Chapter 5: General conclusions

The basic principle

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To accommodate large numbers of motor vehicles in towns and cities is bound to involve substantial physical changes. In broad principle these changes comprise the canalisation of longer movements onto properly designed networks serving areas within which, by appropriate measures, environments suitable for a civilised urban life can be developed. We make no claim to have penetrated all the complexities of this concept. A great deal more work is required to develop the quantitative side. But, in spite of the crudeness of our methods and assumptions, we think we have demonstrated that the concept, and indeed the whole subject of traffic in towns, is capable of being put on a rational and quantitative basis. Guesswork and intuition can be largely eliminated; given the necessary information, many aspects are precisely calculable; and there is scope for the development of techniques which will greatly ease the burden of decision between alternative courses of action.