Rob Methorst

Delft University of Technology, Tbm, Emeritus

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Address: voorschoten, netherlands

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Papers by Rob Methorst

The Project "Living with Traffic in Winschoten"; Active Public Participation

Verkeerskunde, Oct 1, 1979

In the June-issue of Verkeerskunde the framework of the project concerned with living with traffi... more In the June-issue of Verkeerskunde the framework of the project concerned with living with traffic in the provincial town of Winschoten was described (IRRD abstract no 241885). In this issue the public participation process is discussed in detail. The formation of working parties, the way their members were guided through the procedures, some results and effects and the feed-back to the general public are described. Schools were also taking part and this process is also discussed. An extensive set of conclusions is given. (TRRL)

A Local Traffic Safety Program in Two Hundred Hours

The national action "minus 25%" whose objective is to decrease the number of traffic ac... more The national action "minus 25%" whose objective is to decrease the number of traffic accident victims by 25% in the year 2000, has been a stimulus for local authorities to create a traffic safety plan. In such a plan attention should not only be paid to the traffic infrastructure, but also to regulation and enforcement, education, publicity and organization. The regional organization of traffic safety in the province of drenthe has developed an easy, step by step approach in which use is made of forms, to make it easier for local authorities to set up such a local traffic safety plan. In this paper the manual for such an approach is presented and discussed. (TRRL)

Anforderungen an das Verkehrssystem fuer Aeltere im Jahr 2040

In den naechsten 20 Jahren wird sich die Gesellschaft infolge der alternden Bevoelkerung grundleg... more In den naechsten 20 Jahren wird sich die Gesellschaft infolge der alternden Bevoelkerung grundlegend aendern. Im Jahr 2001 wurde in einer OECD-Studie die Verkehrssituation aelterer Menschen untersucht. Die demografischen Veraenderungen beeinflussen die Mobilitaetsbeduerfnisse, das Verkehrsverhalten und die Verkehrssicherheit. Es stellen sich neue Anforderungen an staatliche Verwaltung, Landnutzung, Transport und Verkehr. Der vorliegende Vortrag beschreibt die gegenwaertige Situation in den Niederlanden unter Beruecksichtigung der OECD-Empfehlungen. Vorhandene Prognosestudien werden zur Bewertung der Entwicklung in Hinblick auf aeltere Menschen herangezogen. Prognosestudien sind ein grobes Werkzeug, um auf strategischer Ebene zukuenftige Erfordernisse zu erkennen. Sie liefern aber nicht die Information, die fuer die Entwicklung von effektiven und effizienten Plaenen fuer eine bessere Zukunft notwendig sind. Um diese Luecke zu fuellen, wurde mit Hilfe der Systemtheorie die Zukunft der alten Menschen im Verkehr bewertet und die erforderlichen Anhaltspunkte fuer Massnahmen wurden auf diese Weise identifiziert. Die Studien beinhalten das soziale Umfeld, die Transportmittel, die Verkehrsinfrastruktur und den aelteren Strassenbenuetzer. Es wird erwartet, dass die Situation fuer aeltere Fussgaenger und Radfahrer in Zukunft problematischer sein wird als fuer Autofahrer, weshalb sich die Ueberlegungen auf Fussgaenger und Radfahrer konzentrieren. Der Vortrag schliesst mit Ueberlegungen spezifischer Infrastrukturerfordernisse aelterer Menschen. Infrastruktur kann nicht ohne Beruecksichtigung von Landnutzung, des sozialen Kontextes und der Transportorganisation betrachtet werden. Zur Gesamtaufnahme siehe ITRD D361776. (KfV/A) ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: In the next 20 years, due to the ageing of the population, the world will change fundamentally. In 2001 the OECD identified important issues regarding safe mobility of the elderly. The demographic changes influence mobility needs, travel behaviour and traffic safety. Governmental management practises, land use and transport and traffic facilities will have to meet quite different requirements. It will be sensible to work in that direction. Because of the extent of the changes it is urgent that action be taken now. In the paper the current situation in the Netherlands with regard to the OECD recommendations is described. Following that expected developments with regard to the elderly in transport are assessed, using the results of forecasting studies. Forecasting studies are crude tools to give some insight in future issues on the strategic level. They do not provide the information needed for developing effective and efficient plans for a better future. To fill this gap a systems theory was applied to assess the far future of elderly in traffic and to identify clues for policy measures. The study includes: (i) social environment - external steering; (ii) transportation system; (iii) physical environment and (iv) (elderly) road user. It is to be expected that the future situation for elderly pedestrians and cyclists will be more problematic than for car users. Therefore the deliberations focussed on pedestrians and cyclist. The paper is concluded with considerations for developing infrastructure requirement specifications regarding the elderly and a first draft of a infrastructure requirement listing. It must be stressed that infrastructure requirements cannot be set without reference to land use and without relating them to usage, the societal context and the organisation of the transportation. (A)

