NATIONAL

NCHRP REPORT 612

COOPERATIVE
HIGHWAY
RESEARCH
PROGRAM

Safe and Aesthetic Design of

Urban Roadside Treatments
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2008 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*

OFFICERS
CHAIR: Debra L. Miller, Secretary, Kansas DOT, Topeka
VICE CHAIR: Adib K. Kanafani, Cahill Professor of Civil Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Transportation Research Board

MEMBERS
J. Barry Barker, Executive Director, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, KY
Allen D. Biehler, Secretary, Pennsylvania DOT, Harrisburg
John D. Bowe, President, Americas Region, APL Limited, Oakland, CA
Larry L. Brown, Sr., Executive Director, Mississippi DOT, Jackson
Deborah H. Butler, Executive Vice President, Planning, and CIO, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Norfolk, VA
William A.V. Clark, Professor, Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles
David S. Ekern, Commissioner, Virginia DOT, Richmond
Nicholas J. Garber, Henry L. Kinnier Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Jeffrey W. Hamiel, Executive Director, Metropolitan Airports Commission, Minneapolis, MN
Edward A. (Ned) Helme, President, Center for Clean Air Policy, Washington, DC
Will Kempton, Director, California DOT, Sacramento
Susan Martinovich, Director, Nevada DOT, Carson City
Michael D. Meyer, Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Michael R. Morris, Director of Transportation, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Arlington
Neil J. Pedersen, Administrator, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore
Pete K. Rahn, Director, Missouri DOT, Jefferson City
Sandra Rosenbloom, Professor of Planning, University of Arizona, Tucson
Tracy L. Rosser, Vice President, Corporate Traffic, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, AR
Rosa Clausell Rountree, Executive Director, Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority, Atlanta
Henry G. (Gerry) Schwartz, Jr., Chairman (retired), Jacobs/Sverdrup Civil, Inc., St. Louis, MO
C. Michael Walton, Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, University of Texas, Austin
Linda S. Watson, CEO, LYNX–Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority, Orlando
Steve Williams, Chairman and CEO, Maverick Transportation, Inc., Little Rock, AR

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Thad Allen (Adm., U.S. Coast Guard), Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Washington, DC
Joseph H. Boardman, Federal Railroad Administrator, U.S.DOT
Rebecca M. Brewster, President and COO, American Transportation Research Institute, Smyrna, GA
Paul R. Brubaker, Research and Innovative Technology Administrator, U.S.DOT
George Bugliarello, Chancellor, Polytechnic University of New York, Brooklyn, and Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering,
Washington, DC
Sean T. Connaughton, Maritime Administrator, U.S.DOT
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO, Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC
John H. Hill, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT
John C. Horsley, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
Carl T. Johnson, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT
J. Edward Johnson, Director, Applied Science Directorate, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John C. Stennis Space Center, MS
Thomas J. Madison, Jr., Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S.DOT
William W. Millar, President, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Nicole R. Nason, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator, U.S.DOT
James S. Simpson, Federal Transit Administrator, U.S.DOT
Robert A. Sturgell, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S.DOT
Robert L. Van Antwerp (Lt. Gen., U.S. Army), Chief of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC

*Membership as of September 2008.

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM

NCHRP REPORT 612

Safe and Aesthetic Design of
Urban Roadside Treatments

Karen K. Dixon
Michael Liebler
Hong Zhu
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Corvallis, OR

Michael P. Hunter
Berry Mattox
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Atlanta, GA

Subject Areas
Safety and Human Performance

Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD

WASHINGTON, D.C.
2008
www.TRB.org
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY NCHRP REPORT 612
RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective Project 16-04
approach to the solution of many problems facing highway ISSN 0077-5614
administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local ISBN: 978-0-309-11753-1
interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually Library of Congress Control Number 2008909154
or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the © 2008 Transportation Research Board
accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly
complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These
problems are best studied through a coordinated program of COPYRIGHT PERMISSION
cooperative research.
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining
In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials published or copyrighted material used herein.
initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this
employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the
understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA,
a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the
FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product,
Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for
Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of
any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission
Transportation.
from CRP.
The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was
requested by the Association to administer the research program
because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of
NOTICE
modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this
purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway
Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of
authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the
possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, Governing Board’s judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and
state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research
Council.
relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of
The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this
objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of
report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the
specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed
research directly to those who are in a position to use them. or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have
been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of
The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified
the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American
by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway
and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation.
needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according
Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive
Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council.
Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these
needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research
Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway
selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National
surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade
Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the
object of this report.
The needs for highway research are many, and the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant
contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of
mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is
intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other
highway research programs.

Published reports of the

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM

are available from:

Transportation Research Board

Business Office
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

and can be ordered through the Internet at:

http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore
Printed in the United States of America
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS

CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 612

Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Charles W. Niessner, Senior Program Officer
Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications
Ellen M. Chafee, Assistant Editor

NCHRP PROJECT 16-04 PANEL

Field of Design—Area of Roadside Development
James Buchan, Georgia DOT, Atlanta, GA (Chair)
Richard B. Albin, Washington State DOT, Olympia, WA
Nancy Alexander, New York State DOT, Albany, NY
Ronald K. Faller, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, Lincoln, NE
Mark S. Mathews, HNTB Corporation, Austin, TX
Kirk G. McClelland, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore, MD
Keith Robinson, California DOT, Sacramento, CA
Harry W. Taylor, Jr., Taylor Consulting, Washington, DC
Donald Yue, STV Incorporated, New York, NY
Nicholas A. Artimovich, II, FHWA Liaison
Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Project 16–04 by the Georgia Research
Institute and faculty and staff in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia
Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). The School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State
University (OSU) also participated substantially in this research effort. Georgia Tech served as the pri-
mary contractor for this study while OSU served as a subcontractor for the project. In addition, Glatting
Jackson served as a subconsultant during the early project stages.
Dr. Karen K. Dixon, P.E., Associate Professor at OSU, was the project director and co-principal inves-
tigator. Dr. Michael P. Hunter, Assistant Professor at Georgia Tech, served as co-principal investigator.
The other authors of this report are Michael Liebler and Hong Zhu, Graduate Research Assistants at OSU,
and Berry Mattox, Graduate Research Assistant at Georgia Tech. In addition, Dr. Eric Dumbaugh of Texas
A&M contributed to the literature review portion of this report.
The authors would like to acknowledge agencies that provided data and case study material for
this research effort. These include the cities of Phoenix, Arizona; Sacramento, California; Eden Prairie,
Minnesota; Billings, Montana; Charlotte, North Carolina; Bend, Oregon; Portland, Oregon; and Salt Lake
City, Utah. In addition, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Oregon Department of Trans-
portation, and the Federal Highway Administration also provided data for this project.
FOREWORD

By Charles W. Niessner
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board

This report presents the findings of a research project to develop recommended design
guidelines for safe and aesthetic roadside treatments in urban areas and a toolbox of effec-
tive roadside treatments that balance pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist safety and mobility.
The report will be of particular interest to designers and safety practitioners responsible for
the design of arterial and collector-type facilities in urban areas.

Many challenges are encountered when designing highway projects that pass through
urban areas. Arterial and collector highways are typically designed to move vehicles as
quickly and efficiently as possible. However, many times these highways are the centers of
communities that have developed around them. Increasingly, citizens of these communi-
ties have requested that these highways be redesigned using roadside solutions that enhance
the appearance and, in many cases, the functional use of the highway.
Many of the solutions involve introducing roadside treatments such as trees, sculptures,
and signs. In addition to enhancing the appearance of these highways, these treatments are
often also intended to slow or “calm” traffic to enhance safety. However, many of these
treatments are considered fixed objects, as defined in the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide,
and they will often be located within the design clear zone. Recommended clear zone
dimensions generally represent minimum lateral offset distances. Thus, reducing existing,
wider clear zones by introducing fixed objects, even at these minimum distances, reduces
the recovery distance. In addition, slowing traffic may cause changes in traffic operations.
Therefore, it is crucial that the impacts of these designs be understood so that decisions can
be based on facts. There is also a need to identify designs that have performed acceptably
and a need to develop new design guidelines that enhance the roadside environment while
being forgiving to errant vehicles.
Under NCHRP Project 16-04, “Design Guidelines for Safe and Aesthetic Roadside Treat-
ments in Urban Areas,” researchers at Oregon State University and the Georgia Institute of
Technology developed recommended design guidelines for roadside treatments in urban
areas and a toolkit that includes strategies for placing roadside objects with respect to drive-
ways, intersections, merge lanes, and so forth. They also developed a draft of Chapter 10 for
the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide.
Two analysis approaches were used in developing the guidelines. First, a corridor assess-
ment of urban roadside conditions was performed and contrasted with 6 years of historic
crash data. The goal was to identify potential configurations that posed a greater risk using
cluster crash analysis. By contrast, assessment of locations with similar features but without
these crashes provided insight into prospective alternative treatments for roadside safety in
urban environments.
 In the second analysis approach, the researchers assembled case studies in which jurisdic-
tions had performed roadside enhancement or “beautification” projects without compan-
ion major road reconstruction. A simplified before-after crash analysis, crash summaries,
and project descriptive information were assembled to help determine the safety influence
of the enhancement projects. The results of this case study task varied, but can be used by
agencies to estimate the potential safety implications of their future roadside enhancement
projects.
CONTENTS

