CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHOICE OF SPEED STANDARD ON MAIN ROADS IN URBAN AREAS

If a main road in an urban area is designed for a higher speed standard, the road users will benefit by reduced travel time and increased comfort. Furthermore, there will be a transfer of the traffic from other roads, which is of advantage to the people living next to these roads. An increased speed standard of a main road often requires considerable infringements of the environment. Higher speeds and increased traffic flows result in environmental impairment; the routes for pedestrians and cyclists will become longer, the conditions along connecting feeding streets may be influenced by the increased distances between intersections which are required at the higher standard of speed. The consequences for public transport may be positive as well as negative. These conditions cause complicated adjustments between a broad range of consequences for different activities and groups. In order to assist these adjustments a method for describing the consequences has been developed. /TRRL/