The Project "Living with Traffic in Winschoten

Verkeerskunde, Jun 1, 1979

In a provincial town in the north of the Netherlands a project was started to improve the accepta... more In a provincial town in the north of the Netherlands a project was started to improve the acceptability of traffic by means of relatively inexpensive measures. Basic items in the study are traffic safety, mobility and secondary effects of traffic. Both objective and subjective safety are taken into account. In phase I of the project a set of objectives and alternative plans is developed; finally one alternative is chosen and approved by the city council. Phase II concerns the implementation of the chosen alternative, while phase III consists of the evaluation process. Public participation is an essential part of the process and it appears to be very successful in this stage of the project. /TRRL/

Fussgaenger- und Radfahrerunfaelle in den Niederlanden. Ein ueberraschendes Bild

Um die Verkehrspolitik zu steuern braucht man unter anderem adaequates Wissen ueber die Verkehrss... more Um die Verkehrspolitik zu steuern braucht man unter anderem adaequates Wissen ueber die Verkehrssicherheitssituation. Zu diesem Zweck hat das Zentrum fuer Transport und Navigation (Dienst Verkeer en Scheepvaart) des Niederlaendischen Verkehrsministeriums (Rijskwaterstaat) in den Jahren 2004 und 2005 eine Pilotstudie durchgefuehrt, um einen Ueberblick ueber die Entwicklung von Unfallmengen unterschiedlichen Typs zu erhalten. Dabei stellte sich heraus, dass Alleinunfaelle von Fussgaengern und Radfahrern zahlenmaessig besonders stark zugenommen hatten. Das Niederlaendische Institut fuer Verkehrssicherheitsforschung (Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid - SWOV) hat schon 1989 gezeigt, dass hohe Anteile von Fussgaenger- und Radfahrerunfaellen und von Verletzten im Rahmen solcher Unfaelle in der Statistik nicht aufscheinen. Stuerze von Fussgaengern, die man ja als Fussgaengeralleinunfaelle bezeichnen koennte, erscheinen in der Unfallstatistik ueberhaupt nicht, offenbar ...

Beduerfnisse aelterer Menschen im Verkehrssystem des Jahres 2040

Sinn und Unsinn von Shared Space - Zur Versachlichung einer populaeren Gestaltungsphilosophie; Teil 1 / Sense and nonsense of shared space - A contribution to make a popular design philosophie more objective; Part 1

Shared Space ist eine EU-weite Gestaltungsphilosophie fuer innerstaedtische Geschaefts- und Haupt... more Shared Space ist eine EU-weite Gestaltungsphilosophie fuer innerstaedtische Geschaefts- und Hauptverkehrsstrassen, die allerdings nicht neu und im deutschen Regelwerk durchaus schon lange verankert ist. Bereits umgesetzte Shared Space-Projekte haben ihren Erfolg in der staedtebaulichen Aufwertung sensibler Strassenraeume und Platzbereiche. Sie setzen auf gegenseitige Verstaendigung der Verkehrsteilnehmer bei moeglichst weitgehendem Verzicht auf Verkehrsregeln, Lichtsignalanlagen und Beschilderung. In untersuchten Fallbeispielraeumen konnte generell eine verbesserte Verkehrssicherheit erreicht werden. Andererseits sind Konflikte zu verzeichnen, die auf Einsatzgrenzen und Voraussetzungen hindeuten. Diese werden in dem Beitrag umfassend eroertert. ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: Shared Space is an EU wide philosophy of urban road design. However it is not a new concept and implemented in German guidelines for a long time. The main return from the projects is a substantial improvement of spatial q...

Vulnerable Road Users: New Approaches Needed?

Traditionally pedestrians, bicyclists and motorised two wheelers are considered vulnerable road u... more Traditionally pedestrians, bicyclists and motorised two wheelers are considered vulnerable road users. In some instances special attention is given to children, the elderly and handicapped persons. AVV Transport Research Centre was asked to develop acceptable, effective and cost-effective measures regarding all categories of vulnerable road users. In The Netherlands vulnerable road users stand high on the political agenda. However, in many cases it is not clear what is meant by vulnerability. Furthermore in practice not much money is allocated to tackling the problems and very little research is done on the issue. When funds and resources are budgeted and allocated, other proposals generally tend to be more important and are better motivated with supporting facts and figures and not merely with emotional or sentimental arguments. The probability of projects related to vulnerable road users to be rejected on the basis of inadequate motivation is high. This is why the AVV research tea...

