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Home Zones Guidance Consultation

7 Monitoring

Monitoring programme

7.1 The monitoring programme will vary according to the nature and size of the Home Zone and the kinds of measures that have been used. Monitoring needs should be considered during the design of the scheme so that appropriate baseline data can be collected prior to its implementation. Discussions with the local community, other local authority departments and local agencies may highlight effects that were not previously anticipated which should be included in the monitoring framework.

7.2 Monitoring may include the following measures.

Traffic flows

7.3 Surveys of traffic flows will determine whether the number or type of vehicles using the Home Zone has changed. Data collection should allow analysis of peak as well as total flows. The survey of traffic flows can be undertaken manually or using automatic traffic counters. The latter will provide a more comprehensive picture since data can be collected for 24 hours a day over seven days. The location of traffic flow survey points should aim to build a picture of the flows in, around and out of the Home Zone.

Speeds

7.4 Automatic traffic counters can also collect data on vehicle speeds. While this can provide a detailed picture of vehicle speeds over an extended period, it may be appropriate to supplement this with use of a concealed radar gun. This can be used to focus in on any local variations within the Home Zone area and can be very helpful in examining the effectiveness of particular features once the scheme has been implemented.

Parking

7.5 Since Home Zones schemes may influence the amount and location of on-street parking, monitoring should, at the very least, compare the situations 'before' and 'after' scheme implementation and set these in the context of relevant parking standards and car ownership levels for the area in question.

7.6 In locations where demand for parking exceeds the available supply, more detailed survey work may be required. This may include:

• manual counts of the locations and numbers of parked cars at specific times;
• analysis of automatic traffic counter data; and
• registration plate surveys.

7.7 These surveys should extend into areas around the Home Zone where it is considered possible that parking demand will be transferred as a result of the scheme's implementation.

7.8 Additional attitudinal data may be derived from questionnaire surveys of residents and drivers (see below).

Accidents

7.9 Given the statistical variability of accident data, and the likelihood that accidents will occur infrequently within the confines of the Home Zone area, a minimum of three years of data is frequently required to provide reliable indications of trends.

7.10 Published data should be supplemented by perceptions of safety gauged via a survey of residents (see below).

Highway inventory

7.11 It is important to quantify the changes in the residential and traffic environment, so that the changes brought about by the development of the Home Zone can be clearly established.

7.12 The inventory should include road and footway widths (where appropriate); the number and type of junctions; any pedestrian crossing facilities; speed limiting features; car parking provision; and the location and nature of any features such as schools, churches, community facilities and bus stops. It should also include the local road, public transport, cycle
and pedestrian networks.

Environmental data

7.13 Where air quality or noise levels are a current issue, or where implementation of the Home Zone scheme raises new concerns, it may be appropriate to undertake environmental monitoring. This is most likely to be the case where the Home Zone is in a high density area (for example an area of tenements) or where measures appear likely to result in braking and acceleration. Consideration of noise should extend beyond traffic noise, addressing, for example, any residents' concerns about noise from play areas.

Air quality

7.14 Air quality can be measured in a variety of different ways. One option is to predict emissions associated with given vehicle flows using a standard methodology such as that set out in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. Such an approach is likely to be inappropriate given the low traffic flows in residential areas, the variety of different microclimatic conditions and the presence or absence of other sources of air pollution (e.g. nearby main roads).

7.15 As a result it is likely to be more appropriate to measure air quality by recording nitrogen oxide levels within the Home Zone. Nitrogen oxide is considered to be the most appropriate measure for this kind of study and provides a useful proxy for other types of pollutant. Diffusion tubes should be deployed at representative locations within the Home Zone. In order to overcome variations in concentrations caused by climatic variation (particularly winds) the diffusion tubes should be left in place for a six-month period, being collected for analysis on a monthly basis. Use of a control location (perhaps in a neighbouring street) will add further rigour to the study.

Noise

7.16 Noise and complaints about it are a matter of increasing concern in relation to residential areas. Road traffic noise is often a significant component in this. Traffic speed affects levels of tyre-road noise and engine generated noise, but there is also increasing concern with the 'entertainment' noise which is generated by road traffic (i.e. from car stereos). Exposure to this may increase as speeds reduce.

7.17 Below certain speeds, road traffic noise does not further reduce as traffic speeds fall. At these kinds of speeds the effects of flows are very different from those normally taken into account in traffic noise predictions (e.g. CRTN 88). Equally the effects of junctions and traffic controls can be to generate higher levels of noise from revving engines, brake noise and deceleration (engine braking).

