Various traffic policies are
currently ratified: the memorandum on transport of goods (‘Goederenvervoer’), the memorandum on traffic control (‘Verkeersregeling’), the memorandum on bicycling (‘Fietsnota’) and the memorandum on parking (‘Parkeernota’).
The municipality is working on the Municipal Traffic and Transport Plan
(GVVP/ including public transport and road categorization).
Below you will find a brief
description of these policy plans.
The Municipal Traffic and Transport
Plan (GVVP) provides an overview of the total traffic and transport policy
for the municipality of Utrecht,
targeting the long term: 2010-2020. The
GVVP is an umbrella document, providing the context for the other more specific
policy memorandums. It is expected that
the final GVVP will be in place by the end of 2004.
The municipality’s aim with the
GVVP is:
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To reduce the problems expected after 2010 with respect
to traffic and transport;
-
To lay the groundwork for spatial-economic developments
in 2010-2020 (and beyond, to 2030) in such a way that the existing traffic and
transport system can remain functioning without the construction of much new
infrastructure;
-
To realize in actual practice the resulting ambitions
with respect to traffic and transport (after 2010).
The GVVP deals with the themes
accessibility, quality of life and safety, with an emphasis on the points of
tension between them. These tensions are
obvious: on the one hand, Utrecht
wishes to be a vital city that is attractive to live and work in, even after
2010; on the other hand, the goals set for both accessibility and quality of
life appear to be out of reach. Choices
will have to be made and goals formulated for each separate artery, based on a
consideration between quality of life and accessibility.
An additional aim of the GVVP is
a qualitatively high-grade network of public transport and bicycling.
The GVVP provides the framework
for public transport policy, in the short, the medium and the long term. It describes the necessity of a well
functioning public transport system in order to cope with the accessibility
problems of especially the city centre and other major districts. In addition, public transport also fulfils a
major social function by providing minimum accessibility to and from all the
different parts of the city. Public
transport must fulfil both functions.
This implies the existence of a) public transport with higher speeds,
more direct connections and longer
distances between stops (public transport that connects), and b) public
transport that stops in the close vicinity of destinations and departure points
(public transport that opens up) or door-to-door transport (regional cabs/Regiotaxi).
The legal outline for the
organization of public transport is the 2000 Passenger Transport Act (Wet Personenvervoer 2000).
This act is based on the concepts of decentralization, industrialization
and free market forces at work in public transport. The Utrecht Region Board (BRU), the authority
on public transport, is responsible for funding regional public transport (intracity and county buses, Express Trams and Utrecht
Regional Cabs). The BRU grants
concessions – increasingly on public contract – and with these concessions,
transport companies may offer public transport in a certain district for a
given period of time. In this procedure,
the GVU is privatised by the municipality.
Therefore, the GVU is no longer a municipal department, but an independent
organization that, by contract, is commissioned to offer public transport in
the city.
Road categorization in this
memorandum is based on the national policy for safe traffic. Sustainably Safe (Duurzaam Veilig) is based on
three basic principles for the road system: 1) functionality, 2) homogeneity,
and 3) predictability. Application of
these principles will lead, among other things, to road categorization: a
classification of the roads within the system into a limited number of
categories. In this way, we want to merge traffic streams so as to reach a
better utilization of the existing road system.
The Memorandum on Bicycling
outlines the importance of bicycles in the light of the developments taking
place in the municipality of Utrecht,
and formulate two goals: 1) provide direction for the bicycle policy for the next decade,
and 2) link Utrecht with the
bicycling networks in Leidsche Rijn
and Vleuten - De Meern.
On the basis of municipal
developments, such as the development of Leidsche Rijn, a description has also been made of the bicycle network desired in 2015. The presupposition here is that the position
of bicycles is fully equal to that of other modes of transport. To this end, it is necessary to realize a
high-quality bicycle network that connects all parts of the city with each
other and links up with the regional network.
The network desired for 2015 is a rough sketch; it will have to be
worked out in a later phase.
Adequate
bicycle parking facilities are also needed.
