scholarly journals Identification of Determinants of the Speed-Reducing Effect of Pedestrian Refuges in Villages Located on a Chosen Regional Road

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 597
Author(s):  
Alicja Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Engineering ◽  
Geometric Parameters ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
The Road ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Engineering Discipline ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Layout Geometry ◽  
Specific Factors

Traffic calming, as a traffic engineering discipline, is becoming an increasingly important aspect of the road engineering process. One of the traffic calming treatments are pedestrian refuges—raised islands located on or at the road centreline. This paper presents factors relevant to the performance of this kind of traffic calming devices retrofitted on the stretches of regional roads in village areas. To this end, speed surveys were carried out before and after the islands in each direction on purposefully chosen test sections. In order to identify the determinants, each test section was characterised by features including the symmetry of the road layout geometry, surrounding features and the existing traffic signs and, last but not least, visibility of the road ahead. The survey data were used by the authors to perform analyses in order to group the speeds at the pedestrian refuges and relate them to specific factors and, finally, identify the determinants of speed reduction. In this way, the authors arrived at a conclusion that the performance of pedestrian refuges depends on a number of factors rather than solely on their geometric parameters. The analyses showed that the pedestrian refuge geometric parameters, features located in its proximity that influence the driver’s perception and placement of appropriate marking, can, in combination, result in achieving the desired speed reduction and ensure safety of non-motorised users. These hypotheses were tested on a stretch of a regional road in village area at three points of the process: before upgrading, after installation of pedestrian refuges, and after retrofitting of enhancements.

scholarly journals Identification of the Determinants of the Effectiveness of On-Road Chicanes in the Village Transition Zones Subject to a 50 km/h Speed Limit

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 4002
Author(s):  
Alicja Barbara Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Management ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Transition Zones ◽  
The Road ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Traffic Volumes ◽  
The Village

In recent years, in which a considerable increase in the road traffic volumes has been witnessed, traffic calming has become one the key issues in the area of road engineering. This concerns, in particular, trunk roads passing through small villages with a population of up to 500 and the road section length within the village limits of ca. 1400–1700 m. A successful traffic calming scheme must involve primarily effective reduction in inbound traffic speed. A review of the data from various countries revealed that chicanes installed in the transition zones may have a determining effect on the success of the traffic calming project. The effectiveness of such chicanes depends mainly on the type of chicane, its location on the carriageway, its shape and the size of the lateral deflection imposed by the chicane on the inbound lane. The purpose of this study was to identify the speed reduction determinants in traffic calming schemes in village transition zones, based on a central island horizontally deflecting one lane of a two-lane two-way road with 50 km/h speed restriction. As part of the study, vehicle speeds were measured just before and after the chicanes under analysis. Furthermore, the inbound lane traffic volumes were measured in field and a number of factors were identified, including the applied traffic management scheme, road parameters, view of the road ahead and of the village skyline, isolated buildings, road infrastructure and adjacent roadside developments. The obtained data were analysed with a method employing tautologies of the selected 32 factors affecting the drivers’ perception. A single aggregate parameter was proposed for assessing the coincidence of the influence of selected factors on speed reduction. The analysis of the existing schemes and the results of statistical analyses carried out in this study confirmed the authors’ hypothesis that the combined selected factors produce a desirable effect and that they should be additionally enhanced by the application of solar powered devices.

scholarly journals Traffic calming measures and their effect on the variation of speed

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hernán Gonzalo Orden
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
The Road ◽  
The North ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Technical Basis ◽  
Serious Injuries ◽  
North Of Spain

In recent years the number of deaths and serious injuries is decreasing in Spain, but, although the reduction outside the cities has been very strong, inside the urban areas, it has been smaller. This is especially hard if you look at the most vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. In many accidents the speed factor appears closely linked not only to the number, but also to the severity of the accidents suffered inside the urban areas. Therefore, a reduction in the speed would improve the road safety. There are different measures known as "traffic calming measures" whose objectives are to reduce both the number and severity of accidents that occur on urban areas, by reducing the traffic flow through the streets, as well as the speed of the vehicles. However, the efficiency in speed reduction of each measure is not entirely known. That's the reason why they are implanted, in many cases, with no technical basis. The aim of this article is to show the effectiveness in reducing speed of some of the traffic calming measures. To this effect, field measurements were done on street sections with different types of traffic calming measures, in different places of a city of Burgos, in the north of Spain. These measurements were compared with other ones sited on other streets sections of similar characteristics but without traffic calming measures. Finally the conclusions are shown and some recommendations for improving their effectiveness are given.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2016.4217

scholarly journals Identification of the Determinants of the Effectiveness of On-Road Chicanes in Transition Zones to Villages Subject to a 70 km/h Speed Limit

