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Changes in urban transport behaviours and spatial mobility resulting from the introduction of statutory Sunday retail restrictions: A case study of Lodz, Poland

Abstract The impact of statutory Sunday retail restrictions on the transport behaviours of people living in the Polish post-socialist city of Lodz is investigated in this article. One carrier of information on journeys undertaken in the city is data from induction loops – a part of the city’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The second source of data is a two-stage questionnaire survey (concerning trading and non-trading Sundays) of the city’s inhabitants, aimed at defining any changes in their transport behaviours with reference to the introduction of retail restrictions. The research was conducted to assess the way in which the new statutory restrictions affect transport behaviour discharged after the political transformation. The results of the research conducted on the transport behaviours of Lodz residents indicate that the majority of their transport behaviours clearly depend on whether a given Sunday is a trading or non-trading day. The traffic load of the urban road network (perceived as the manifestation of residents’ spatial mobility) is characterised by a distinct changeability due to the legislative restrictions related to Sunday trading. There is both a time (daily and hourly) differentiation of traffic flows and a spatial changeability of the load in the urban space, when a comparative analysis is conducted of the results of observations made in the weeks preceding trading and non-trading Sundays. The study also demonstrates that the time previously devoted to Sunday shopping is currently spent not only at home, but also allocated to new (and until now unperformed) activities that often require travelling.