7.18 The monitoring of 'before' and 'after' conditions should therefore examine the impact of vehicle movements in terms of numbers, speed, road surfaces on typical road traffic indicators (measurements of L₁₀, etc.) and a wider range of environmental noise measures ( L₉₀, L_Aeq). Surveys should be geared to measuring long-term and transient effects so that the existing and changed environment can be adequately described and assessed in terms of impact on local inhabitants.

7.19 Surveys should therefore obtain statistical parameters and descriptors as well as records of level-versus-time for key locations in the study area. These should be compared with the results of 'after' studies and any relevant findings from the residents' survey.

On-street activity

7.20 Home Zones should change the way in which streets are used. Monitoring should include measures designed to quantify such changes. One cost-effective way of reviewing street activity is to film the street. Local police and community representatives should be consulted in the use and location of video equipment.

7.21 Video surveys provide a means of measuring the quantity and type of street activity in the 'before' and 'after' Home Zone situations. Each street is filmed for three, two hour periods (morning, midday and early evening). Viewpoints should be chosen to provide a reasonably representative view of the Home Zone in question. Street activity should be classified according to the number and age of people involved.

Residents' surveys

7.22 The views and opinions of local people are likely to be a key measure of a Home Zone's success. Residents' surveys should be carried out before and after scheme implementation. Surveys should be tailored to the characteristics of each scheme and the local population but should cover:

• travel behaviour;
• use of the street;
• where children are allowed to play;
• supervision of children's activities;
• views on local traffic issues (speed, noise, danger, pollution);
• parking issues;
• social networks _ neighbourliness;
• length of residence;
• why the area is, or is not, a good place to live;
• involvement in and effectiveness of consultation process before, during and after Home Zone implementation;
• a section designed for children, including a simple travel diary with a map of the street in which they can record their journeys and activities within the street over one or two days; and
• perceived changes resulting from Home Zone implementation.

7.23 For 'new build' schemes, surveys should focus on incoming residents. They should aim to determine the extent to which the Home Zone was a factor in residents' decision to move into the development and the extent to which it has influenced their quality of life, travel patterns, use of outdoor space, etc.

Survey of driver attitudes

7.24 Where there are particular traffic or parking pressures, it may be appropriate to consider driver attitudes. It is sensible to keep this separate from the residents' survey since this will capture the views of non-resident drivers and is more likely to focus on people's views as drivers rather than as residents, parents, etc.

7.25 It is unlikely that a formal traffic census involving the police will be either appropriate or cost-effective given the small number of vehicles involved. An alternative is to use roving surveyors to interview drivers as they get in or out of their vehicles, though this will not include through traffic. The survey should include questions such as:

• quantity of existing parking provision;
• quality of existing parking provision;
• traffic levels and speeds within the street;
• attitudes towards pedestrians and cyclists, particularly children;
• aspirations; and
• age, sex, family status, reason for parking within the street.

Streetscape analysis

7.26 Changes to the physical environment of Home Zones aim to stimulate changes in the way the street is used. The main objectives of the street design will be to reduce the dominance of car users and increase the use of the street by pedestrians. It is important not to consider design modifications in isolation since streets are complex in their physical structure, and use. This part of the monitoring should cover three related issues:

• evaluate the streetscape as a whole, to check whether the modifications integrate successfully with all the functions of a street;
• evaluate each landscape feature against criteria that include functionality, durability, and role in affecting changes in user behaviour; and
• evaluate the construction process; the phasing of the work, and the maintenance requirements of the work.

Community involvement

7.27 This guidance has emphasised the importance of involving the local community throughout the design and implementation of Home Zone schemes. Monitoring the process of community participation will help ensure that local people are involved effectively and at the right points in the process. When the scheme is complete a further round of consultation can explore community satisfaction with the Home Zone and any lessons that can be learned about the process of planning and implementation.

Socio-economic monitoring

7.28 It is possible that Home Zones will have an effect on the socio-economic make-up of an area. There is already some evidence that Home Zones can enhance residential property values. It may therefore be appropriate to undertake a limited amount of socio-economic monitoring so that any changes can be identified. Ideally this will include analysis of a 'control' area so that changes flowing from the Home Zone can be separated from more general trends. Relevant information, which may be derived from the residents' survey or from published sources such as the census, may include:

• age profile;
• household size;
• employment and income levels;
• car ownership;
• health; and
• property prices/turnover rates.

7.29 Many of these changes will occur over an extended timescale.

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