Page 75 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.73, # 2, 2016, pp. 73-82

sufficient road capacity to guarantee reasonably free movement, and control systems
which would manage the resulting traffic at acceptable standards of safety and impact.”
It is obvious that traffic growth causes environmental damage in terms of
emitted gases and land given over to road construction. Therefore, this directly
affects the public mood as well; for example, historically we have seen public
demonstrations against the construction of motorways which required the demolition
of houses and the cutting of green space. (Button and Hensher, 2001)

What is traffic calming?
Traffic calming “emerged in Europe in the 1960s from a number of sources;

for example, the Dutch Woonerf or 'Living Yard' created streets that had one shared
surface with much planting of vegetation to slow speeding traffic through inner city streets”
(Jeff Kenworthy, 2000), while the original pedestrianisation schemes were developed in
cities such as central Copenhagen (ITE, 1997).
“Traffic calming is a term used to refer to a collection of mainly engineering
techniques which alter the character or appearance of the highway and have the
effect of reducing the speed of motor vehicles” (Headicar P., 2009). Its design
strategies aim at reducing the negative impact of vehicles on the environment and
preventing accidents as well as providing safe free movement for pedestrians.
Usually, before taking the calming measures, planners take into consideration
speed and flow of vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and residents, as well as accident
levels and special features in the area (Slinn M., et al., 2005). Meanwhile,
consultation also should be conducted with local residents so that engineers and
planners can gain their support for the changes to be carried out in a specific area. In
the UK, of course, City Councils are responsible for any kind of changes in traffic
calming and, therefore, all consultation events and sessions are announced on
websites inviting people either to attend public discussions or to have their say by
using the feedback forms.

Traffic calming can be divided into eight main dimensions:
1) Legislation and enforcement
It is well-known that there are speed limits for driving on the roads, defined by
legislation; however, not all drivers always obey these rules. Therefore, the tools of
legislation and enforcement are applied; for example, video cameras can detect a car‟s
speed and pass it on to the general system of legal enforcement bodies for taking
measures against breaches of the law (Kettering Borough Council, 2010); (David
Williams, 2008).
2) Surface treatment and signing

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