Traffic restraint and urban decay

Provincial towns and cities often have acute congestion problems in the central areas, or on the approaches to the central areas, coupled with urban decay. While traffic restraint, principally in the form of parking fees and restrictions, has long been practised, there is growing concern that this may be aggravating the problem of urban decay. This paper reports on a recent study of a cordon access control policy for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The twin objectives of this policy are to remove from the centre through traffic and traffic in search of parking (the “stick”) while granting free access to traffic associated with city centre businesses and traffic with pre-booked public parking spaces (the “carrot”). The study focuses on the effects of the proposed policy on traffic flows and the consequences for the environment. The paper contrasts the proposed policy for Newcastle with the toll ring approach adapted in Trondheim and draws some general conclusions