Modal filter

{{Short description|Road design that restricts the passage of certain types of vehicle}}

File:Modal filter in Basel.jpg, Switzerland]]

A modal filter, sometimes referred to as a point closure,{{Cite web|title=Point Closure {{!}} Cycling Embassy of Great Britain|url=https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/dictionary/point-closure|access-date=2020-11-10|website=www.cycling-embassy.org.uk|archive-date=2023-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202121819/https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/dictionary/point-closure|url-status=live}} is a road design that restricts the passage of certain types of vehicle in road transport. Modal filtering is often used to help create a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN), where motor traffic is diverted away from residential streets{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Matthew|date=2020-05-18|title='A new normal': how coronavirus will transform transport in Britain's cities|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/18/a-new-normal-how-coronavirus-will-transform-transport-in-britains-cities|access-date=2020-11-10|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=2020-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110234747/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/18/a-new-normal-how-coronavirus-will-transform-transport-in-britains-cities|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last1=Aldred|first1=Rachel|last2=Goodman|first2=Anna|date=2020-09-10|title=Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, Car Use, and Active Travel: Evidence from the People and Places Survey of Outer London Active Travel Interventions|url=https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/d73f787784edb40bac0cde777354ca1067279acd3ee276df240bdecc89a5f00e/1521347/17128-low-traffic-neighbourhoods-car-use-and-active-travel-evidence-from-the-people-and-places-survey-of-outer-london-active-travel-interventions.pdf|journal=Findings|language=en|pages=17128|doi=10.32866/001c.17128|doi-access=free|access-date=2020-11-11|archive-date=|archive-url=|url-status=}} and instead toward feeder roads. Modal filters can be used to achieve filtered permeability within a transport network,{{Cite web|title=Modal filter {{!}} Cycling Embassy of Great Britain|url=https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/dictionary/modal-filter|access-date=2020-11-10|website=www.cycling-embassy.org.uk|archive-date=2020-11-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110214926/https://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/dictionary/modal-filter|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|last=Parkin|first=John|title=Designing for Cycle Traffic|publisher=ICE Publishing|year=2018|isbn=9780727763495|location=London, UK|pages=56}} and can encourage walking and cycling through more pleasant environments and improved safety.{{Cite web|title=Traffic Management Act 2004: network management in response to COVID-19|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities/traffic-management-act-2004-network-management-in-response-to-covid-19|access-date=2020-11-14|website=GOV.UK|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113113544/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reallocating-road-space-in-response-to-covid-19-statutory-guidance-for-local-authorities/traffic-management-act-2004-network-management-in-response-to-covid-19|url-status=live}}

Modal filters can be implemented through the use of barriers such as bollards, boom barriers and planters, though filters can also be implemented virtually through the use of automatic number-plate recognition cameras and road signs, which can allow residential motor access while prohibiting passing motor traffic.{{Cite journal|last1=Aldred|first1=Rachel|last2=Croft|first2=Joseph|date=2019-03-01|title=Evaluating active travel and health economic impacts of small streetscape schemes: An exploratory study in London|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140518304006|journal=Journal of Transport & Health|language=en|volume=12|pages=86–96|doi=10.1016/j.jth.2018.11.009|s2cid=133809626 |issn=2214-1405}}

Modal filters are often the result of circulation plans by local governments.