Page 77 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

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

“The Home Zone concept was first developed in the late 1960s in the
Netherlands, where the term “Woonerf” is used – literally “living yard”. Streets
based upon the Home Zone idea are commonplace throughout the Netherlands,
Denmark and Germany. In these countries the concept has evolved further and is
now also applied to shopping centres and other mixed–use areas” (Chartered
Institution of Highways & Transportation). The idea of sharing one‟s home and
street with traffic resulted in the emergence of home zones, by making possible
children‟s activity in the streets, which were transformed into a kind of common free
available space for children to play in as well as for the improvement of the
environmental state of urban areas. “The 1998 Government White Paper on the Future of
Transport - entitled 'A New Deal for Transport: Better for everyone' - refers to Home Zones
as "a valuable tool in improving places where people live and children play" (Institue of
Highway Engineers UK). Apparently, local councils are responsible for facilitating public
discussions on applications for home zones. For instance, in Cavell Way in Sittingbourne,
Kent, in order to face the needs and approach of residents, 65 children have been
involved in public discussions by contributing their views on how they see their
local environment, concluding by generating their own model environment. The
event was organized by the Council and the local housing association, Moat Housing
Society (Department for Transport,2002). However, creating home zones is not
cheap, as the application of “conventional traffic calming is 10 times cheaper than
establishing home zones” (Slinn M., et al., 2005). In 1999, the government
announced that pilot areas will be tested with home zones in nine cities, where
pedestrians will be given new priority over motor vehicles in certain streets and
where children will be allowed to play outside on the streets (BBC News, 1999).
Besides Woonerf, there is also, the Winkelerf concept, which is mostly
used for shopping areas; however, both principles have to be approved via
consultation and obviously it takes time to complete this process.
8) Lorry control schemes
This method of traffic restriction is well-known due its application in 30
Boroughs in the London area. The main idea is to prevent the usage of vehicles
exceeding 18 tonnes in weight during normal working days and letting them in and
out at weekends; this rule also forces drivers to obtain permission before using city
roads (London Lorry Control, 2010).

Traffic calming measures in inner city residential areas
The main purpose of applying traffic calming measures is to reduce the rising
number of traffic accidents resulting in severe injuries. Therefore, before making a
decision to calm traffic in any given area, engineers should take statistics into account
when examining locations for the application of measures. One of the main reasons

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