The design of modern residential subdivisions requires an understanding of the behaviour of vehicles driven in residential street environments. This enables the street network to be designed such that it naturally restricts vehicle speeds to a desirable maximum. Past research has shown that one of the most significant physical characteristics of a residential street environment which affects vehicle speed is the length of the street. In the research described herein, relationships were developed between vehicle speed and street length from data collected in three short residential streets and showed that if the 85th percentile design vehicle is to be restricted to speeds less than 60 km/h, the straight length of a street should be no greater than 200 metres. It was also identified that further research should be directed towards determining the impact of street length on maximum speeds, the relationship between the entrance speed and the maximum speed, the behaviour of vehicles between traffic control devices, and the influence of the treatment at the end of the street on the length of the acceleration manoeuvre (A).
Abstract