Ashland's Comprehensive Plan - Transportation Element (extract):

"Ashland has a vision - to retain our small-town character even while we grow. To achieve this vision, we must proactively plan for a transportation system that is integrated into the community and enhances Ashland's livability, character and natural environment...The focus must be on people being able to move easily through the city in all modes of travel, Modal equity...ensures that we will have the opportunity to conveniently and safely use the transportation mode of our choice, and allow us to move toward a less auto-dependent community."

Friday, June 02, 2017

Traffic in Villages -

- Safety and Civility for Rural Roads - A toolkit for communities

http://www.hamilton-baillie.co.uk/_files/_publications/50-1.pdf

"Cars and lorries are part of our lives, for better or worse. Maintaining and protecting the quality of life against a background of growing traffic volumes is perhaps the greatest challenge facing most rural communities. Rural life depends on the highway network for connections and communication. Many villages lie along the route of busy country roads. Modern travel patterns and transport place huge pressures on the historic form and qualities of the rural landscape, threatening the economic sustainability and social cohesion upon which communities depend. It is a problem that is universal to village life in the modern world..."

Streets and village spaces have always served a multitude of purposes. Ever increasing traffic during the past century has created an imbalance at the cost of social and economic life. It is only recently that new models for shared space have begun to emerge, principally in cities and larger market towns. The principles illustrated by more complex urban schemes are still relevant for more modest rural application despite the very different context.