Traffic Regulation Orders
From GPG
Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are a regulatory tool by which local authorities may restrict access to specified highways. Although generally used to regulate traffic on the ordinary roads network, they can also be used to control damage and nuisance caused by off-road vehicles on rights of way and unclassified roads. They can also be used to restrict certain types of vehicles or even ban vehicular traffic altogether in areas where there is a really serious problem.
Orders may be made to prohibit, restrict or regulate the use of a road or any part of the width of a road by traffic or pedestrians in relation to certain routes within National Park boundaries. They may be made on a long-term or experimental basis or temporarily as an emergency closure for safety reasons or to enable work to be carried out.
The use of traffic regulation orders, temporary or permanent, is often perceived as a means to prevent unpopular user groups having access to the countryside. There are ways of lessening or diffusing the potential for conflict. See TROs and opposition.
Typically it can cost up to £4,000 to make and apply a traffic regulation order. On cost grounds alone it is therefore sensible to consider and try alternative approaches such as voluntary restraint or use of volunteers to carry out maintenance as these may cost much less and achieve an acceptable solution.
You must consider the needs of the disabled both when deciding whether a TRO is an appropriate response and when considering what type of physical barrier is required in order to ensure compliance with a TRO. It may be more appropriate to allow vehicular use of a route to continue without formal restriction accommodating it by means of maintenance and management if this has the useful result of making the route more accessible to the motorised disabled user. Similarly, if a TRO has been applied to a route, then physical barriers erected must not prevent use by the disabled. This may present you with the impossible task of designing barriers which effectively prevent motorised traffic, yet allow walkers, horseriders AND persons with visual or mobility impairments, or persons in large motorised disabled buggies, easy access. If this cannot be achieved you may need to reject the use of a TRO.
The document Traffic Regulation Orders provides a step by step guide to carrying out a TRO. It is intended as a guide for PROW practitioners who wish to have a better understanding of the procedures likely to be followed by a traffic management engineer when processing a TRO. However please be aware that there will be variations from authority to authority.
It also contains general advice on a variety of issues which may affect the decision whether or not to apply a TRO.
The final section provides a detailed outline of the relevant legislation. It briefly describes each relevant section of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (with amendments as made by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 where appropriate).
Recent changes in legislation (in the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (NERC)) have given National Park Authorities the ability to make Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to regulate and restrict traffic on recreational routes within their boundaries. The aim of the change is to provide the National Park Authorities with the necessary tools to manage traffic effectively for the protection of recreational routes.
National Park Authorities have the powers to exercise TROs over rights of way and other highways with unsealed surfaces. National Park Authorities can now make orders for various purposes including avoiding danger, preventing damage, preserving the character of the road, or generally for the purpose of conserving or enhancing the natural beauty of an area or increasing its amenity.