16th ICTCT workshop safety management 1 DEVELOPING A POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR VULNERABLE ROAD USERS

The government of the Netherlands is looking for methods to structurally reduce the numbers of ro... more The government of the Netherlands is looking for methods to structurally reduce the numbers of road accidents and casualties. The policy with respect to vulnerable road users has not as yet been developed to any significant extent, even though there seems to be considerable potential here for reducing the total number of road accident casualties. After all, in terms of both numbers and

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DVS Centre for Transportation and Navigation Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management

At present policy development regarding pedestrian needs is generally problem oriented, ad hoc an... more

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Ministry of Transport and Public Works and Water Management

www.rws-avv.nl In most countries- The Netherlands is no exception- policy regarding walking is fo... more www.rws-avv.nl In most countries- The Netherlands is no exception- policy regarding walking is focussed on solving urgent problems. A problem becomes urgent when it affects citizens in such a way that they ask the authorities to take action. Serious accidents have the same effect. In most cases these problems are very specific and localised. Consequently, apart from implicit policy and development planning activities, policy measures regarding pedestrian issues are predominantly demand driven and concentrated on safety issues. Citizens generally do not ask for a holistic or systems approach. In the 90-s the pro-active Sustainable Road Safety vision was introduced (Koornstra e.a., 1992). Current Policy makers realise that a systems approach has the best potentials for lasting results. As a first step the road system was re-classified and more than half of the urban area is now ‘traffic calmed’. Pedestrians and cyclists benefit from these structural interventions. Up till now the pro-...

Land Use in an Ageing Society

Car use has affected life styles and land use patterns. There has been a decentralization of acti... more Car use has affected life styles and land use patterns. There has been a decentralization of activities like living, working, services and recreation. People nowadays want to grow old in place. National, regional and local policies are directed at this wish. However, the future elderly need to be mobile to function properly in society. Over the next 30 years the proportion of the elderly in the population will increase. The elderly will gain political power, be better educated, healthier, richer, more mobile and more demanding than the present elderly. Consequently land use demands will change. We need to forecast in what way and to what extent. With respect to land use, traffic safety is an important issue. From accident analysis we know that the elderly are not risky, but at risk. We also know that for the elderly the car is the safest transport mode and that at some point in time driving skills of the elderly decline and may become a problem. In order to provide for safe mobility...

Veilige oversteekplaatsen gevraagd

Het voetgangerslicht kan beter aan het begin van de oversteekplaats worden gezet en niet meer aan... more Het voetgangerslicht kan beter aan het begin van de oversteekplaats worden gezet en niet meer aan de overkant. Sensoren signaleren de overstekers, zetten het rijverkeer stop en geven dat weer groen zodra de voetganger aan de overkant is. Dit is de lijn waarlangs experimenten moeten worden gehouden en die vooral de positie verbeteren van ouderen en slechtzienden. Zij hebben dan geen zorg meer wanneer ze mogen oversteken en of ze genoeg tijd hebben om over te komen.

Pedestrian Safety in the Next Decades

This paper takes a look at the role of the pedestrian in the Netherlands, and how improvements ca... more

Shared Space: Safe of Dangerous?

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Pedestrian Quality Needs

In research, policy making and implementation concerning the safe mobility and the quality of lif... more In research, policy making and implementation concerning the safe mobility and the quality of life of pedestrians is a rather neglected issue. The difficulties arising from long neglect are so substantial that new research activities and innovative approaches are needed to build on the available knowledge and to further develop the insights gained from earlier projects in order to make a difference to pedestrian conditions in towns and villages in Europe and elsewhere.

Exploring the Pedestrians Realm: An overview of insights needed for developing a generative system approach to walkability

Walking is an essential form of human mobility. In policy making, however, pedestrians are largel... more Walking is an essential form of human mobility. In policy making, however, pedestrians are largely neglected. This dissertation explores how the system for pedestrians works and what steps authorities can take to improve conditions for pedestrians, walking and sojourning in public space. It outlines an effective and fair approach by redefining the domain. Methorst combines, triangulates and advances available information, data and statistics.

Pedestrians' performance and satisfaction

In the framework of the PQN project, assessments have been carried out to arrive at real figures ... more In the framework of the PQN project, assessments have been carried out to arrive at real figures on the pedestrians’ performance and satisfaction. The results regarding key figures are: • About 50% of the pedestrians have limited abilities and about 10% of the population has severe difficulties walking and sojourning in public space. • Pedestrian mobility concerns door-to-door trips (mono-modal walking) and trips to and from other modes (multi-modal trips); time spent in traffic and distances covered are about the same. • The normal action radius of a pedestrian is about 1 kilometre; an average (European) citizen walks 250 door-to-door trips per year and 1,800 times to and from other modes. In total, pedestrians cover about 300 kilometres and spend about 100 hours per person per year on walking. • Sojourning in public space is an important indicator for quality of public space; it encourages all kinds of activities that humans need for their well-being. The average amount of time sp...

Sustainable Traffic Safety Strategy: A Study on the Feasibility of an Effective Pedestrian-Friendly Traffic Safety Policy

En als het voetgangerslicht zelf oversteekt

Rob Methorst

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