Analysis of the effectiveness of an Urban Vehicle Access Regulation: insights from a real case study

Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVARs) have been applied in many European cities to limit the negative externalities generated by vehicles circulating in urban areas. These measures include spatial, regulatory, and pricing interventions. Due to the complexity of urban transport dynamics, specific UVARs are often combined to maximize the achievement of the objectives for which they are enforced. Therefore, in order to evaluate their effectiveness, a comprehensive and multifaceted methodology needs to be developed. In this paper a holistic analysis framework is implemented and applied to a real case in the city of Padova (Italy), where a set of UVARs were enforced to limit through traffic, increase road safety and improve area liveability. A mobility questionnaire and an on-site traffic survey are carried out before and after the intervention to obtain both qualitative and quantitative information. These data are analyzed by applying statistical techniques. The results indicate that the set of enforced measures is effective in achieving its goals. Specifically, the intervention generated a decrease in perceived car accessibility, not confirmed by the quantitative analysis, and a reduced number of car through trips, thus contributing to an improvement in liveability of the area. As a consequence, perceived safety level of cycle trips among citizens increased, as well as the number of both pedestrians and cyclists. However, the growing presence of people led to a worsening of noise level and the intervention could potentially have generated additional traffic flows on the roads outside the area. The developed analysis framework can be easily applied to assess the effectiveness of similar UVARs in other cities, and it highlights the benefits from the use of a holistic approach to evaluate the complex effects of such measures.