1 Summary
3 Chapter 1 Background
3 Problem Statement and Research Objective
3 Scope of Study
5 Chapter 2 State-of-the-Art Summary
5 Overview of Roadside Crash Statistics
5 Roadside Safety: Current Practices
7 Examining Roadside Safety in Urban Environments
8 Preventing Vehicles from Leaving the Travelway
11 Safety of Urban Roadside Elements
36 Literature Review Conclusion
37 Chapter 3 Findings and Applications
37 Urban Control Zone Assessment
46 Case Study Task and Summary of Findings
49 General Recommendations
50 Chapter 4 Conclusions and Suggested Research
50 Conclusions
51 Suggested Research
52 References
56 Appendix A Urban Control Zone Corridor Study Reports
57 Appendix B Case Study Reports
58 Appendix C Toolkit for Urban Roadside Design
64 Appendix D Draft Chapter 10 for AASHTO
Roadside Design Guide
 1

SUMMARY

Safe and Aesthetic Design of

Urban Roadside Treatments

Roadside safety in rural environments has been the focus of considerable study, but direct
application of this knowledge to the urban environment is challenging because the urban
environment is constrained in ways that the rural environment isn’t. In urban environments,
restricted right-of-way, with a greater demand for functional use of the space adjacent to
roads, makes the maintenance of a wide clear zone impractical. This report summarizes
work performed under NCHRP Project 16-04 to identify urban roadside safety issues and
seek solutions for mitigating hazards where possible.
The objectives of NCHRP Project 16-04 were to develop (1) design guidelines for safe
and aesthetic roadside treatments in urban areas and (2) a toolbox of effective roadside
treatments that can balance the safety and mobility of pedestrians, bicyclists, and
motorists and accommodate community values. The guidelines that were developed are
based on an evaluation of the effects of roadside treatments such as trees, landscaping, and
other features on vehicle speed and overall safety. The guidelines generally focus on arte-
rial and collector-type facilities in urban areas with speed limits between 40 and 80 km/h
(25 and 50 mph).
The research included two analysis approaches. In the first approach, the authors assessed
roadside conditions in various urban corridors, performed a cluster crash analysis to identify
locations with an overrepresentation of fixed-object crashes during a 6-year period, and
identified fixed-object crash features for each location. This analysis enabled the authors to
identify the road and roadside configurations that posed the most risk for fixed-object
crashes. These higher risk road and roadside configurations were referred to as urban
control zones.
The road and roadside configurations most commonly associated with fixed-object
crashes included those with the following:

• Obstacles in close lateral proximity to the curb face or lane edge;

• Roadside objects placed near lane merge points;
• Lateral offsets not appropriately adjusted for auxiliary lane treatments;
• Objects placed inappropriately in sidewalk buffer treatments;
• Driveways that interrupt positive guidance and have objects placed near them;
• Three kinds of fixed-object placement at intersections;
• Unique roadside configurations associated with high crash occurrence; and
• Roadside configurations commonly known to be hazardous.

In the second approach, the authors assembled case studies in which jurisdictions had per-
formed roadside enhancement projects (often known as beautification projects) without
2

companion major road reconstruction. For these case studies, a simplified before-after crash
analysis, crash summaries, and project descriptive information were assembled to help
determine the safety influence of the enhancement projects. The results of this case study
task varied, but can be used by agencies to estimate the potential safety implications of their
future roadside enhancement projects.
 3

CHAPTER 1

Background

Problem Statement The objectives of NCHRP Project 16-04, therefore, were

and Research Objective to develop (1) design guidelines for safe and aesthetically
pleasing roadside treatments in urban areas and (2) a toolbox
Many challenges are encountered when designing highway of effective roadside treatments that can balance the safety
projects that pass through urban areas. Arterial and collector and mobility needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists
highways are typically designed for moving vehicles as quickly and accommodate community values. The guidelines devel-
and efficiently as possible. However, many times these high- oped in this project were based on an evaluation of the effects
ways are at the center of a community that has developed of treatments such as poles, trees, landscaping, and other
around them. Increasingly, citizens of these communities roadside features on vehicle speed and overall safety. The
have requested that highway corridors be redesigned using guidelines generally focus on arterial and collector-type facil-
roadside solutions that enhance the appearance and, in many ities in urban areas with speed limits between 40 and 80 km/h
cases, the functional use of the highway roadside. (25 and 50 mph).
Many of these solutions involve introducing roadside
treatments such as trees, street furniture, and signs. In addi-
Scope of Study
tion to enhancing the appearance of these highways, some
roadside treatments are intended to slow or “calm” traffic. This study includes two approaches for identifying the
However, many of these same features are considered fixed potential influence of urban roadside features on system-
objects and will likely be located within the design clear zone. wide safety. The first approach was a corridor analysis of
Recommended clear zone dimensions vary based on sideslope, over 241 km/h (150 mi) of urban roadways, in which the re-
design speed, and traffic volume; however, the generally wider search team examined historic crash information to identify
road widths that are needed to include roadside treatments are common roadside crash conditions. Crashes were displayed
usually difficult to achieve and impractical in constrained on spot maps and also summarized individually for addi-
urban settings. As a result, designers often use minimum lateral tional analysis. The research team then used video to record
offset distances that simply enable operational use of the road. the corridors and the placement of roadside features. The
Thus, introducing fixed objects—which can result in the re- result of this corridor analysis is proposed urban control
duction of existing wider lateral offsets—can potentially have zones where the likelihood of crashes is significantly greater.
a direct impact on roadside safety. In addition, slowing traffic This information has then been used to develop recom-
may cause changes in traffic operations. Therefore, it is crucial mended guidelines for enhancing roadside safety in the urban
to informed decision making that the impacts of roadside environment.
enhancement designs be understood. There is also a need to The second approach to evaluating the roadside safety
identify designs that have performed in an acceptable manner problem was the assembly of case studies with crash type,
and to develop new design guidelines that will lead to enhanced crash severity, and before-after safety assessments. Ideally,
roadside environments and be forgiving to errant vehicles. a candidate case study would include the change of only one
These guidelines will provide the American Association of roadside feature so that the direct influence of that change on
State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Tech- safety could be evaluated; however, such unique improve-
nical Committee for Roadside Safety with critical information ment projects are limited, so this case study task included
for the update of Chapter 10 of the Roadside Design Guide (1). general beautification projects with roadside enhancements
4

and excluded projects with major reconstruction. The results well as future research needs identified during this research
of these case study evaluations were mixed, but an agency effort. In addition, this report includes four appendices.
seeking to perform a similar project can use the results to help Appendix A provides detailed information about the urban
understand the general safety performance that can be ex- control zone corridor sites. Appendix B includes the sum-
pected following the completion of the project. mary statistics for the case study sites. Appendix C includes
Chapter 2 of this report summarizes current knowledge an urban roadside design toolbox, and Appendix D provides
from literature on the urban roadside and objects commonly draft language for the urban chapter in the AASHTO Road-
placed in the urban roadside environment. Chapter 3 sum- side Design Guide (1). Appendixes A, B, and D are available
marizes the analysis procedures and subsequent findings for on the TRB website at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.
each task. Chapter 4 provides general research conclusions as asp?id=9456. Appendix C is appended to this report.
 5

