An accessibility based effect measurement tool to support mobility policies

Earlier research mentioned that there is a need for more insight into the effects of mobility policies for different transport modes. More knowledge on this topic is required in order to plan effective interventions and policy changes. Accessibility concepts are increasingly acknowledged as fundamental to understand the effects of measures. In cases like Buitenring Parkstad and Wageningen, accessibility measures are related to the ‘’Ladder van Verdaas’’. The ‘’Ladder van Verdaas’’ is a conceptual framework, which is suitable for examining possible solutions to an accessibility problem. The main scope is to see if the construction of new infrastructure can be avoided as much as possible with other solutions. Therefore, the objective is to develop an integration tool including relevant attributes with realistic scores for included attributes for each step of the ‘’Ladder van Verdaas’’. The research methods that are applied to identify relevant attributes are documentary analysis and expert judgement.
On top of that, by using geographical information systems, two pilots are executed to illustrate the working of the tool and see if the tool meets the expectations and to provide recommendations regarding the applicability of the tool. A pilot regarding the construction of the bike connection between Mook and Cuijk present, based on the relevant attributes, the differences between the situation before and after the construction of the bike connection. Moreover, the illustrations are compared regarding the effects of measures related to different steps of the ‘’Ladder van Verdaas’’. For example, the new bike connection (step 7) enhances the accessibility from Mook to Cuijk, and a measure related to step 2 of the ´´Ladder van Verdaas´´ enhances the accessibility in all directions. However, to a lesser extent from Mook to Cuijk, because of the barrier of the Maas. The pilot regarding the capacity extension between Venlo and Eindhoven represent the attribute travel time to visualize the effects of the capacity extension. Regarding the illustration of other effects, a recommendation is to apply traffic model calculations. Herewith, the integration tool is a valuable method to provide advanced insights into the effects of accessibility measurements and mobility policies for different transport modes.