Measure Fields

ReVeAL looks at three main mechanisms to implement UVAR – the so-called “Measure Fields”:

Spatial interventions

Access regulations based on area planning and design, and physical interventions in the public realm.

The different building blocks in this measure field are the aspects that can be added together to get a full UVAR scheme. These are:

School street – car-free school area (London, UK)
Cycling streets (Ghent, Belgium)
Traffic filer – roadblock (Barcelona, Spain)
Removing parking spaces – parklet (Paris, France)
Cycle lane – redistribution of road space (Oslo, Norway)
Pedestrian street – mixed use cycling-pedestrians (Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Bus/tram priority lane (Freiburg, Germany)
Woonerf (Sibiu, Romania)

Examples

Barcelona has freed up public space to manage traffic and promote active travel modes – it did so by limiting motorized vehicle access using a combination of various building blocks grouped into one superblock.

Ghent has limited through traffic and increased accessibility with sustainable transport modes by reducing the number of motorized vehicles in the historic city centre. The circulation plan divides the city in sectors and car-free areas to increase its liveability.

Mechelen‘s entire city centre has been converted into a cycle zone consisting of 179 cycling streets where cyclists have priority and motorized vehicles are considered “public space’s guests” and can only drive at a reduced speed.

Pricing aspects

Financial charging for accessing specific areas.

Congestion charge – applied to a perimeter or an area (Milan, Italy)
Congestion charge – applied to specific points (Oslo, Norway)
Congestion charge – distance-based charge (Singapore)
Pollution charge – applied to a perimeter or an area (London, UK)
Parking charge – dynamic price (real time) (San Francisco, USA)
Parking charge – emission-based charge (Madrid, Spain)
Traffic flow management – time-based charge (Valletta, Malta

The congestion charge in Milan applies to the city centre (Cerchia dei Bastioni area) replacing the former pollution charge. It works 07:30-19:30, Monday to Friday, excluding public and bank holidays. If a vehicle enters the charging zone during these times, it needs to pay the congestion charge. Exemptions are foreseen for low pollutant vehicles. Moreover, the system has been recently flanked by a LEZ covering the urban area.

London combines the application of pollution charging mechanisms on two different scales. An Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, within the area of central London. Most vehicles, including cars and vans, need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or their drivers must pay a daily charge to drive within the zone. At the same time, a LEZ covers most of Greater London and is in operation 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Vehicles that do not meet LEZ standards need to pay an entry fee. The two systems are additional to a congestion charging scheme, which is in place in central London.

Regulatory measures

Areas where only vehicles emitting zero emissions are permitted.

A Zero-emission Zone (ZEZ) is an area where only vehicles emitting zero emissions are permitted. This might be by removing vehicles, or by removing the emitting engine from the vehicle and allowing only zero-emission vehicles entry – alternatively, it could be a combination of both.

This measure field also covers Low-emission Zones and Traffic Limited Zones, which can work towards similar goals with similar tools, and sometimes as a phasing.

The different building blocks in this measure field are the aspects that can be added together to get a full UVAR scheme. These are:

Regulations by emissions (Brussels, Belgium)
Regulations by vehicle type and dimension – vehicle type (Paris, France)
Regulations by vehicle type and dimension – HDV/LDV (Utrecht, The Netherlands)
Regulations by trip purpose – delivery (Strasbourg, France)
Scheme timescale – night-time regulations (Stockholm, Sweden)
Scheme timescale – time window (Madrid, Spain)
Regulations by permit – permit to travel (Siena, Italy)
Regulations by permit – permit (planning) (London, UK)

Examples

La Rochelle regulates deliveries with a time window to ensure pedestrian areas can receive deliveries. In similar cases, additional requirements can be added to make it increasingly difficult for non-EV/non-sustainable vehicles to access the UVAR zone.

Bologna allows access to its LTZ through the purchase of three permits and limited exemptions. In addition, emissions standards have been applied and have been strengthened over time towards a ZEZ and a reduction of residents permits.

Amsterdam has had a camera-enforced LEZ for lorries since 2008. As of now, it is working on a phased tightening to a ZEZ by 2030.