CHAPTER 2

State-of-the-Art Summary

Urban areas present unique challenges to the roadway de- are crashes that involve a vehicle that leaves the roadway.
signer. Urban and regional stakeholders need a transportation Of the 6.2 million crashes in 2005, run-off-road crashes
network that allows them to accomplish their travel objec- accounted for 0.95 million, or about 15 percent of the total.
tives with a minimum amount of travel delay and to have While run-off-road crashes happen less frequently than other
these travel demands met on a road network that is both types of crashes, they are often severe. Although run-off-road
operationally efficient and safe. crashes accounted for only 15 percent of all crashes in 2005,
While the transportation profession has made dramatic they accounted for 32.2 percent of the total fatal crashes in
advancements toward meeting safety and mobility mandates, that year (see Table 1).
it is critical that the function of the street system complement Examining fatal crashes by the first harmful event illustrates
the adjacent land use and balance the needs of all users while the magnitude of specific roadside hazards. Of the fatal crashes
maintaining the safest possible transportation facility. Of par- occurring in 2005, 39 percent involved collisions between
ticular interest is the design of roadsides—the area between motor vehicles. Rollover crashes and collisions with fixed
the shoulder (or curb) and the edge of the right-of-way (1). objects—two kinds of crashes that are associated with the
The roadside is a common location for pedestrian activity, roadside environment—made up 11 percent and 32 percent,
utility placement, landscaping, transit stops, driveway place- respectively, of fatal crashes in 2005. The highest percentage
ment, mailbox placement, and placement of a variety of other of fixed-object crashes was in the category of tree/shrub, with
roadside features typical of the urban environment. Urban tree or shrub impacts accounting for slightly more than 3,200
roadside environments can range from dense downtown crashes, or roughly 8 percent of all fatal crashes. Poles and
zones with on-street parking to high-speed zones with motor posts accounted for a little less than 5 percent of all fatal crashes
vehicle operational priorities. (see Table 2).
Given the importance of the roadside environment to the
quality of urban life, it is unsurprising that urban residents
Roadside Safety: Current Practices
and stakeholders often seek to have the roadside designed in
a manner that enhances the quality of the urban environment. The literature on roadside safety establishes three roadside
Commonly requested functional roadside elements include crash strategies that can be considered when seeking to im-
sidewalks, street trees, and street amenities such as seating. prove run-off-road crash statistics (1). First, the ideal scenario
Requested aesthetic elements include public art and special is to prevent vehicles from leaving the travelway, thereby
paving materials. Placing these roadside elements in a way eliminating the crash entirely. Preventing the conditions that
that enhances urban roadside safety is the focus of this liter- lead to run-off-road crashes (conditions such as driving while
ature review. impaired or fatigued) and alerting a driver that he or she is
leaving the travelway would be potential countermeasures
included in this category.
Overview of Roadside
The second strategy, which is based on the idea that run-
Crash Statistics
off-road events are impossible to prevent entirely, is to design
In 2005, over 6.2 million crashes occurred on U.S. roadways. a roadside that is “forgiving.” In other words, a roadside
Almost 1.9 million of these crashes involved an injury, and should be designed to minimize the consequences of a run-
39,189 people were fatally injured (2). Of particular concern off-road event. Under current practice, the ideal roadside
6

Table 1. Crashes by number of vehicles and relation to roadway

(2005).

On Run-Off- Other/ % Run-

Crash Type Roadway Road Shoulder Median Unknown Off-Road Total
Fatal Crashes
Single Vehicle 6,507 12,340 2,431 1,022 353 54.5 22,653
Multiple Vehicle 15,647 297 302 198 92 1.8 16,536
Total 22,154 12,637 2,733 1,220 445 32.2 39,189
Injury Crashes
Single Vehicle 154,000 320,000 14,000 48,000 28,000 56.7 564,000
Multiple Vehicle 1,235,000 7,000 1,000 7,000 2,000 0.6 1,252,000
Total 1,390,000 327,000 16,000 54,000 30,000 18.0 1,816,000
Property-Damage-Only Crashes
Single Vehicle 328,000 598,000 31,000 81,000 277,000 45.5 1,314,000
Multiple Vehicle 2,957,000 11,000 3,000 14,000 5,000 0.4 2,990,000
Total 3,284,000 609,000 34,000 94,000 282,000 14.1 4,304,000
All Crashes
Single Vehicle 488,000 930,000 48,000 129,000 306,000 48.9 1,900,653
Multiple Vehicle 4,208,000 18,000 5,000 21,000 7,000 0.4 4,258,536
Total 4,697,000 948,000 53,000 150,000 313,000 15.4 6,159,189
Source: Adapted from Traffic Safety Facts 2005 (2).

allows errant vehicles to come to a controlled stop before design treatments, leaving the definition of what constitutes
encountering an object located along the roadside by includ- a “safe” facility open to question. The ability to clearly and
ing a clear zone adjacent to the travelway. In many situations, reasonably evaluate and demonstrate the safety impacts will
however, such as urban roadways located in narrow rights- go a long way toward resolving many of the contentious issues
of-way, a clear zone may be impractical. Thus, in many cases, that relate to the design of urban roadways and toward satis-
in which the provision of a clear zone and/or wider right-of- fying the needs and interests of project stakeholders. This re-
way may be desirable from a safety perspective, achieving this view, therefore, summarizes focused research on the safety of
clear zone may be infeasible. Under these circumstances, roadside treatments in urban areas with particular attention
design agencies should strive to minimize the severity of an to the high-speed (thus more severe) crash locations such as
impact with a fixed object should such a crash occur. suburban-to-urban arterial transitions where land use is less
This literature review summarizes known roadside design dense, on-street parking is rarely permitted, and the presence
safety guidance for roadways in urban areas. There is often of driveways/intersections is considerably less frequent than
little substantive knowledge on the safety impacts of various it is in more congested urban business corridors.

Table 2. Fatal crashes by most harmful event (2005).

First Harmful Event Fatal Crashes % of All Fatalities

Collision with Motor Vehicle in Transport 15,357 39.2
Pedestrian 4,520 11.5
Object Not Fixed Bicycle 776 2.0
Other Object Not Fixed 1,209 3.1
Overturn (Rollover) 4,266 10.9
Tree/Shrub 3,215 8.2
Pole or Post 1,852 4.7
Culvert/Ditch/Curb 2,591 6.6
Fixed Object
Embankment 1,444 3.7
Guardrail 1,189 3.0
Bridge 336 0.9
Other Fixed Object 1,812 4.6
Other Unknown First Harmful Events 622 1.6
Total 39,189 100.0

Source: Adapted from Traffic Safety Facts 2005 (2).

 7

In the first volume (and subsequent volumes) of NCHRP treatments that balance the demands of agencies, stakeholders,
Report 500, prospective engineering countermeasures and and users on these roadways. While highways, freeways, and
their associated effectiveness are classified as “Tried,” “Exper- other high-speed, limited-access roadways may have impor-
imental,” or “Proven” (3, pp. V-2 through V-3). This classi- tant roadside safety issues, the design of such roadways is out-
fication permits readers to understand the level of testing side the scope of this study.
performed on a specific countermeasure perceived to be
effective for a safety improvement program. Summarized
Examining Roadside Safety
versions of the definitions given in the first volume of the
in Urban Environments
NCHRP Report 500 series for “Tried,” “Experimental,” and
“Proven” are given below (3, pp. V-2 through V-3): The majority of travel undertaken in the United States
occurs on urban roadways. Of the 2.9 trillion miles of travel
• Tried (T)—Strategies that have been implemented at a in 2003, roughly 1.8 trillion—62 percent—occurred in urban
number of locations but for which valid safety evaluations areas (4). Urban roadways experience higher levels of traffic
have not been identified. As a result, these strategies should congestion, particularly during morning and evening peak
be used with caution until information about their effec- periods, and are much more likely to incorporate multi-
tiveness can be accumulated and they can be reclassified as modal travel, including transit, bicycling, and walking. Trip
Proven strategies. characteristics differ as well. While rural roadways experience
• Experimental (E)—Strategies that appear sufficiently more freight and long-distance, inter-regional trips, most
promising so that application and testing appear feasible urban travel is characterized by intra-regional travel, partic-
for a small-scale evaluation. These strategies do not have ularly household-related travel, such as work or shopping
any valid safety evaluations or large-scale applications and trips. Thus, it is not surprising that the nature of urban road-
warrant pilot studies to help elevate them to the category side crashes may also differ from the nature of rural roadside
of Proven strategies. crashes.
• Proven (P)—Strategies that have been used in more than When one compares fatal crash frequency in rural areas
one location and for which properly designed evaluations with crashes in urban areas, it is clear that fatal rural roadway
were conducted to show their level of effectiveness. A user crashes occur more often than fatal urban roadway crashes.
can apply a proven strategy with some level of confidence, While on-roadway crashes are slightly more frequent in rural
but is also aware of appropriate applications as a result of areas, off-roadway crashes, which include rollover as well as
these previous studies. fixed-object crashes, are considerably more frequent in rural
areas. In the categories of fixed-object and rollover crashes
The roadside-object literature review included in this re- only, fatal crashes are still more frequent in rural environ-
port focuses on proven safety strategies for urban roadside ments. Approximately 60 percent of fatal fixed-object crashes
safety; however, Tried and Experimental strategies are also and 77 percent of fatal rollover crashes occurred in rural
included in an effort to provide a comprehensive listing of environments.
known or perceived applications. In addition, this chapter re- Although focusing solely on fatal crashes risks underesti-
views the following: mating the likelihood of a roadside crash for urban areas,
fatality crash information is dependably reported and does
• Roadside crash statistics, in an effort to identify the specific provide some indication regarding crash trends. Table 3 shows
nature of roadside crashes in urban areas; fatal crash conditions for common roadway classes for urban
• The various strategies currently in use in urban environ- and rural environments. Fatal fixed-object crashes for the
ments to keep vehicles from leaving the travelway; and roadway classes shown are more pronounced in rural areas.
• General information, safety research, and proposed safety Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities, on the other hand, are much
strategies for a variety of potential roadside objects com- more of an urban problem. For the road classes under con-
mon to the urban environment. sideration, fatal pedestrian crashes are almost twice as likely
to occur in urban environments as in rural ones. Pedestrian
Although this review targets the design of roadsides in urban and bicycle activity is more common in urban environments,
areas, much of the literature on roadside design has been based and the increased presence of pedestrians and bicyclists in-
on studies of rural environments. As a result, the literature on creases the possibility that such a crash will occur.
rural roadside safety is included when it is applicable. In general, fatal crashes with most types of fixed objects
Finally, this review focuses specifically on those roadways occur more often in rural environments than in urban ones
classified as urban arterials, collectors, and local streets because (see Table 4). When one considers specific roadway classes,
urban stakeholders are most vocal about wanting roadside however, several exceptions emerge, particularly on roadways
8