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 5244
Author(s):  
Alicja Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Traffic Management ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Additional Energy ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Transition Zones ◽  
Road Design ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Surrounding Landscape

In recent decades traffic calming, especially in villages situated on through roads, has become an urgent issue. Various schemes are applied in the transition zones to reduce the inbound traffic speeds and thus improve the traffic safety. The studies conducted in several countries point to different determinants of the speed reduction obtained in this way. This article deals with the schemes including a central island horizontally deflecting one lane, located in transition zones to villages with 70 km/h speed restriction on two-lane roads (6 m carriageway width). In order to identify the speed reduction determinants, the speeds before and after chicanes were measured and the effect of the three criteria was investigated, characterising: the traffic management scheme, road design parameters, landscape elements present in the surroundings of the transition zone and visibility conditions. Based on the confirmation of logical tautology of many pre-selected factors, one aggregate parameter was proposed for the assessment of the practicable level of speed reduction, combining the effect of the selected factors in the above-mentioned criteria. Statistical analysis of the obtained results confirmed a statistically significant relationship between both the speed reduction value and the speed reduction index, and the aggregate parameter proposed by the authors. Factors related to the surrounding landscape and visibility conditions were found to have the greatest direct effect on speed reduction. The chicanes chosen in the final step of the proposed design process should be enhanced by additional solar-powered elements ensuring their improved visibility. These devices should not, however, require any additional energy supply and should not increase the construction or maintenance costs.

scholarly journals Effect of the Parking Lane Configuration on Vehicle Speeds in Home Zones in Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 588
Author(s):  
Alicja Sołowczuk ◽  
Przemysław Gardas
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Engineering ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Exhaust Emissions ◽  
Design Guidelines ◽  
Vehicle Speed ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Traffic Calming

Nowadays, traffic calming measures that are designed to influence the drivers’ behaviour in the first place and thus make them slow down (and increase the safety of traffic as a result) are used increasingly often in traffic engineering. As a rule of thumb, carefully planned street geometry and street furniture should advise the drivers of the traffic calmed area ahead of them, which makes them reduce the vehicle speed by influencing their perception. One of the most common treatments are road narrowings and horizontal deflections of the route of travel. The reduction of the vehicle speed increases the driver’s central visual area, which results in earlier and easier spotting of pedestrians that are about to cross the roadway. A reduction of noise and exhaust emissions is an additional benefit. However, the current sustainable design guidelines are not specific regarding how often the route should be deflected by alternate parking lanes and how frequently they should be placed in the home zones (woonerven in Dutch) in order to achieve the desired reduction of vehicle speed, noise, pollution, and exhaust emissions. This being so, the authors carried out a speed survey research on a chosen street that includes woonerf design features, as typically used in Poland, with carriageway narrowings being created by parking lanes differently sited along its length. Several speed measuring devices were deployed to automatically and simultaneously measure and record the vehicle speeds and volume of traffic at different test locations. The measurement data were subjected to statistical analyses, including conventional statistical tests. The alternative hypothesis, proposing that the vehicle speeds depend on the configuration of parking lanes and carriageway narrowings was confirmed in almost all cases. The results have confirmed that the siting of parking lanes is a relevant factor as far as speed reduction is concerned, with the degree of this reduction depending on the remaining travel lane width.

scholarly journals A Method for Traffic Calming Using Radio Transmitter

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Amin Mirza Boroujerdian ◽  
Samane Sheikhy
Keyword(s):  
Video Processing ◽  
Intelligent Transportation System ◽  
Transportation Safety ◽  
Speed Limit ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Voice Message ◽  
Major Factors

