Examining residents’ acceptability

Abstract

In 2023, the number of passenger cars in the Netherlands surged to approximately 9.4 million from 139.000 in 1950 (CBS, 2023), reflecting a significant transformation in urban mobility and infrastructure. This growth has led to increased environmental pollution and public health concerns, driven by the widespread preference for car use. While existing research has focused on the environmental and infrastructural impacts of this trend, there is a notable lack of studies examining the acceptability of car reduction policies. This research aims to fill this gap by exploring the factors that influence the acceptability of the removal of curb parking spaces and the implementation of parking fees. To achieve this, survey data from two neighbourhoods in Breda was analysed, focusing on variations of acceptability based on sociodemographic characteristics, travel habits, residential location, and the willingness to change car usage behaviour. The survey assessed (N = 114) perceptions of policy effectiveness, fairness, and scepticism to generate the individual acceptability scores. These scores were then further analysed with statistical analysis’s to investigate the overall acceptability of the proposed measures. The findings reveal that the overall acceptability of both policies is generally low, with notable variations across different groups: female respondents show a significantly (p = .019) higher acceptability (for removing on-street parking spaces; however, no significant (p = .187) gender difference was observed for the implementation or increase of parking fees. Frequent car users and those less inclined to reduce their car dependency showed a lower acceptability, while users of alternative transportation modes exhibited a significantly (p < .001) higher acceptability. Unexpectedly, the suburban neighbourhood (Princenhage) exhibited a significantly higher acceptability for the removal of curb parking spaces (p < .001) and the implementation of parking fees (p = .015) compared to the urban neighbourhood (Belcrum). These results contradict previous findings by Kirschner and Lanzendorf (2020b), indicating that population density may not be the best predictor of the public acceptability. Instead, other factors such as car usage and dependency might better explain the observed differences in the acceptability.

These findings suggest that effective car reduction policies must be multifaceted, incorporating efforts to enhance alternative transportation options and address environmental impacts. This study contributes to the field by providing critical insights into the acceptability of urban mobility policies, thereby offering guidance for the development of more effective and widely supported policy interventions.