Table 3. Fatal crash conditions on arterial, collector, and local roads (2005).

Rural Urban
Principal Minor Total Principal Minor
Crash Condition Arterial Arterial Collector Local Rural Arterial Arterial Collector Local Total Urban
Motor Vehicle Collision 2,256 1,912 2,211 891 7,270 2,262 1,442 447 877 5,028
Ped/Bike 269 221 377 322 1,189 1,353 865 257 748 3,223
Overturn (Rollover) 472 420 905 560 2,357 153 116 57 184 510
Fixed Object 821 1,088 2,740 1,811 6,460 805 851 442 1,058 3,156
Other Causes 119 154 271 270 814 145 148 66 266 625
Total 3,937 3,795 6,504 3,854 18,090 4,718 3,422 1,269 3,133 12,542
Source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (118).

classified as minor arterials. As depicted in Table 4, principal Because of such findings, the principal design strategy for
arterials in urban areas have fatal crashes involving utility keeping vehicles on the roadway is to address horizontal shifts
poles, light poles, and sign poles more often than their rural in the roadway. While eliminating the isolated sharp curve is
counterparts. perhaps the most effective treatment, such applications are
often prohibitively costly for mitigating safety problems on
existing roads. As an alternative, designers have adopted a
Preventing Vehicles from Leaving
secondary strategy, which is to delineate potentially hazardous
the Travelway
environments, such as curves, using traffic control devices
The logic behind keeping vehicles on the travelway is such as posted advisory speeds, chevrons, and other markings
simple: if a vehicle does not leave the travelway, it cannot or strategies to more clearly indicate the edge of the travelway.
be involved in a roadside crash. The difficulty posed by strate- Another secondary strategy that is commonly employed to
gies aimed at keeping vehicles on the roadway is that, unlike alert drivers before their vehicle leaves the travelway is to
providing appropriate clear zones or effective impact attenu- place rumble strips on the shoulder of the roadway.
ators, these strategies are oriented toward the driver rather
than the vehicle.
Delineate Potentially Hazardous
The literature on roadside safety shows that, of the strate-
Roadside Environments
gies identified in this report, knowledge on the design factors
that may help prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway is the A common practice in minimizing run-off-road crashes is
least developed. Typically, research has focused on the geo- to use signs to delineate potentially hazardous roadside con-
metric characteristics of locations where vehicles leave the ditions. Signs and other indicators are used to increase the
travelway and has found that a disproportionate share of these driver’s awareness of changes to the operating characteristics
crashes is associated with shifts in the horizontal curvature of of the roadway. Under conventional practice, the delineation
the roadway, particularly an isolated, sharp, horizontal curve. of hazardous roadside conditions is limited almost exclusively
Approximately 45 percent of all fixed-object crashes (5) and to the use of signs to denote shifts in the horizontal curvature
up to 77 percent of tree-related crashes (6, 7) are due to vehicles of the roadway or other oncoming hazards. Other features,
traveling off the roadway on the outside of a horizontal curve. such as the physical characteristics of the surrounding roadway,

Table 4. Fatal fixed-object crashes on arterial, collector, and local roads

(2005).

Rural Urban
Principal Minor Total Principal Minor Total
Fixed Object Arterial Arterial Collector Local Rural Arterial Arterial Collector Local Urban
Tree/Shrub 184 247 835 650 1,916 121 185 113 334 753
Utility Pole 39 73 181 138 431 103 116 59 119 397
Culvert/Ditch/Curb 143 237 583 401 1,364 240 239 111 242 832
Embankment 151 182 491 191 1,015 30 45 27 54 156
Guardrail 123 116 147 56 442 53 54 26 28 161
Building/Fence/Wall 30 50 160 110 350 40 46 26 82 194
Light/Sign Poles 86 84 139 95 404 108 81 36 72 297
Bridge 13 23 65 39 140 21 28 6 15 70
Other Fixed Object 52 76 139 131 398 89 57 38 112 296
Total 821 1,088 2,740 1,811 6,460 805 851 442 1,058 3,156
Source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (118).
 9

also may give drivers cues as to safe operating behavior. Many In rural and select urban environments where roadways do
governing jurisdictions consider the design of the street and not have curb lines, a common method for lane edge delin-
the surrounding environment collectively, thus taking advan- eation is edge striping (using reflective paint for low-volume
tage of environmental characteristics to alert the driver of safe roads and thermoplastic stripes for more densely traveled
operating behavior. facilities). The use of edge striping in the urban environment
varies. Many jurisdictions elect to use edge striping for major
facilities only and allow the standard center striping combined
Identifying Hazardous Conditions Using Signage
with the curb line to delineate lane edges for lower speed local
A common practice aimed at keeping vehicles on the road- roads.
way is to post advisory speeds or other signage applications to A common strategy for enhancing roadway visibility on
denote potentially hazardous conditions. While such a prac- urban streets is the use of street lighting. This not only illu-
tice makes sense, the inconsistency of the practice of posting minates the travelway, but also provides safety and security
advisory speeds (8) and the variability of posted speed limit for adjacent pedestrian facilities. Lighting is further discussed
practices (9, 10, 11, 12) have led drivers to regularly disregard later in this chapter.
speed signs. The use of reflective pavement markers (raised or snow-
Further limiting the effectiveness of the signage practice is plowable) can also help delineate the vehicle travelway. These
the fact that drivers are not merely disregarding signs; they are pavement markers often require regular maintenance (for lens
failing to notice them. Studies have found that drivers typi- replacement or replacement of missing markers), so extensive
cally comprehend only 56 percent of the signs posted along use of reflective pavement markers is generally reserved for
the roadway (13). Further, even when drivers are conscientious high-volume locations or for locations that are perceived to
in their attempts to adhere to factors such as posted speeds, be high risk.
they naturally increase speeds toward the roadway’s design Finally, many jurisdictions are experimenting with alter-
speed when they begin to shift their concentration away from native pavement treatments. The use of skid-resistant pavement
monitoring the speedometer (14). This has implications for surfaces has been a common recommendation for minimizing
both geometric design and broader design practice, as it in- run-off-road crashes during inclement weather (1); however,
dicates that violations of driver expectations may, to some an additional strategy is to change actual pavement color or
extent, be directly associated with the design speed of the spe- pavement type at critical locations such as pedestrian cross-
cific road. Overall, these findings suggest that signage and walks (for transverse delineation) and pavement edge (for lon-
other similar applications may have only a moderate effect on gitudinal delineation). The City of Charleston, South Carolina,
preventing run-off-road events. has maintained several cobblestone roads in their historic
peninsula district. These roads serve to clearly identify the
motor vehicle space from the adjacent pedestrian space and
Enhancing Lane Delineation
also provide the added benefit of dramatically slowing motor
Run-off-road crashes often occur during reduced visibility vehicle operating speeds on these roads. The rough cobble-
conditions (e.g., at dusk, dawn, and night, and during rain). stone pavement treatment is not conducive, however, to safe
Thus, enhanced lane delineation may help keep an alert driver bicycle activity. In Denmark, the road surface treatments help
from departing the road unexpectedly. There are several road users to clearly define who is to use a specific area of the
methods for improving lane delineation in urban areas. These road system. These road surface treatments also help to de-
may include curb lines, edge striping, street lighting, reflec- fine transitions from public to private space (15). Variations
tive pavement markers, and pavement texture and/or color in road surface can be achieved by using patterns, textures,
treatments. and similar treatments.
The location of a concrete curb adjacent to an asphalt road
is common for many urban regions. The contrasting light
Taking Advantage of Characteristics
color of the curb helps define the edge of the travelway. In re-
of the Surrounding Environment
gions where both roads and curbs are made of concrete, the
face of the curb may sometimes be painted to create a con- While signage is most typically used to delineate hazardous
trast. One disadvantage to using the curb line as the sole conditions, the FHWA scan of European practice suggests that
method for lane edge delineation is that frequent curb cuts or signage is only one means of informing the driver of changes
disruptions (at driveways or pedestrian crossing locations) in appropriate driving behavior (16). Drivers are monitoring
may misdirect drivers who are fatigued or impaired. Infor- both traffic signs and the physical environment as part of the
mation about the curb condition as a common urban road- driving task. While adequate signage is important for encour-
side feature is included later in this chapter. aging safe driver behavior under changing environmental
10

