Notts zone and collar is failure
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AN EXPERIMENTAL scheme to control traffic in Nottingham by the zone-and-collar method was not successful, said Mr. F. P. Groves, general manager, City of Nottingham Transport, but it was designed to avoid action which could not now be contemplated — construction of a multi-million pound urban motorway system. Moreover, it had become obvious that the local community was not prepared to finance a traffic restraint policy necessitating enhanced peak public transport services, he told the loTA.
In brief, the scheme involved establishing zones from which access to the main roads leading into the city was strictly limited. Also traffic light systems on these roads were designed to contain motor car traffic and regulated the flow of these vehicles cityward to a point where the occupants left their cars for a park and ride system of public transport.
Allied to this was a series of bus lanes which would allow public transport vehicles to by-pass the queues of waiting cars giving a quicker journey time to the city and thus encouraging commuters and shopper to use the park and ride system.
It was found, however, that the "collar" did not contain long queues of cars bypassed by rapidly moving buses. Imposed delays at zone exit points had not produced absolutely free flow conditions on the main road network and the park and ride buses and car parks had much spare capacity. The extra buses provided at peak periods invariably had vacant seats.
The delays imposed were insufficient to encourage large numbers of motorists to change their mode or time of travel at peak periods.
However, the scheme had been of benefit in improving conditions for bus passengers, said Mr Groves, and had potential for regulating traffic flows.
The park and ride service was withdrawn in July and experiments are being conducted with "no car'' lanes. It appeared that the principal beneficiary of this had been the lorry driver, he said.
The most dramatic improvement in bus operation had been the Central Core scheme.
Traffic congestion in the central city area had meant bus services there losing 15 to 20 per cent of scheduled journeys each day. Since the traffic scheme was introduced in the area in 1973, it had been rare to lose even as much as one per cent of the scheduled mileage.
There had been satisfying effects on time keeping of other services entering the central core. Services which had records of 20-25 minutes late running in the evening peak now achieved prompt departures from the city. For every three scheduled miles not operated because of traffic congestion up to the introduction of the scheme, only one mile was lost for the same reason afterwards.
Passengers carried on the ordinary bus services began to increase in June 1973 because of the improved reliability and continued to increase till January 1975 when the first major fares increase since October 1971 was imposed.