Excessive speed is one of the major factors in transportation safety assessment and is influenced by road geometric design, vehicle properties, and driving pattern. Exploiting innovative methods along with the conventional ones has been proven to be effective in road safety to control the speed limit. In this study, a supplementary tool is introduced to help drivers to observe the speed limit. In line with this objective, the effectiveness of Voice Sign System (VSS) as an Intelligent Transportation System is evaluated. In order to measure the speed, video processing software is used. Moreover, SPSS is utilized to perform statistical analysis and compare upstream and downstream speeds before and after a message transmission. The study is conducted in Yadegar-e-Imam expressway, located in Tehran, to evaluate the effectiveness of a voice message. The message reads as follows: “Observe the Speed Limit.” The results reveal that VSS is an effective tool for speed reduction as well as the speed limit observation in expressways. The study shows that the speed is reduced by 18% on average, and speed limit observation is improved by 46.5%, out of which 18.2% is direct and 28.3% is indirect influence of VSS.

scholarly journals Effect of Traffic Calming in a Downtown District of Szczecin, Poland

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (18) ◽  
pp. 5838
Author(s):  
Alicja Sołowczuk
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Engineering ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Traffic Volume ◽  
Road Vehicles ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Road Users ◽  
The World ◽  
Vulnerable Road Users ◽  
Intersection Types

The increasing use of road vehicles has caused a number of transport and environmental issues throughout the world. To cope with them, traffic calming schemes are being increasingly implemented in built-up areas. An example of such schemes are Tempo-30 zones. The traffic calming measures applied as part of this scheme must be carefully planned in terms of location and design details in order to obtain the desired reduction in speed, traffic volume and exhaust emissions and, last but foremost, to increase the safety and facilitate the movement of vulnerable road users. The coexistence and combined effect of these measures and their design details must also be taken into account. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the applied traffic calming measures had a considerable bearing on the reduction in speed to the desired level, as assumed in the traffic calming plan. Three street sections starting and ending with different intersection types were chosen to examine the synergy of the applied traffic calming measures. The numbers and speeds of vehicles were measured in three day-long continuous surveys. As it was expected, the amount of speed reduction depended on the hourly traffic volume on a one-way street and various other traffic engineering aspects. The obtained results may be used to modify the existing speed profile models and can guide traffic engineers in choosing the most effective traffic calming measures.

scholarly journals Effect of Lane Narrowing Implemented on an Urban Dual Carriageway on Speed Reduction and Acoustic Environment

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Alicja Barbara Sołowczuk ◽  
Dominik Kacprzak
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Traffic Noise ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Surrounding Area ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Local Topography ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Surrounding Landscape

The on-going growth in the use of motor vehicles leads to a number of traffic safety problems. Therefore, various traffic calming measures are applied to increase traffic safety in built-up areas. Lane narrowing is one of the techniques used to influence the perception of drivers and make them slow down. With this in mind, the authors conducted traffic volume and speed counts before and after installation of the lane narrowing treatment, covering 100 passing vehicles, at an intersection between an urban dual carriageway and an estate street where over a dozen fatal accidents occurred in the recent years. Traffic noise was also measured, both before and after lane narrowing. The traffic count data were analysed to show speed reduction by ca. 15 km/h, yet in all cases still above 50 km/h, which is the speed limit applicable to built-up areas in Poland. The analysis of the “before” and “after” noise maps showed only minor changes to the distribution of noise. The locations of these changes to the acoustic environment depended on the speed and volume of traffic and, much more importantly, on the topography of the surrounding area, the existing roadside layered landscape and the type of planted vegetation. The detailed analyses of the analysed parameters demonstrated that sustainable design of traffic calming measures on urban dual carriageways must consider not only the desired speed reduction but also the surrounding landscape and the local topography.

scholarly journals Operational effects of speed breakers: a case study in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Malaya Mohanty
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Fuel Efficiency ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Traffic Condition ◽  
Speed Reduction ◽  
The Road ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Sharp Turn ◽  
Advisory Speed