conditions, environmental hazards are signaled by more than and conducive to excessive speeds. The enclosed environment
just the signs posted adjacent to the travelway. The geometric helps to mitigate speeding. In New Zealand, this enclosed
design of the roadway and the characteristics of the surround- environment is captured using a vertical elements technique
ing environment provide the driver with cues regarding safe in which the heights of vertical features are designed to be
operating behavior. greater than the width of the street to provide the optical ap-
One observation from the previously mentioned scanning pearance of a narrow street (22). These vertical elements can
tour was that Europeans try to make the entire roadway send include trees, light poles, and other elements as long as the
a clear and consistent message regarding safe operating be- human-made objects are frangible, and trees or shrubs have
havior. Thus, design speeds are related to the physical envi- narrower trunks and do not interfere with sight lines.
ronments in which the roadways are located, and the posted
speed is meaningfully related to both. Typically, European
Rumble Strips
design guidance specifies tight design ranges for each road-
way class, with a range of typically not more than 20 km/h Physical rumble strips are grooves placed into the roadway
(approximately 12 mph) for any single road type in the urban or paved shoulder and are aimed at alerting the driver of
environment. By narrowly specifying an appropriate design potentially hazardous conditions (see Figure 1). A similar
speed range, designers are able to minimize the instances—such alert can also be achieved using thermoplastic rumble strips
as an isolated sharp curve—that may be a potential hazard. which are generally placed on the surface of the road in con-
An important aspect of this European practice is that it is junction with lane edge delineation. While transverse rumble
adopted for the purposes of enhancing the safety of the road- strips are often used for purposes such as alerting the driver
way. Agencies adopting such practices typically aim to achieve, of a downstream stop condition such as a toll booth or a stop-
at a minimum, a 40-percent reduction in crashes over a 5-year controlled intersection, longitudinal rumble strips are also
period, and, in many cases, agencies aim to have zero fatalities effective for alerting the driver that he or she is leaving the
over a 10-year period (16). travelway. Although rumble strips do not have speed-reducing
In a study of how people conceptualize urban environments, capabilities (23), they cause a vehicle to vibrate and make noise
Kevin Lynch found that features such as architecturally unique when it crosses over them, thereby signaling to the driver that
buildings, key viewsheds, and other environmental stimuli greater attention to the traveling environment is warranted.
serve as central reference points by which individuals orient The sound made by a vehicle crossing rumble strips typically
themselves and cognitively map their travel progress (17). The does not exceed that of the ambient sound experienced by the
observation that such features figure prominently in the way driver (24); thus, the ability of rumble strips to alert drivers
individuals visualize their travel activity suggests that environ-
mental features provide drivers with important cues regard-
ing appropriate driving behavior. The use of environmental
factors to help inform drivers of safe operating conditions has
received little attention in the literature (18), although the
field of traffic psychology has begun to strongly encourage the
use of environmental features as a key strategy for enhancing
transportation system safety (19). Transit New Zealand’s
Guidelines for Highway Landscaping encourages agencies to
use highway planting to help drivers understand the road
ahead (20). Plantings are recommended to help with curve
delineation, headlight glare reduction, visual containment,
and speed awareness and stimulation.
In 2001, the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, developed a guide
for neighborhood traffic management. For this effort, they
performed a community survey in which respondents rated
pictures of various street cross sections (21). The most popular
images were tree-lined streets in residential areas and com-
mercial buildings placed close to the road in business districts.
Both the trees and buildings provide a sense of enclosure that
frames the street and narrows the driver’s field of vision. The Photo reprinted from “New Focus for Highway
Safety.” (119)
Las Vegas guide further suggests that when the buildings are
set farther back from the street, the roadway appears to be wide Figure 1. Rumble strips.
 11

to hazardous conditions is largely restricted to the vibration possibilities for improving roadside safety in urban areas.
the rumble strips produce. This vibration is nevertheless a Placing a mid-lane rumble strip in the outside travel lane can
substantial cue for increasing the driver’s awareness of the be used to produce the same effect on the vehicle as a shoulder-
roadway environment. Several studies of the effectiveness of based treatment (i.e., sound and vibration) without necessi-
rumble strips have determined that placement of rumble tating a roadside treatment.
strips can decrease the number of run-off-road crashes be- The use of a mid-lane treatment raises two potentially im-
tween 30 and 85 percent (25, 26). portant questions. First, what is the appropriate location of
such a treatment for a curbed urban roadway? Second, what
are the impacts of such a treatment on motorcyclists? In the
Applicability of Shoulder Rumble Strips
case of roadways where the shoulders are curbed, or where
to Low-Speed Urban Roadways
there is a limited operational offset, the mid-lane rumble strip
While shoulder-based rumble strips have proven effective can be oriented to correspond to the expected location of
in reducing run-off-road crashes on interstates and freeways the left tire of the roadway’s design vehicle. In these cases, the
(particularly in rural environments), their applicability to narrowest vehicle—a passenger vehicle—is the appropriate
lower-speed roadways may be limited. The use of physical design vehicle for the treatment. Thus, the left tire of passen-
(grooved) shoulder rumble strips assumes the existence of a ger vehicles will be used to delineate the appropriate position
level, paved shoulder. In many urban environments, raised of mid-lane rumble strip treatments (or the right tire, assum-
curb is used in lieu of shoulders. This prevents the possibility ing a treatment oriented toward preventing a crash into the
of introducing physical rumble strips as a potential treatment median). While such an application will do little to address
for eliminating run-off-road urban crashes; however, ther- the safety needs of larger design vehicles, it should, nevertheless,
moplastic rumble strips may be used in the urban setting to have an effect on decreasing the rates of passenger-vehicle
achieve a similar result. run-off-road crashes.
Another issue affecting use of shoulder rumble strips in Addressing the needs of motorcyclists is more difficult.
urban areas is that when a shoulder is available in urban areas, While it has been demonstrated that motorcyclists can safely
in many cases it serves as a travelway for bicyclists (27). Beyond navigate rumble strips (24), the vibration associated with
the physical unpleasantness that rumble strips may pose for rumble strips can create discomfort when the rider is forced
the bicyclist, the application of rumble strips can potentially to travel over them for prolonged periods. An assumed min-
result in the loss of control of the bicycle (28). Given the imum motorcycle tire width of approximately 13 cm (5 in.)
potentially negative influence on bicycle use in urban areas, can reasonably be accommodated with a left- or right-tire
as well as the frequent use of raised curb, the use of shoulder offset on a 3-m (10-ft) travel lane. Nevertheless, such an appli-
rumble strips is typically not appropriate on low-speed urban cation should be further researched before being employed in
roadways. practice.
Finally, a common complaint about rumble strips in urban While the use of mid-lane rumble strips seems promising,
environments is that the noise they generate disrupts the it is important to consider the longer-term behavioral impacts
peaceful environment of the adjacent land and the residents that may result from a widespread use of mid-lane rumble
of the area (particularly during the quieter night hours). This strips. In urban areas, travel is often characterized by frequent
perceived adverse affect on adjacent property owners result- lane changing. Where mid-lane rumble strips are common,
ing from the use of rumble strips also limits their use in urban drivers may become acclimated to the sound and vibration
areas. they produce and cease to treat them as special events that re-
quire increased attention to the driving task. In addition, the
placement of mid-lane rumble strips should not occur at
Mid-Lane Rumble Strips
locations of heavy pedestrian activity, such as mid-block
A potential rumble strip treatment that may be more appli- pedestrian crossings. Both the raised and grooved rumble
cable to urban roadways—particularly urban arterials—is the strips create a potential tripping hazard for pedestrians by in-
use of mid-lane rumble strips. In this treatment, rather than troducing an uneven walking surface.
applying rumble strips to the shoulder of the road, rumble
strips are placed in the center of the vehicle travel lane. In this
Safety of Urban Roadside Elements
application, as vehicles leave their travel lane, their tires cross
over the rumble strips, thereby producing the sound and An urban environment is characterized by many potential
vibration associated with shoulder rumble strips, without re- roadside hazards. To improve roadside safety, many of these
quiring a shoulder-based treatment (25). While mid-lane objects can be removed or relocated; however, it is probable
rumble strips are largely untested, they nevertheless present that numerous prospective roadside hazards must be retained
12

