00989144

Component

The Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT) recognized the need to study local crash experiences when controversy arose during the public input process of a road-widening project. The proposed median-divided cross-section was met with public opposition because of the lack of direct left-turn access to numerous residential streets. The objective of this research was to investigate Charlotte's experience with median-divided and five-lane roadways. Eleven major arterials were selected for study. The median-divided roadway segments totaled 7.9 miles and the five-lane segments totaled 7.1 miles. Each segment averaged approximately 1.5 miles. These arterials represented a sample of locations and land use patterns within Charlotte. Three and a half years of crash data were collected and evaluated. Total crashes, fatalities, injury crashes and crash types were compared between the two roadway types. CDOT found the initial results to be consistent with national data. Median-divided roadways were found to be safer than five-lane roadways. Total crashes were 64% lower on the median-divided roadways. The number of left-turn and angle collisions were 84% lower on the median-divided roadways. Total numbers only convey a portion of the story for comparison. Fatalities and injury crashes provide better measures of safety on roadways. Three fatalities occurred on the five-lane and one fatality occurred on the median-divided roadway. The median-divided roadway experienced 53% fewer debilitating injuries. In addition, the median-divided roadway had 62% fewer property damage only incidents compared to the five-lance roadway.

The symposium proceedings are available on CD-ROM.

00989133

English

7p

2003-7

2nd Urban Street Symposium: Uptown, Downtown, or Small Town: Designing Urban Streets That Work

CD-ROM

Photos (1) ; References (2) ; Tables (6)

Access control (Transportation); Arterial highways; Crash data; Crash types; Fatalities; Highway safety; Injuries; Medians; Pavement widening; Residential streets

Five lane highways; Property damage

Charlotte (North Carolina)

Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I81: Accident Statistics

TRIS, TRB

Apr 4 2005 12:00AM

• A METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS DESIGN FEATURES FOR PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST CROSSINGS AT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS
• A ROUNDABOUT CASE STUDY COMPARING CAPACITY ESTIMATES FROM ALTERNATIVE ANALYTICAL MODELS
• A TALE OF TWO STREETSCAPES
• BACK IN ANGLE PARKING IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
• BLIND PEDESTRIANS AT UNFAMILIAR SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS: RESEARCH ON SAFETY
• BUS RAPID TRANSIT ON CITY STREETS: HOW DOES IT WORK
• CHARACTERISTICS AND PERFORMANCE OF SMART GROWTH TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
• CHARLOTTE'S URBAN STREET DESIGN GUIDELINES: A CONTEXT-SENSITIVE DECISION-MAKING METHOD
• COMPARISON OF SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF URBAN STREETS BEFORE AND AFTER LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS
• CONTEXT SENSITIVE DESIGN CHALLENGES FOR MAJOR SUBURBAN ARTERIAL STREET PROJECTS
• CROSS BRONX CONNECTOR ROAD SYSTEM
• DESIGN CHANGES FOR LIVABLE URBAN STREETS
• DESIGN GUIDANCE FOR GREAT STREETS: ADDRESSING CONTEXT SENSITIVITY FOR MAJOR URBAN STREETS
• ENGINEERS, PLANNERS, AND PHILOSOPHERS
• EVALUATING OPERATING SPEEDS FOR LOW-SPEED URBAN STREETS
• FIELD OBSERVATIONS OF PATH AND SPEED OF MOTORISTS AT DOUBLE-LANE ROUNDABOUTS
• GRANT AVENUE IN ODESSA, TEXAS: A DOWNTOWN STREETSCAPE SUCCESS
• HOW MUCH DO YOU LOSE WHEN YOUR ROAD GOES ON A DIET?
• HOW PLANNING DECISIONS IMPACT HIGHWAY COLLISION HISTORIES
• IDENTIFYING LOCATIONS FOR BUS NUB INSTALLATION ON URBAN ROADWAYS
• IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAM FOR ACCESS MANAGEMENT IN TEXAS: LESSONS LEARNED
• IN-PAVEMENT FLASHING CROSSWALKS - STATE OF THE ART
• IOWA'S STATEWIDE URBAN DESIGN STANDARDS PROMOTE IMPROVED ACCESS MANAGEMENT
• LEFT-TURN LANE INSTALLATION GUIDELINES
• LIVABLE STREETS INITIATIVE: THE TENSION BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS AND VIRGINIA CODE AND GUIDELINES
• MEDIAN BUS LANE DESIGN IN VANCOUVER, BC: THE #98 B-LINE
• MOVING FORWARD WHEN YOU CANNOT SEE: ISSUES OF PEDESTRIANS WHO ARE VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN THE URBAN STREET ENVIRONMENT
• NEW INTERCHANGE AND INTERSECTION DESIGNS: THE SYNCHRONIZED SPLIT-PHASING INTERSECTION AND THE DIVERGING DIAMOND INTERCHANGE
• OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF ROUNDABOUTS
• PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN FOR THE KELLY PARKWAY CORRIDOR STUDY: CONTEXT SENSITIVE DESIGN
• SAFETY EFFECTS OF MARKED VS. UNMARKED CROSSWALKS AT UNCONTROLLED LOCATIONS: RESULTS FROM 30 CITIES
• SIGNING AND PAVEMENT-MARKING STRATEGIES FOR MULTI-LANE ROUNDABOUTS: AN INFORMAL INVESTIGATION
• SIMULATING ROUNDABOUTS WITH VISSIM
• SLIPPERS METAL COVERS: HOW LONG ARE WE GONNA BEAR WITH IT?
• SMART GROWTH ALTERNATIVES TO MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS
• STREET SYSTEMS AND CLASSIFICATIONS TO SUPPORT SMART GROWTH
• THE DOUBLE-WIDE DESIGN: AN INEXPENSIVE WAY TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS ON FOUR-LANE HIGHWAYS
• THE EFFECTS OF SCHOOL ZONES ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR
• THE USE OF GPS AND GIS TO ANALYZE ACCESS NEAR INTERSECTIONS
• TRAFFIC CALMING IN A SMART GROWTH COMMUNITY
• TRAFFIC OPERATIONS AND SAFETY AT SCHOOLS: REVIEW OF EXISTING GUIDELINES
• TRANSPORTATION CONCERNS NEAR SCHOOLS
• URBAN MINOR ARTERIAL FOUR-LANE UNDIVIDED TO THREE-LANE CONVERSION FEASIBILITY: AN UPDATE
• URBAN STREET: IS THERE ROOM FOR SEGWAY (TRADEMARK) HUMAN TRANSPORTER (HT)?
• USE OF ROUNDABOUTS IN AN URBAN SETTING
• USING THE NUMBER OF PASSING AND MEETING EVENTS TO DESIGN PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE SHARED-USE PATHS