Design Factors That Affect Driver Speed on Suburban Arterials
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Technical Report Documentation Page ~rt No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipjent's Catalog No. AffX-00/1769-3 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Re2ort Date DESIGN FACTORS THAT AFFECTDRNERSPEED June 000 ON SUBURBAN ARTERIALS 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performin~ Or~anization Report No. Kay Fitzpatrick, Paul J. Carlson, Mark D. Wooldridge, and Marcus A. Report 17 9- Brewer 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Texas Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System 11. Contract or Grant No. College Station, Texas 77843-3135 Project No. 0-1769 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Texas Department of Transportation Research: Research and Technology Transfer Section, Construction Division September 1997 - August 1999 P.O. Box 5080 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Austin, Texas 78763-5080 15. Supplementary Notes Research performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Research Project Title: Identify Design Factors That Affect Driver Speed and Behavior 16. Abstract Driver behavior is affected by many roadway factors. This project investigated which geometric, roadside, and traffic control device variables have an effect on driver behavior on major suburban arterials. Traffic signals and traffic volume were considered within the study site selection and data collection criteria and, therefore, are not included in the analysis. Regression techniques were used to determine how selected variables affect speed at the midpoints of straight sections and horizontal curves. When all variables are considered, the only significant variable for straight sections was posted speed limit. In addition to posted speed, deflection angle and access density classes influence speed on curve sections. Because 85th percentile speed is frequently used to set the posted speed limit, one may expect that one value would be able to predict the other, as is shown in this analysis. Another series of analyses was performed without using posted speed limit so as to provide information on predicting operating speed when not considering posted speed limit. Without speed limit, only lane width is a significant variable for straight sections. For curve sites without speed limit, the impact of median presence now becomes significant along with roadside development. 17. KeyWords 18. Distribution Statement Operating Speed, 85th Percentile Speed, Posted No restrictions. This document is available Speed Limit, Suburban Arterials, Curves, Straight to the public through NTIS: Sections National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, Virginia 22161 19. Securi~ Classif. (of this report) 20. Securi~ Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassi 1ed Unclassi 1ed 164 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) DESIGN FACTORS THAT AFFECT DRIVER SPEED ON SUBURBAN ARTERIALS by Kay Fitzpatrick, P .E. Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute Paul J. Carlson, P .E. Assistant Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute Mark D. Wooldridge, P.E. Associate Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute and Marcus A. Brewer Graduate Assistant Researcher Texas Transportation Institute Report 17 69-3 Project Number 0-1769 Research Project Title: Identify Design Factors That Affect Driver Speed and Behavior Sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation In Cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration June2000 TEXAS TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Texas A&M University System College Station, Texas 77843-3135 DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) or the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation, nor is it intended for construction, bidding, or permit purposes. This report was prepared by Kay Fitzpatrick, P.E. (TX-86762), Paul J. Carlson, P.E. (TX-85402), Mark D. Wooldridge, P.E. (TX-65791), and Marcus A. Brewer. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The project team recognizes Aurora (Rory) Meza, project director; Rick Collins, program coordinator; and technical panel members Larry Blackburn and Gilbert Gavia for their time in providing direction and comments for this study. Research was performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. The authors would also like to recognize the following persons for helping with report preparation efforts and data collection: • Report Preparation: Maria Medrano, Crystal Garza; • Site Selection Assistance: Larry Colclasure (Waco District), Wes McClure (Tyler District), Terry Sams (Dallas District), David V. Seiler (City of Corpus Christi), Robert Benz (TTI Houston), Marc Jacobson (former TTI employee), Jon Collins (former TTI employee); • Data Collection: TTI Technicians; Rhett Gordon, Dan Walker; and • Data Reduction: Terri Arendale, Mike Davis, Brian DeLatte, Mark Harris, Kevin Herren, Chad Kopecki, Kimberly Murphy, Stephen Pate, Kollan Pillay. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................... xiv 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................... 1-1 OBJECTNES ........................................................ 1-1 ORGANIZATION OF REPORT .......................................... 1-2 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................. 2-1 TWO-LANERURALIDGHWAYS ....................................... 2-1 1999 FHWA Study .................................................. 2-1 Previous Studies . 2-7 Predicting Tangent Speeds . 2-8 LOW-SPEED URBAN STREETS ....................................... 2-11 SUBURBAN ARTERIALS ............................................. 2-13 FRONTAGE ROADS ................................................. 2-15 FREEWAYS ........................................................ 2-19 URBAN ROADWAYS ................................................ 2-19 MULTIPLE ROADWAY TYPES ........................................ 2-19 SUMMARY ......................................................... 2-21 3 STUDY APPROACH ................................................. 3-1 PILOT STUDIES ...................................................... 3-1 Laser Pilot Study ................................................... 3-2 Individual Driver Pilot Study .......................................... 3-3 IDENTIFICATION AND SELECTION OF VARIABLES ..................... 3-3 Internal TTI Survey . 3-4 Selection of Variables . 3-4 SITE SELECTION . 3-6 Laser Pilot Study ................................................... 3-6 Individual Driver Pilot Study .......................................... 3-8 DATA COLLECTION PLAN FOR PHASE II .............................. 3-10 4 INDIVIDUAL DRIVER PILOT STUDY ................................. 4-1 DATA COLLECTION .................................................. 4-1 Drivers . 4-1 Testing Equipment .................................................. 4-1 Study Sites ........................................................ 4-3 Procedure ......................................................... 4-4 DATA REDUCTION .................................................. 4-5 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS (CON'T) FINDINGS ........................................................... 4-5 Per Site Findings ................................................... 4-6 Comparison of Site Findings .......................................... 4-7 LESSONS LEARNED ................................................. 4-10 5 LASER PILOT STUDY ............................................... 5-1 DATA COLLECTION .................................................. 5-1 STUDY SITES ........................................................ 5-4 Jon Kimbrough ..................................................... 5-6 Villa Maria ........................................................ 5-7 South College ...................................................... 5-8 29th Street ......................................................... 5-9 Texas Avenue ..................................................... 5-10 DATA REDUCTION ................................................. 5-10 DATA ANALYSIS ................................................... 5-11 Jon Kimbrough .................................................... 5-12 South College ..................................................... 5-13 Villa Maria ....................................................... 5-14 Northbound 29th Street .............................................. 5-15 Southbound 29th Street .............................................. 5-16 Texas A venue ..................................................... 5-17 FINDINGS .......................................................... 5-18 LESSONS LEARNED ................................................. 5-20 Data Collection Methodology ........................................ 5-20 Speed Relationship with Variables .................................... 5-21 6 DATA COLLECTION AND REDUCTION FOR LASER STUDY ............ 6-1 SITE SELECTION ..................................................... 6-1 DATA COLLECTION .................................................. 6-4 Site Characteristics .................................................