One Billion People More Resilient
bike lane alongside road
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Policy Solution

Vehicle access restrictions

Mandate

Summary

High levels of traffic contribute to heat and exhaust, adding to the urban heat island effect. Increasing bikeability and walkability can support efforts to reduce traffic and change mobility patterns.

Implementation

Restrict vehicles in certain areas or at certain times of day to reduce congestion and encourage walking and cycling.

Considerations for Use

Policies restricting vehicle access can be piloted on specific days (e.g. weekends) or during particular seasons (e.g. summer) to ease adoption and generate community support.

Overview

  • Climate:

    Cold, Hot/Dry, Hot/Humid, Temperate
  • Policy Levers:

    MandateMandates are government regulations that require stakeholders to meet standards through building codes, ordinances, zoning policies, or other regulatory tools.
  • Trigger Points:

    City planning processesIncludes city initiatives such as the development of climate action plan, pathway to zero-energy, master plan, transit plan, energy mapping etc.
    No-regrets actions (low cost/low effort but substantial benefit)Interventions that are relatively low-cost and low effort (in terms of requisite dependencies) but have substantial environmental and/or social benefits.
  • Intervention Types:

    Planning/Policy
  • Sectors:

    Transportation

Case Studies

Impact

  • Target Beneficiaries:

    Residents
  • Phase of Impact:

    Risk reduction and mitigation
  • Metrics:

    Mobility modes and traffic

Implementation

  • Intervention Scale:

    City, Neighborhood
  • Authority and Governance:

    City government
  • Implementation Timeline:

    Short-term (1-2 Years)
  • Implementation Stakeholders:

    City government
  • Funding Sources:

    N/A
  • Capacity to Act:

    High

Benefits

  • Cost-Benefit:

    Low
  • Public Good:

    Medium
  • GHG Reduction:

    Medium
  • Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):

    Reduce air and water pollution, Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Co-benefits (Social/Economic):

    Improve human health