The Design of Roads and of the Road Environment in Small Rural Communities

The design of roads and of the road environment for main thoroughfares in rural communities has changed completely in many countries over recent years. Previously, road planning revolved around capacity and road safety, whereas today the design of roads and of the road environment includes a wide variety of safety and usage requirements. The new planning and design principles that were developed and introduced in the 1990s–above all, those of the linkage and the compartmentalization of space around and along roads, and the rejection of traffic separation in favor of mixed traffic–have led to usable public spaces in the centers of provincial towns and villages in Switzerland. The consequences are lower speeds and greater recognition–and thus, consideration–of the traffic activity on the sides. Road safety can therefore be boosted for all road users. The present article describes the way in which the philosophy of planning has changed and the experiences that have arisen from such changes.