Can road closure schemes really make traffic ‘disappear’? – Steve Melia – transportxtra
All around Britain – and in many other countries – transport authorities have been closing roads to general traffic, pedestrianising in some cases and filtering in others. These experiments have proved controversial. Claims and counter-claims have been flying across mainstream and anti-social media. What happens to the traffic when you close or filter a road? Does it just squeeze onto the surrounding roads, worsening congestion and pollution, or does it ‘disappear’, and if so, what happens to the people who used to drive there?
Steve Melia is a senior lecturer in transport and planning at the University of the West of England. Hs book, Roads Runways and Resistance – from the Newbury Bypass to Extinction Rebellion, is published by Pluto Press. Melia, S. and Calvert, T. (2021) Does Traffic Disappear When Roads Are Closed? is available on: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7520712
