Urban Settlements have much greater accessibility than rural settlements. Is this so?

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Urban Settlements have much greater accessibility than rural settlements. Is this so?

This issue has come up because as commuters move out of the cities and into rural settlements, accessibility can become a factor as they go to and from work. This problem is experienced all over the country, especially around London and other conurbations. This problem is called counter-urbanisation. It happens with industry, housing, and other infrastructure. My study area is centred in the SE of England, in SE London. It is between Bexley, and South Darenth, two villages roughly the same size and place. Refer to the maps on the other page for exact locations, and local road networks. Although they are both roughly the same size, Bexley has many more shops than S Darenth, which may cause the accessibility to be slightly better or be the result of better access in the first place, because of the need for good parking, etc... I will investigate this as part of the report.

S Darenth is 4 miles from Bexley, and Bexley is approx 14 miles from Charing Cross, the centre of London. Bexley is a much older village, which explains why it is slightly more developed than S Darenth. They have roughly the same industry history, both of them having a major industry in its day. Today, Bexley is a much more industrial town. It has an industrial estate in the centre of the town, with over 20 different industries operating alone.

As the subject of my study is accessibility, I will perform traffic counts and pedestrian counts in the area. This data will make up the core of my project, because it will show how easy it is to move between towns. I will analyse bus and train timetables, and the percentage of footway to road. Also, I will analyse the road widths. The counts will be in the form of tally charts and diagrams, and the timetables will be analysed for frequency, and routes served.

The traffic/pedestrian counts will show the need for accessibility in the towns, by relating the accessibility to the results. The timetables will show me the need for a frequent public transport service in the area. Coupled with the traffic counts, the road widths will give me an accurate picture of how often the roads are used, and if any improvement was needed in the subject areas.

Maps to show Location of Study

Methodology

Which Data Collected

How Data was Collected

Problems with Collection

Solutions to Problems

Traffic Counts

The data was written as a tally chart, and then a count of how many cars there were on one side of the road was taken for 5minutes each time.

This did not happen in S Darenth, but in Bexley, on the High Street a large volume of traffic was noted. I had to get help from my dad with the count.

A rethink of where the traffic counts were performed, and possibly help from more people.

Pedestrian Counts

Much the same as traffic counts, the data was in a tally chart. They were taken on each side of the road for 5 minutes each.

There were not many problems with this, but in S Darenth, there was hardly anyone around!

None needed, maybe a reconsideration of the places where we performed the counts.

Bus Frequency

I rang the bus company, and they sent me timetables. Before I could do this, I had to note which buses ran through the villages, and who to ring.

None, apart from being put on hold for 15minutes before I could get the timetable.

Maybe a rethink of where I could get the timetable.

Housing Surveys

On the maps of the villages, I marked on the different types of housing that was found. It was done by age

Not many problems, but the houses could have fallen into two categories in some cases.

Different and more specific housing types should be recorded, to erase recognition problems.

Road Surveys

I have reviewed the width of roads and used the data from traffic counts to make an accurate summary of the road system.

Not much. If the traffic count data is incorrect, an overall picture cannot be formed accurately

Not much. More measurements and counts could be taken.

Traffic & Counts

Traffic Counts will give a rough idea on how busy the roads are in a town. By taking a number of counts in different places, a complete road network can be assessed. I chose to use the traffic counts for my study, because the results will show me how much the roads are used at different times of day, and how easy it is for traffic to pass through them. Because the subject of my study is accessibility, the use of these roads and the frequency of traffic will show how easy it is to move about the town and how easy it is to reach certain destinations. I will have to take into account the use of 'Double Decker' buses going through Bexley, because they will slow traffic. Also, roadworks were in place in Bridgen Road, which may have affected my counts.

How to Take a Traffic Count

Traffic counts are recorded in the form of tally charts. In order to record the data, it is set out to record the number of cars, vans/lorries, buses, mopeds/motorbikes and pushbikes. A sample of a tally is below.
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Find a spot to carry out your traffic count. In my case, I chose one in a main road, one in a minor road, and one in a sometimes-busy road. Select a suitable period to do your traffic counts, and a suitable time of day. I did mine on a mid-afternoon on a Sunday. Each count lasted 5 minutes. Once your variables have been chosen, go to that spot, and record on your tally chart the number of vehicles that pass your point in your time. I.e. record how many cars, buses etc... In order for an overall ...

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