Right-of-Way Management and Habitat Fragmentation: An Integral Approach with the Spatial Concept of the Traffic Calmed Rural Area

Catharinus Freerk (Rinus) Jaarsma and Frank van Langevelde

Habitat fragmentation is one of the harmful effects of the road network and its traffic flows. Much attention to this problem focuses on major roads. However, the 80–90% of the overall stock representing Minor Rural Roads (MRRs) also has important impacts on species and their habitat. Growing traffic volumes increase these problems. To serve both accessibility and a sustainable environment, the spatial concept Traffic Calmed Rural Area (TCRA) is developed. This concept starts with the desired spatial function of the rural area. Besides the needs of people, the needs of nature are considered. For MRRs (the network of mainly local collector and access roads), the residence functions of the region (for inhabitants, recreationists, local flora and fauna) will be stressed, not the flow function for through traffic. The underlying idea is a clear separation between space for living and staying and space for traffic flows. The concept will result in a reorganisation of traffic flows. Present diffuse volumes at the MRRs will be concentrated at a few trunk roads. Traffic volumes and speeds within the region will decrease. In three case studies, several impacts of the TCRA (on volumes, accessibility and environment) are calculated. These cases emphasize the possibilities of the TCRA to mitigate habitat fragmentation and to enable a sustainable rural development.

Keywords: Habitat fragmentation, traffic calming, minor rural roads, rural traffic planning, safety, livability