City Traffic

Traffic Engineering	Public Spaces	Parking Policy
Pedestrian areas	Traffic Calming	Traffic Impact Studies

Traffic Engineering

		It is not difficult to see clogged intersections as a result of growing traffic conditions

The effects of the lack of capacity of the intersection propagate easily upstream
This particular example corresponds to the main entry into the beach and marina of the city of Getxo, near Bilbao, Spain
We solved this particular problem by detouring some of the movements in conflict. Furthermore, new (and narrower) lanes were accommodated together with a new traffic regulation to avoid blocking the intersection. The main avenue traffic lights were coordinated for a progression speed of 30 mph

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Public Spaces

		By keeping with the same example in Getxo, we could not stop with the most obvious symptoms associated to traffic. Manual counts showed that the number of people coming on foot were similar to those approaching the beach by car. However, the spaces provided for each mode were not properly balanced.
The recommended scheme, adopted finally, called for widening of the sidewalks and provision for a new bike lane. Today one can witness of more vibrant place full of walkers, bikers and skaters

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Parking Policy

Isolated measures while important have to be part of an overall strategic vision of the accessibility of a town. Within this holistic approach, parking policy has to be an important element of the overall plan. The example shown here describes the pioneering parking scheme adopted in the two downtown areas of Getxo. The vision was to foster access by car to shops and services in these downtown areas, while discouraging parking for home-to-job trips - as the new subway provided a viable and high quality alternative.

The user keys in the car plate numbers or uses a prepaid smart card with that information. Maximum parking of up to 4 hours is allowed, although it is very expensive. On the other hand, parking for up to 30 minutes is very cheap, and from there up, parking costs increase non linearly. The system relies on a central computer to manage operations, avoiding meter feeding as it occurs in conventional systems. The customer using a smart card is reimbursed for the parking time not consumed and today has a very high probability of finding a parking spot.
		Actual field experience has confirmed the expected results regarding parking patterns. The plate numbers facilitate the estimation of average trip distances for local residents.

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