ABSTRACT
As early as the 1960’s, many Italian cities began to rebel against the intrusion of automobiles in city centers, beginning with bans on cars in piazzas. In the 1970’s cities began restricting nonresidents from driving in certain sections of the center, creating what became known as Zone a Traffico Limitato (ZTL) or Traffic-Restricted Zones. Today, at least 300 Italian cities/towns have ZTL. Some cities have documented that ZTL have reduced congestion, improved transit travel times, reduced traffic accidents, and improved pedestrian safety. There has been little or no research on the opinions of the citizens who are the primary beneficiaries.
This paper present the results of a survey of the residents, workers and visitors to the city center and ZTL in Brescia, Italy, conducted in the Spring of 2017 about how they perceive the ZTL. The differences in commute mode, car ownership and car use are also compared.
