Can I play on the road, Mum? - Traffic and homes in urban Australia

Abstract

There are major environmental incompatibilities in Australian cities between space allocated to roadways and space allocated to dwellings, yet there is little data available as to where and how the dwellings are located with respect to the roadways. Characteristics of a random sample of 264 dwellings from Major Urban Centres throughout Australia are reported to fill a significant gap in the present knowledge of roads, the volume of traffic they carry, and their relationship to dwellings in urban areas. Fourteen per cent of Australian dwellings are located on a cul-de-sac and 76 per cent are located on streets with traffic flows of less than 2000 vehicles per day. However, 7 per cent of Australian dwellings directly front four-or six-lane roadways and nearly one-quarter are located on streets where amenity is likely to be reduced by road traffic. It was found that multiple dwelling units tend to be located on busier roadways, with the overall effect of exposing more people to adverse environmental conditions.