Urban main road capacity reduction: Adaptations, effects and consequences

Abstract

To support sustainable urban mobility strategies, reallocating road space from private vehicles to other uses may be a relevant intervention. Novel empirical knowledge could reduce barriers for implementing such interventions. A planned, 14-month capacity reduction of a main road tunnel in Oslo, Norway, carrying 70,000 vehicles a day, offered an excellent opportunity to document how commuters adapted, and what effects and consequences they experienced. Analyses of traffic data were combined with surveys and interviews with commuters. Congestion increased in the tunnel and on adjacent road-links, although road users adapted in ways resulting in significant traffic reduction through the tunnel. Some employees in an area near the tunnel experienced increased time-usage on their commute, and some adapted by changing transport mode, route, or trip-timing. However, results showed that they did not experience major negative consequences. Few commuters reported a need to shift routines in the household, and commuter satisfaction remained high.