Citation

Heimbach CL, Cribbins PD, Chang MS. Transp. Res. Rec. 1983; 923: 69-72.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1983, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

When four-lane, urban, undivided arterials are newly built or reconstructed in place, traffic lane width becomes one of the major determinants of total right-of-way width. A particularly difficult problem arises when the urban corridor permits the construction of 10- or 11-ft-wide lanes, but not 12-ft-wide lanes. There are no guidelines for the roadway designer to indicate the trade-offs in traffic safety and operations as the width of a traffic lane is reduced below the 12-ft standard. The relationship of operating speed and accidents to a series of independent variables that characterize roadway design features and traffic volumes is investigated. It is concluded that both peak and off-peak operatings speeds, as well as traffic accidents, are significantly related to traffic lane width on urban arterials. Specifically, operating speeds decrease and accidents increase as traffic lane width decreases. Operating speeds are also influenced by the posted speed limit, traffic volume, and total traffic lane width. Also, the number of accidents per year is related to the number of intersectios per mile, the number of access trips to and from commercial driveways, average daily traffic, total traffic lane width, and changes in horizontal and vertical alignment. An example of the cost trade-offs between changes in traffic lane width and accidents and operating speeds is presented.

Language: en

Keywords

HIGHWAY ENGINEERING; HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS - Analysis