Traffic condition in India is highly heterogeneous consisting of vehicles of different static and dynamic characteristics. The speeds of all vehicles are non-uniform. Therefore, to regulate the speeds of different category of vehicles while travelling on a sharp turn or while approaching towards an intersection or buildings like schools and hospitals, traffic calming devices are provided on the roads. Speed breakers are one of the most commonly used traffic calming devices in developing countries like India. Geometry of the speed breakers are based on IRC 99 which says that the width of speed breakers should be 3.7 m and the height should be 0.1 m for urban roads. The codal provisions also suggest that the vehicles should be able to cross the speed breaker at an advisory speed of 20 kmph. However, it is observed that most of the speed breakers have faulty geometrical dimensions owing to various problems to the road users. The width of the speed breakers are usually observed to be narrowed down which increases the chance of road crashes due to sudden braking of vehicles encountering it. Further, it also leads to sudden slowing down of the whole traffic stream leading to traffic congestion. It also reduces fuel efficiency of the vehicles leading to overall increase in vehicle operating and maintenance costs. The present study reviews in detail the provisions provided in the IRC code for construction of speed breakers. Thereafter, a practical on field study is conducted to examine the dimensions of various speed breakers across various cities in India, and compare their dimensions with the provisions provided in the IRC code. Further, the operating speed of the vehicles while crossing the speed breaker is also noted down and compared with the suggested speed as provided in the code. Finally, a detailed comparison between speed reduction at the speed breaker and their dimensions has been analyzed. Speed reduction of different category of vehicles has also been examined in detail.

Design and Evaluation of K-Pass: A Bicycle-Friendly Modification of Speed Bumps

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (36) ◽  
pp. 157-166
Author(s):  
Vinod Vasudevan ◽  
Aniruddha Rajurkar ◽  
Rahul Soni ◽  
Akhil Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Traffic Crashes ◽  
The Road ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Two Wheeler ◽  
Motorized Vehicles ◽  
Speed Humps

Traffic safety is a major concern across the world. Since speed is a major cause of traffic crashes, various traffic calming measures are used to enhance the safety of the road users in urban areas. Speed humps and bumps are the most widely used traffic calming devices. As a considerable number of bicyclists use the road along with motorized users, it is important to consider them while deploying any traffic calming devices. Studies have shown that bicyclists experience significantly larger discomfort as compared to motorized vehicles while passing over speed humps. In this study, a modification has been proposed to enhance riding comfort of bicyclists without compromising the traffic calming attribute of a speed bump. This modification is named “K-pass.” Analysis of data collected before and after the modification justifies the effectiveness in reducing the discomfort of bicyclists. Over a period of eight months, 70% of the bicyclists chose to use K-pass. Data also revealed that a high proportion of motorized two-wheeler users also used the K-pass at reduced speeds. It is expected that the K-pass will be a useful modification to the existing speed humps and speed bumps in areas where bicycle usage is expected.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Use of a Road Diet Design: An Urban Corridor Case Study in Washington, DC

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 8964
Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Aljamal ◽  
Derek Voight ◽  
Jacob Green ◽  
Jianwei Wang ◽  
Huthaifa I. Ashqar
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Bayes ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Left Turn ◽  
The Road ◽  
Traffic Calming ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Traffic Volumes ◽  
Bayes Analysis ◽  
Urban Corridor

A traditional road diet design converts a four-lane two-way road to a three-lane road consisting of two through lanes and a center two-way left turn lane. This paper introduces a new application of the road diet design in an urban corridor. Specifically, the new application converts a four-lane two-way road into a two-lane two-way road with full-time parking lanes in both directions. The paper analyzed the traffic impacts of the road diet application on the corridor of New Jersey Avenue, northwest, in the city of Washington, District of Columbia. The corridor included five signalized and one unsignalized intersections. Before-and-after analyses using Synchro 11 simulation and Site-Specific Empirical Bayes analysis were used to evaluate and compare existing and proposed scenarios. The proposed scenario provided various benefits including offering accessibility to the businesses in the area and acting as a traffic calming strategy. For signalized intersections, the overall performance remained the same for most intersections except for one intersection (on P Street), as it is significantly impacted by the road diet design due to the dramatic increase of traffic volumes in its minor streets as a result of diverting traffic volumes from the unsignalized intersection for left and through movements. Results showed that the use of a road diet design enhanced the unsignalized intersection performance due to the traffic volume divergence from its minor streets and enhanced the safety of the study area by decreasing the annual number of predicted crashes. To achieve better operational benefits and reflect traffic demands, the paper recommends to re-optimize signal timings when a road diet design is adopted.

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