Low traffic street planning and safety: designing for moderate speeds in new neighbourhoods.

Of the many aspects of planning and safety in low traffic local streets which have attracted attention in recent arrb research, one of the most pressing is the issue of excessive speeds even in new neighbourhoods. Planning and design guides frequently state that local streets should be designed so that speeds are restrained to lower levels without resorting to traffic control devices. This paper reviews the design methods by which this may be achieved. Specific attention is given to network considerations, street section length, road width, horizontal alignment and sight distance. Various suggestions are offered on the basis of current information, particularly stressing the importance of reducing the length of uninterrupted road sections and adopting realistic horizontal curve design parameters. Emphasis is placed on the total design of the road and its setting as a whole in order to achieve consistently restrained driving rather than just point speed reduction. The paper is similar to that presented by the author to the annual conference of the local government engineers' association of new south wales in march, 1988. (Author/publisher) For the covering record of the symposium, see IRRD No 808826.