the delay points. Measurements will also be performed as to the
duration of travel times between the delay points and the number of red light
negations per point (each year new counts (observations) from 7:00
am
to 7:00 pm).
§
Travel times for buses: measurements will be performed as to how long
buses are on their way from particular points on the outskirts of Utrecht, or from the points of
departure of cross-town bus routes, to the Central Station. The deviations from the timetable at these
locations and the occupancy rates of the buses will also be considered (each
year new counts (observations) from 7:00 am to 7:00
pm).
Between the autumn of 2002 and the spring of 2003, all
this data was collected for the first time.
In the spring of 2003 and 2004, the data was published in a simple
public booklet. The data was also
presented to the local council and the press.
The measurements will be repeated in the following years so that in a
few years the general developments will become visible.
Travelling habit surveys
The Policy Monitor does not formally include travel
behaviour studies, but it does refer to the results of two external survey
results:
§
The Study of Mobility Behaviour (Onderzoek VerplaatsingsGedrag,
OVG).
The OVG, an annual nationwide study, is large enough (about 140,000 respondents
per year, i.e. about 1 in every 100 people completing a questionnaire) to be
considered indicative of the mobility in Utrecht on a
district level. The study provides
information about the movements per district: travel times, preferred modes of
transport, distances travelled and travel motives. It also provides information about automobile
possession, automobile availability, possession of bicycles, and the possession
of mopeds.
§
The New Utrecht Level (NUP) inquiry.
This inquiry among people living in Utrecht is held
every two years and is large enough to be considered indicative on a district
or subdistrict level (about 5,000 respondents). The inquiry produces the opinions of
inhabitants with respect to various traffic aspects: satisfaction with public
transport, parking facilities, traffic safety, automobile accessibility, the
frequency of bike and car theft, the frequency of cars being damaged, the frequency
of noise nuisance by traffic, the frequency of aggressive traffic behaviour,
and the frequency of odour nuisance by traffic.
The results of these two surveys
are incorporated in the annual publication of the Traffic Policy Monitor.
Studies of real world driving
cycles
In 2002 Utrecht
performed a pilot with floating car data.
To this end, a number of cars were driven around with a GPS system. The purpose was to track the travelling times
at different trajectories, but also to pinpoint the bottlenecks in the various
trajectories, and the locations where automobiles have to wait.
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