Traffic Calming Measures as a Tool to Revitalise the Urban Environment: The Case of Serres, Greece

摘要

Urban areas have a primary role in the world today. Almost half of the worldwide population lives in cities, while more than 80% of the global GDP is generated in these areas. On the other hand, cities account for 80% of the energy production and over 67% of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In this framework, city centres are generally considered as the most critical areas in urban and transport planning, as they attract a significant share of trips, and in tandem with the complex traffic problems and challenges such as congestion, they face serious environmental issues. In an attempt to mitigate the problems mentioned above, planners promote the sustainable mobility measures and principles, including the green modes of transport and the implementation of traffic calming interventions. In this context, the current paper presents a "before and after" study focusing on the traffic calming interventions that were implemented in the centre of the city of Serres, Greece during the last years. To this end, a traffic simulation model (VISUM), as well as a Road Emissions Calculating Model (COPERT), were developed, while an analysis of traffic accidents was also conducted. Moreover, the acceptance of the interventions among the citizens was also assessed through a questionnaire survey. The results pointed out that the interventions in the centre of Serres have met with great success as the quality of the environment and life, in general, was improved significantly.