They prevent vandalism and theft, stimulate bicycle use, and contribute
to ordering public space. A complete
network of parking facilities is therefore desirable, at both arrival and
departure points.
Such a network of bike parking
facilities can include:
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Public unattended facilities: bicycle racks
-
Closed unattended facilities: so-called ‘bike boxes’
(compact, lockable booths or boxes large enough for several bikes, which can be
placed on a pavement or in a parking lot), neighbourhood parking facilities
-
Public attended facilities: e.g. near train stations
-
Closed attended facilities: e.g. near companies and
schools.
The Memorandum on Parking focuses for the period up
to 2005 to 2007 on intensifying directive parking policy so as to influence the
demand for parking space. Currently,
studies are being made of possible alternative parking license systems.
The goal of the parking policy is
to help create a vital city that combines quality of life and
accessibility. This is expressed in an
area-oriented approach that controls the total number of parking places
according to specific local circumstances / local parking capacity and
discourages seeker traffic.
Three tools will be used to reach
this goal:
-
Controlling the number of parking places
-
Relocating parking places
-
Adapting price and quality.
The maximum number of parking
places will be determined by way of parking standards (steering policy). The current parking standards are coupled to
the prevailing location policy (A, B, and C locations for companies).
In order to further reduce street
parking in the old city centre, parking garages will be built on the eastern
side of the city centre. To this end,
the Parking Company for the Municipality
of Utrecht (Parkeerbedrijf
Gemeente Utrecht, PGU) has been commissioned to
realize about 64 million euros (NLG 70 million) up to 2015.
As space gets scarcer, parking
rates will rise. In Utrecht,
rates will be based on the so-called ‘shell’.
The rates will be highest in the city centre, and slightly lower in the
first and second shells around the centre.
For persons concerned / licensees in the city centre, cost-price rates
will apply. However, this is not the
case in the shell, where an increase in rates is desired. In addition to the rate shells, a study has
started in a selected area within Utrecht
so that the municipality will be able to anticipate future parking
problems. Within this area, parking will
be monitored annually and on the basis of the results paid parking proposals
will be prioritised.
The Memorandum on Transport of
Goods in Utrecht (established in 2002) describes the necessity of focusing
on the problems related to transportation of goods. It is expected that between now and 2020 the
volume of goods transported in Utrecht
will have more than doubled. This will
have significant consequences for accessibility and environmental impact. However, transport of goods is of great
importance for the city’s economy.
Therefore, it is important to regulate flows of goods as well as
possible, while always balancing quality of life and accessibility. The policy for transport of goods will be
worked out along two lines. In the city
centre, acute problems exist: a) limited possibilities for transport of goods,
and b) traffic and general hindrance because of transport of goods. These problems require short-term
measures. To that end, the Supply Plan
Utrecht City Centre (Bevoorradingsplan Binnenstad Utrecht) has been drafted.
The extra value of a long-term approach lies in the possibilities for knowledge
development concerning the organizational aspects of goods transport,
consideration of other parts of the city and developments in the region, and
study of more sustainable systems for the transport of goods. A plan of approach will be drafted for
long-term policy development. This will
ultimately lead to a policy memorandum on the transport of goods in Utrecht.
The memorandum on The
Philosophy of Traffic Control of the Municipality of Utrecht describes the
municipality’s views on traffic control.
Based on road categorization (Sustainably
Safe), descriptions are made as to crossing infrastructures, potential
solutions for intersections, and potential use of traffic control
installations. Also, a set of criteria
is described for the placement of traffic lights, while preconditions for the
design are outlined once it has been decided that a control installation will
be placed. The memorandum was passed on
the administrative level in December 2001.
The priority for road-users on
intersections controlled by traffic lights and crossings is as follows:
1. Tram
2. Connecting public transport (urban and regional)
3. Motorized traffic on A roads designed to
open up specific areas
4. Cyclists on main cycle routes
5. Public transport designed to open up specific areas
6. Motorized traffic on B roads designed to open up specific areas
7. Other cyclists and pedestrians
8. Motorized traffic on C roads designed to open up specific areas
9. Traffic on private roads
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