TRAFFIC SAFEtY PLANNING FOR COMMUNItIES AND MUNICIPALItIES

Ramboll is a forerunner in creating comprehensive traffic safety plans at community and municipality.
The Finnish Traffic Safety Vision accepted by the Finnish Government states that nobody should die or get seriously injured in traffic. The Finnish Government set a goal in the national traffic safety plan that the number of fatalities could be maximum 250 people in 2010 and according to a long term goal maximum 100 people in 2025. Traffic safety goals in municipalities are based on governmental goals and reaching them is guided by plans for traffic safety and mobility management. Goals and proposals based on problem analysis Ramboll is a forerunner in creating comprehensive traffic safety plans at community and municipality and levels. Versatile information is gathered for traffic safety plan of the present status of traffic safety and the possible problems. An important part of the process is accident analysis for traffic accidents occurred in the planning area. These are examined with Rambolls LITU software based on geoinformation system. Mobility habits, detected problems and experienced state of traffic safety are investigated with inhabitant surveys. The survey also maps up points that are dangerous from traffic safety point of view and the most problematic are surveyed at site. Moreover the present traffic safety work in different organisations is evaluated through interviewing experts. The results of the rst phase of the work form basis for problem analysis. Based on the problem analysis quantitative and functional goals are set for traffic safety and mobility management. The goals are set in the governmental traffic safety vision for improving traffic safety. Additionally the focus areas of traffic safety work are dened. These are the starting points for developing the possibilities to improve traffic safety. The planning work usually targets the proposals for action to the following areas: developing of training, education and communication connecting of traffic safety to land use planning promoting of mobility management developing of traffic arrangements.

RAMBOLL fiNlaND oY

ADVANtAGES OF SYStEMAtIC tRAFFIC SAFEtY PLANNING 1. The actual problems in the present status of traffic safety are brought up, goals are set for the work and actions for reaching them are presented 2. The prerequisite for success in traffic safety work at the municipality level is organising of the work. 3. Follow up of the work becomes easier when the goals are set and meters dened 4. With the help of the action plan of traffic environment and action plans drafted for branches of administration for training, education and communication the traffic safety work will be made an activity that covers all branches of administration.

5. Systematic traffic safety planning also increases valuation of traffic safety and commitment of those included in the work.

Organising leads to a succesful traffic safety work Experience shows that a traffic safety group should be established in a community or municipality for setting targets for the traffic safety work in the municipality and for coordinating it and following it. During the planning work different branches of administration draft action plans to secure that all the road users have positive attitudes towards safety and sufficient knowledge of traffic regulations. Additionally annual themes for traffic safety work for the coming years are dened. The themes may be based e.g. on promoting of sustainable modes of transport and increasing of the traffic safety knowledge amongst school children. The plan suggests improvements to traffic network, which can be implemented either at long run or short run. The plan stresses actions during the next few years

that can be implemented sooner and with lower costs compared to actions in the long run. Cost effective short term actions are smaller traffic control, construction or maintenance actions whereas the long term actions are related to land use planning and road network. Most municipalities have drafted a traffic safety plan during the last few years so the focus in traffic safety work is more in follow up of set targets and updating of the plans. For the follow up work the plan includes dened meters, which tell about the development of the traffic safety situation. Towards systematic maintenance of traffic safety When drafting up of a traffic safety plan for a community or municipality the actual problems in the present status of traffic safety are brought up, goals are set for the work and actions for reaching them are presented.

It is then easy for different organisations to include traffic safety in their operations. Follow up of the work becomes easier when the goals are set and meters dened. In most cases it may be protable for different parties that the consultant who drafted the plan continues in the municipality or sub-region as traffic safety actor according to a separate agreement. Reference projects Ramboll has drafted several traffic safety plans for communities and municipalities in all areas of Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.

CoNtACt Hanna Reihe Ramboll Finland Oy Piispanmentie 5 FIN-02241 Espoo Tel. +358 20 755 6349 Gsm +358 40 736 5355 hanna.reihe@ramboll. Teemu Kinnunen Ramboll Finland Oy Kiviharjuntie 11, 90220 Oulu Tel. + 358 20 755 7079 Gsm +358 50 336 9689 teemu.kinnunen@ramboll.