to facilitate the needs of the community or the road users. As Under current urban roadside design guidelines, engineers
a result, this chapter reviews known roadside objects and are provided with a special designation, the operational offset,
strategies that may help improve the safety of their place- which effectively permits the location of fixed objects 0.5-m
ment. Table 5 provides an overview of common urban road- (1.5-ft) from the curb face (1, 30). This offset value is a min-
side features and features often sought by local stakeholders imum suggested distance associated with avoiding such op-
to increase the aesthetic quality of urban roadsides. Each of erational issues as car-door and vehicle mirror conflicts with
these items is reviewed in greater detail in this chapter. roadside objects and minimizing the impact to traffic opera-
tions; it is not provided for safety purposes (31). The opera-
tional offset should not be considered as an acceptable clear
Removal/Relocation/Placement
zone, but simply as a minimum value to ensure elimination
of Roadside Objects
of traffic operational conflicts. Where a clear zone cannot be
Engineers are encouraged to identify potentially danger- achieved, the individual road should be tailored for the con-
ous objects adjacent to the travelway and remove them, ditions at a specific site. The influence of supplemental factors
ideally through the use of a clear zone. The recommended such as crash history, future traffic, and heavy vehicle pres-
standard practice for higher-speed roadways is the provi- ence should be included in the decision process.
sion of a lateral clear zone that will enable at least 80 per- For evaluation of changes to the roadside such as removal
cent of errant vehicles to stop or return to their travel lane of potential hazards, an engineer must determine whether
safely. The appropriate width of clear zones is ultimately the benefits associated with relocating a hazardous object
based on the slope of the roadside, daily traffic volumes, outweigh the cost of doing so. The “cost” may take many
and speed (1). forms, such as societal impacts or actual removal dollars, so
The opportunities for providing a clear zone in urban areas elaborate cost-benefit methodologies have been developed
are often limited due to the restricted width of the existing to estimate the relative benefits of removing these objects
right-of-way and the density of adjacent roadside develop- (29, 32, 33, 34, 35).
ment. Use of the available right-of-way includes many com- If a potentially hazardous object must be located adja-
peting demands. Further, many communities seek to provide cent to the travelway, the principal means of addressing
a physical buffer zone adjacent to the travelway to encour- run-off-road crashes where adequate clear zones cannot be
age pedestrian activity or to enhance the aesthetic quality of provided is to ensure that any object placed in the clear
the roadway. Often, this involves the planting of trees or in- zone is “crashworthy,” that is, any object located in the
clusion of landscaping in a buffer area between the sidewalk clear zone is designed to minimize the severity of a potential
and the vehicle travelway. Placement of mature street trees in crash. NCHRP Report 350 (36) provides specific standards
close proximity to the road can present a hazard to the and test conditions, such as soil and vehicle specifications,
motorist. Minor departures from the travelway under these that are used for evaluating the crashworthiness of roadside
conditions can result in a potentially serious fixed-object fixtures such as guardrails, utility poles, and light supports.
crash, particularly at high speeds. Often, a configuration with The reader is referred to NCHRP Report 350 for a full con-
rigid objects located immediately adjacent to the travelway is a sideration of the test specifications used in the evaluation
result of a road-widening project where the only way to of crashworthiness.
accommodate increasing vehicle capacity demands within the Two strategies exist, both of which are subject to the test
constraints of the current transportation infrastructure was conditions contained in NCHRP Report 350. The first is to
by further encroaching on the existing roadside (29). incorporate frangible roadside objects and hardware into the

Table 5. Common urban roadside features.

Features Immediately Adjacent to the

Travelway Safety Barriers
Curbs Barriers and Guardrails
Shoulders Bridge Railings
Channelization Crash Cushions and End Terminals
Medians
Roadside Grading
Static Roadside Objects Dynamic Roadside Features
Mailboxes Bicycle Facilities
Landscaping, Trees, and Shrubs Parking
Street Furniture Sidewalks and Pedestrian Facilities
Utility Poles, Luminaires, and Sign
Posts/Hardware
 13

design of the roadside environment, and the second is to shield

or cushion potentially hazardous objects and environments.
A more detailed description of known safety strategies for (A) (B)
the various urban roadside elements previously identified in
Sample Vertical Curbs
Table 5 is presented in the following sections.

Features Immediately Adjacent

to the Travelway
(C) (D) (E)
Physical features immediately adjacent to the travelway are
the first objects encountered when an errant vehicle exits the
Sample Sloping Curbs
Graphic adapted from A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets,
road. These features can include curbs, shoulders, channelized 4th ed. (37).
islands, medians, and roadside grading. This section reviews
each feature and known safety issues regarding each item. Figure 2. AASHTO example curbs.

Curbs currently provides the following recommendations for the

design of vertical curbs (1, p. 10–7):
General information. Much of the rural research re-
garding pavement edge treatments evaluates the influence of At speeds over 40 km/h (25 mph), a vehicle can mount the
graded or paved shoulders on safety performance at the time curb at relatively flat angles. Consequently, when sidewalks or
bicycle paths are adjacent to the traveled way of high-speed
a vehicle enters the roadside environment. In an urban envi-
facilities, some provision other than curbing may need to be
ronment, very few road edge treatments include roadway made for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.
shoulders as a transition from the travel lanes to the adjacent
roadside environment. Instead, curb is commonly used in The Roadside Design Guide further suggests provision of a
urban environments as it can help direct storm drainage minimum horizontal clearance of 0.5 m (1.5 ft) beyond the
(thereby reducing the need for roadside ditches and wider face of curbs to any obstructions. This distance is the opera-
right-of-ways) and provides visual channelization to help tional offset previously discussed.
delineate the pavement edge. There is, therefore, a need to The Green Book recommends the use of curbing on road-
understand the safety of curbs in the urban environment. ways with speeds of approximately 73 km/h (45 mph) or less
An important issue of concern for addressing roadside (37). The Green Book further notes that when vertical curbs
safety at curbed locations is the influence that various curb are used on these lower-speed roadways, placement of verti-
types may have in causing vehicles to trip or launch during a cal curb will preferably be offset 0.3 to 0.6 m (1 to 2 ft) from
run-off-road event where the “first harmful” object the vehi- the edge of the travelway. The Green Book recommends
cle encounters is the roadside curb. The vertical curb has an against the use of curbs along high-speed arterials such as
almost vertical face and is generally between 150 to 225 mm freeways, but indicates that when used on these facilities,
(6 to 9 in.) in height above the driving surface of the adjacent a curb “should be of the sloping type and should not be
pavement. The vertical curb is used as a means for discour- located closer to the travelway than the outer edge of the
aging motorists from intentionally leaving the roadway. shoulder.” (37, p. 322)
A sloping curb has an angled surface, a height of 150 mm (6 in.) A Guide for Achieving Flexibility in Highway Design (31)
or less, and is designed for use on higher-speed roadways also indicates that vertical face curbs at low-speed (40 km/h
(greater than 70 km/h [approximately 45 mph]) or at loca- [25 mph] or less) locations have limited redirectional capa-
tions where a vehicle may need to leave the roadway for emer- bilities for errant vehicles. For speeds above 40 km/h (25 mph),
gency purposes. The sloping curb is designed so that a vehicle the curb can influence driver behavior, but does not provide
can traverse the curb without damaging the vehicle (30). a vehicle redirection function.
Curbs “A” and “B” in Figure 2 depict example vertical curbs,
while Curbs “C” through “E” represent various sloping curb Safety research. The research supporting the statements
configurations. summarized above and found in common design guidelines
The AASHTO publications A Policy on Geometric Design of spans curb crash testing and computer modeling over a period
Highways and Streets (referred to hereafter as the Green Book, of many years. However, crash testing standards, computer
[37]) and the Roadside Design Guide (1) both indicate that modeling capabilities, and typical study vehicles have changed
a vertical curb, struck at higher speeds, may cause an errant during this period. In general, researchers have performed test-
vehicle to mount and/or launch. The Roadside Design Guide ing on vertical curbs, sloping curbs, and curbs with adjacent
14

