Citation

No Author(s) Listed. World Transp. Policy Pract. 2016; 22(1/2): 47-55.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Eco-Logica)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article presents a summary of European Union EVIDENCE Project Measure Number 5, which addresses road space re-allocation. The EVIDENCE project identified and assessed existing evidence for economic benefits arising from sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMP), focusing on project appraisal methods. In addition to economic benefits, the measures will often also have benefits in social or environmental domains. This measure covers public transport lanes, high occupancy vehicle (HOV) or high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, cycle lanes, and carriageway narrowing (including reallocation to walking and cycling). Key messages include: schemes in which general traffic lanes are re-allocated to alternative uses can be expected to reduce traffic volumes, improve journey times for the modes given additional priority (e.g. bicycles or buses), increase the use of non-car modes, and reduce casualty numbers; little credible evidence was identified on the monetized costs and benefits of road space re-allocation schemes; journey times for general traffic (cars, vans etc.) may increase, although in some cases road space reallocation has not led to the anticipated increases in congestion; and modelling exercises of road space reallocation under different scenarios indicate that benefit-cost ratios for road space re-allocation schemes are likely to be positive in cases where the benefits of increased person throughput or modal shift outweigh the dis-benefits of delays to general traffic.

© 2016 World Transport Policy & Practice Journal

Language: en

Keywords

Benefit cost analysis; Public transit; Travel time; Sustainable development; Traffic lanes; Economic development; Bus lanes; High occupancy vehicle lanes; Resource allocation