The bar chart illustrates the number of car journeys made into the city centre by residents and non-residents over a ten-year period from 1996 to 2005, including information about two traffic management interventions.
Overall, residents consistently made more journeys than non-residents throughout the period. While resident journeys remained relatively stable, non-resident journeys experienced significant fluctuations, particularly following the implementation of traffic management measures.
In 1996, residents made approximately 10,000 journeys compared to around 5,000 by non-residents. Resident figures remained steady at roughly 10,000 journeys until 1999. During the same period, non-resident journeys increased substantially to approximately 8,000, likely influenced by the introduction of parking meters in 2000.
Following the parking meter implementation, the pattern diverged notably. Between 2000 and 2002, non-resident journeys stabilized at around 8,000, whereas resident journeys declined sharply to approximately 5,000. The most dramatic change occurred after 2002, when Westgate Street and Park Lane were closed to traffic. This intervention caused non-resident journeys to plummet to roughly 3,000 by 2005, while resident journeys recovered slightly to about 5,000, suggesting that traffic restrictions affected non-residents more severely than local inhabitants.