GEOMETRIC DESIGN GUIDELINES TO ACHIEVE DESIRED OPERATING SPEED ON URBAN STREETS

This paper presents interim analysis and findings from a Federal Highway Administration research study on the Relationship Between Design Speed and Vehicle Operating Speed. Under this study, data were collected on low-speed urban streets with varying roadway, roadside, and driver/vehicle characteristics. Low-speed is defined as vehicle operating speeds below 64 kilometers per hour (km/h). An operating speed approach to determine design speed was developed to investigate geometric guidelines that would assist in attaining operating speeds consistent with the intent of the low-speed environment.