barriers such as guard rails. In 1972, Dunlap et al. (38) per- or substantial vertical displacement of the vehicle, nor were
formed several roadside curb evaluations including tests for the events shown to result in more than minor damage to the
five standard curbs and eight curb/guardrail combinations. vehicle.
In 1974, Olson et al. (39) evaluated curbs using crash testing The AASHTO Highway Safety Design and Operations
combined with computer simulation. These two research Guide (30) indicates that the potential for vehicle vaulting or
studies were among the first to suggest the following commonly rollover for curbs higher than 100 mm (4 in.) is a factor of the
accepted concepts regarding curb safety: vehicle’s weight, speed, suspension system, angle of impact,
and vehicle lane tracking. As a result, small cars are generally
• Curbs 150 mm (6 in.) tall or less do not redirect vehicles at overrepresented in serious curb-related crashes. The poten-
speeds above 73 km/h (45 mph) and should therefore not tial for a vehicle to vault precludes the exclusive use of a curb
be used for high-speed roads, as sufficient protection for pedestrian facilities or roadside
• Impacting curbs 150 mm (6 in.) tall or less will generally elements.
result in either no injury or minor injuries only, and In 2005, Plaxico and colleagues published NCHRP Report
• Combinations of lower speeds and small approach angles 537: Recommended Guidelines for Curb and Curb-Barrier In-
produce the greatest effect on vehicle path correction. stallations in which they evaluated roads with operating speeds
of 60 km/h (40 mph) or greater and the potential influence of
A study performed in the 1970s at the Texas Transportation curb or curb-barrier combinations at these locations (43).
Institute evaluated curb placement in conjunction with traffic They determined that the most significant factor influencing
barriers and sloped medians (40). The researchers concluded vehicle trajectory is curb height. As a result, shorter curbs with
that the traffic barriers should not be immediately adjacent to flatter sloping faces should be used at higher speed locations.
curbs as vehicles may vault or underride the barrier. They also They also determined that a lateral distance of approximately
concluded that grading the median or roadside level with the 2.5 m (8.2 ft) is needed for a traversing vehicle to return to
top of the curb will help reduce problems with barriers and its predeparture vehicle suspension state. As a result, guard-
guardrail interactions near curbs. rails should not be placed closer than 2.5 m (8.2 ft) behind
An evaluation performed for the Nebraska Department of curbs on roads where vehicle speeds are greater than 60 km/h
Roads (NDOR) included crash tests as well as simulations of (40 mph). As the research performed by Plaxico and col-
sloping curbs and curb-guardrail combinations (41). The re- leagues did not focus on low-speed roads, the placement
searchers’ evaluation included various degrees of impact and of guardrails behind curbs for speeds lower than 60 km/h
vehicle trajectory. They concluded that the three sloping (40 mph) is not known.
curbs tested (two NDOR standard curbs and one AASHTO In summary, curbs can provide positive (visual) guidance
standard curb) were traversable for a wide range of impact for drivers, but curbs do not have the ability to redirect errant
conditions and had very little likelihood of causing vehicle vehicles upon impact (unless the vehicle speed is quite low and
rollovers. The researchers further determined that the chance the vehicle impact angle is extremely small). If an errant vehi-
that a vehicle could underride a guardrail was slight, and the cle approaches the curb at a small deflection angle, the impact
chance that a vehicle would be vaulted by the curb-guardrail of the curb is unlikely to be the cause of serious injury to the
combination was greatest when the barrier was located any- vehicle occupants; however, the curb may affect a vehicle’s tra-
where from 0.45 to 3.7 m (1.5 to 12.1 ft) behind the curb. This jectory, resulting in impact with a second, more substantial
range of offset values applied to both a small and a large test roadside hazard. A barrier or guardrail must be placed behind
vehicle. the curb in such a way as to avoid vaulting the errant vehicle.
A report commissioned by the Florida Department of Trans-
portation (42) simulated the trajectories of three design vehi- Strategy summary. A variety of strategies have been pro-
cles hitting sloped (125 mm [5 in.] tall) and vertical (150 mm posed, applied, and/or tested for safe application of curb
[6 in.] tall) curbs at approach speeds of approximately 57, 73, treatments. Common strategies are as follows:
and 90 km/h (35, 45 and 55 mph) and impact angles rang-
ing from 3 to 15 deg. The model results found that the verti- Purpose Strategy
cal curbs would deflect the Ford Festiva test vehicle for all Prevent curb from vault- • Use appropriate curb heights with
approach speeds at angles of impact up to 12 deg. For a Chevy ing vehicles known influences on vehicle
trajectories (P)
C2500 pickup, the vertical curb would deflect vehicles oper- • Locate barriers behind curbs an
ating at 90 km/h (55 mph), but only when the angle of impact appropriate distance to improve
was 3 deg or less. The sloping curb was not shown to redirect curb-barrier interactions (P)
the vehicle under any combination of approach speed or • Grade adjacent terrain flush with
angle. None of the impacts were shown to result in a rollover the top of the curb (P)
 15

Shoulders There are many research studies that have evaluated the
safety benefits of shoulders and companion shoulder widths.
General information. The common edge treatment for
Several of these studies are included in the safety research sec-
urban roads is a curb or curb with gutter; however, many
tion that follows.
roads exist in urban environments with a graded or paved
shoulder instead of a curb located immediately adjacent to the Safety research. The research regarding shoulder safety
travelway. The purpose of a shoulder is to provide a smooth has been generally divided into three categories—safe shoulder
transition from the travelway to the adjacent roadside while width, pavement edge treatments, and safety of paved versus
facilitating drainage and promoting various other shoulder graded shoulders. The research regarding these three areas of
functions (as listed in Table 6). The shoulder width is included shoulder safety is summarized in the following:
as part of the clear zone width; therefore, the values shown in
Table 6 should not be confused with clear zone requirements. • Safe shoulder width. Much of the research into the appro-
There are many recommendations regarding appropriate priate width of shoulders focuses on the high-speed rural
shoulder widths for lower speed roads. These widths vary condition. Early research indicated that crash frequency
depending on the function of the shoulders as well as the tended to increase with shoulder width. For example,
available right-of-way. Table 6 shows suggested shoulder Belmont published a paper on rural shoulder widths in 1954
widths from the AASHTO publication A Guide for Achieving and a subsequent paper in 1956 (extending the study to
Flexibility in Highway Design (31). This information was first lower volume rural roads) and suggested that wider shoul-
compiled for a 1982 NCHRP study (44). These widths are ders for higher speed, high-volume rural roads resulted in
recommended for shoulder functional use and do not reflect increased crash rates, while the trend appeared reversed for
identified widths for safety purposes. lower volume, high-speed roads (45, 46). Subsequent to
Because right-of-way costs are high in urban environments, these early studies, numerous researchers have studied the
the use of paved or graded shoulders in these environments shoulder width question. In an unpublished critical review
often is the result of previously rural roads being incorpo- of research in this area (47), Hauer re-evaluated many of the
rated into urbanized land use without the companion road- original shoulder width studies using the original data and
way improvements. Often the road with a shoulder will have concluded that shoulder width safety is a sum of several
a drainage ditch located parallel to the road, so care must be opposing tendencies. These can be summarized as follows:
taken to maintain traversable conditions in the event that an – The shoulder is even and obstacle free and available for
errant vehicle exits the road, travels across the shoulder, and drivers of errant vehicles to use to regain control of their
then encounters the roadside grading. vehicles, correct for their error, and resume normal travel;

Table 6. Acceptable shoulder widths for shoulder functions.

