Public attitudes and consultation in traffic calming schemes

This paper reports on a comparative study of the consultation processes used in traffic calming schemes in four British urban areas. The research used evidence from opinion surveys of local residents and interviews with council officers, councillors and community activists to draw conclusions about the relationship between the acceptability of traffic calming schemes to the public and the consultation process. The study did not conclude that any single method was 'best'. Rather, it concluded that 'success' in calming schemes depends, not only on objective empirical measures, but on the overwhelming support of the local community, which in turn depends upon the openness of the consultation process.