Functional Classification
Arterial Collector and Local
Shoulder Function m (ft) m (ft)
Drainage of Roadway and Shoulder 0.3 (1) 0.3 (1)
Lateral Support of Pavement 0.45 (1.5) 0.3 (1)
Encroachment of Wide Vehicles 0.6 (2) 0.6 (2)
Off-tracking of Wide Vehicles 0.6 (2) 0.6 (2)
Errant Vehicles (Run-off-road) 0.9 (3) 0.6 (2)
Bicycles 1.2 (4) 1.2 (4)
Pedestrians 1.2 (4) 1.2 (4)
Emergency Stopping 1.8 (6) 1.8 (6)
Emergency Vehicle Travel 1.8 (6) 1.8 (6)
Garbage Pickup 1.8 (6) 1.8 (6)
Mail and Other Deliveries 1.8 (6) 0.6 (2)
Emergency Call Box Services 2.4 (8) 1.8 (6)
Law Enforcement 2.4 (8) 1.8 (6)
Parking, Residential 2.4 (8) 2.1 (7)
Routine Maintenance 2.4 (8) 1.8 (6)
Major Reconstruction and Maintenance 2.7 (9) 2.7 (9)
Parking, Commercial 3.0 (10) 2.4 (8)
Parking, Trucks 3.0 (10) N/A
Slow-Moving Vehicles 3.0 (10) 2.7 (9)
Turning and Passing at Intersections 3.0 (10) 2.7 (9)
Sources: Adapted from A Guide for Achieving Flexibility in Highway Design (31) and
NCHRP Report 254: Shoulder Geometrics and Use Guidelines (44).
16

– Wide shoulders may induce voluntary stopping and Strategy summary. Common shoulder treatment strate-
therefore place a hazard immediately adjacent to the gies are as follows:
travelway;
– Wide shoulders may entice drivers to use them as addi- Purpose Strategy
tional lanes or for passing maneuvers on the right; and Discourage run-off-road Provide wider shoulders suitable
– Wider shoulders may encourage higher operating speeds. crashes for shoulder function (P)
Evaluation of crash data without comprehensively consider- Provide traversable • Eliminate pavement drop-offs (P)
ing these four contrasting tendencies may permit researchers transition for errant • Add a pavement safety edge (T)
vehicles • Provide a paved or sealed
to arrive at a variety of conclusions regarding shoulder
shoulder (P)
width safety. In general, on roads with wider shoulders,
travel speeds are higher and crashes are more severe. How-
ever, wider shoulders result in fewer run-off-road crashes, Channelization/Medians
and therefore this benefit must be included.
General information. The separation of traffic move-
• Pavement edge treatments. A common problem with
ments by the use of a raised median or turning island is often
roadway shoulders is that they may not be flush either with
referred to as channelization. For the purposes of this review,
the travelway pavement surface (for the case of graded
a flush or traversable median or island is considered part of
shoulders) or with the adjacent roadside grading (for the
the roadway, while a raised median and raised turn island are
case of paved shoulders). There are many reasons that
considered part of the roadside.
pavement drop-offs may develop in the shoulder region.
Channelized islands are generally used to reduce the area
Erosion of the soil next to the pavement, rutting by frequent
of pavement at an intersection while providing positive guid-
tire wear, and pavement overlay maintenance are examples
ance to turning vehicles. Channelized islands can be used for
of how, over time, a pavement drop-off may develop.
pedestrian refuge and traffic control device placement, and
When a drop-off is encountered by an errant vehicle, the
they can also be planted with landscaping treatments that
vehicle’s tires may have difficulty mounting the extra pave-
contribute to an improved visual environment (15). For a
ment lip, causing the vehicle to further lose control.
raised island to be visible, it should have a minimum size of
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, researchers at Texas
5 m2 (50 ft2) for urban conditions (37). The orientation of the
A&M University performed a series of evaluations on pave-
curb on a raised island should be slightly skewed to the adja-
ment edge drop-offs (48, 49). They determined that ver-
cent travel lane to give an illusion of directing vehicles into
tical drop-offs as small as 7.6 cm (3 in.) could result in a
the travel lane. Other cross-sectional characteristics of raised
severe crash if encountered by an errant vehicle. The Texas
islands are similar to those of raised medians.
A&M researchers developed pavement edge shapes to pro-
The raised median provides the primary function of sep-
vide a more beveled edge and determined that for speeds
arating opposing directions of vehicle travel. This physical
up to 90 km/h (55 mph), a 45-deg angle could be applied
separation has the added benefit of improving access man-
to the drop-off. This sloped edge would then enable errant
agement (restricting frequent left turns into driveways), pro-
vehicles to regain access to the travelway safely. Currently,
viding a location for pedestrian refuge (assuming the median
the Federal Highway Administration promotes a pavement
has adequate width), and providing road edge delineation
edge treatment called the safety edge that uses a similar
during inclement weather conditions (particularly snow).
45-deg angle with construction standards that permit com-
A median may simply be raised using a vertical or sloped
paction to provide pavement edge stability.
curb. In urban regions, median width can vary dramatically de-
• Safety of paved versus graded shoulder. The safety of
pending on the proposed function of the median. As sug-
paved versus graded shoulders is less controversial than the
gested in the Maryland publication, When Main Street Is a
pavement width consideration. Several studies have indi-
State Highway: Blending Function, Beauty and Identity, the use
cated that the addition of any paved shoulder will help with
of a median can dramatically improve the visual quality of a
crash reduction. Zegeer, Deen, and Mayes concluded that
facility (51).
increasing the width of a paved shoulder for rural roads by
0.3 m (1 ft) would reduce crashes by approximately 6 per- Safety research. Many of the recent research studies
cent (50). They also concluded that paving at least 0.3 m about raised median safety focus on the influence of the
(1 ft) of a shoulder would reduce crashes by 2 percent. median on access management and the resulting reduction of
More recently, McLean found that for Australian roads the crashes due to restricted left-turn movements. Although this
application of sealed shoulders with widths from 1.5 to 2 m crash reduction strategy falls outside the scope of this litera-
(5 to 6.6 ft) would result in a decrease in crash rates and, ture review, it is worth noting that the median condition
therefore, be a cost-effective treatment (124). has added safety benefits that should be considered in a
 17

comprehensive crash evaluation. In this review, however, the setbacks. They also found that with the increase in fixed-
evaluation will be focused on median crashworthiness for the object collisions came a decrease in head-on and broadside
purposes of roadside safety. collisions. Finally, the researchers found non-intersection
In general, median research (excluding access management locations with median trees were positively associated with
studies) has focused on the crash condition with specific atten- hit-pedestrian collision.
tion to the following questions: Another common application for raised medians is as
one element in a gateway treatment at transition locations
• Do medians prevent pedestrian cross-median crashes? between rural and urban areas. The raised median studies
What is the influence of a median barrier that completely for the purpose of use as gateway strategies are reviewed
prohibits pedestrian crossing? later in this chapter in the section discussing traffic calm-
• Do medians reduce the number of crashes and crash ing applications.
severity? Research into appropriate median widths for safety pur-
• Can landscaping and trees be safely located in medians? poses are focused primarily on the high-speed rural condi-
• Should median barriers be used to improve median safety? tion. Similar median width studies for urban environments
are not available.
A median barrier review is included later in this chap-
ter in the section on safety issues, so this section focuses on Strategy summary. Common channelized island and
the influence of a median on crashes and landscaping treat- median strategies are as follows:
ments. Several researchers have weighed the merits of a
raised median (divided highway) versus no median or a Purpose Strategy
flush median. Unfortunately, in most of the before-after re- Reduce likelihood of Widen median (T)
search studies, a jurisdiction was implementing a median run-off-road collision
improvement in conjunction with other improvements, Reduce crash severity • Place only frangible items in
such as road widening, lane narrowing, and so forth. As a channelized island or median (P)
result, the influence of divided versus undivided has re- • Shield rigid objects in median (P)
sulted in a wide variety of crash observations. Harwood (52)
studied several median conversion configurations from un-
Roadside Grading
divided to divided operations. After controlling for a vari-
ety of variables, he concluded that the influence of the General information. The terrain adjacent to an urban
median on safety was small. Many studies have resulted in road should be relatively flat and traversable. In general, the
similar observations, that is, that raised medians have a neg- placement of common urban roadside features such as side-
ligible effect on crash frequency. Crash severity varies de- walks and utilities tends to create a flatter urban roadside. The
pending upon the median width (wider medians reduce the primary risk for irregular terrain adjacent to the travelway is
chance for head-on collisions), the use of median barrier that an errant vehicle will either impact a rigid obstacle or that
(to be discussed later), and the placement of rigid objects in the terrain will cause the vehicle to roll over. Rollovers were
the median area. responsible for 20 percent of the fatal crashes in 2002, and the
The issue of landscaping and the specific evaluation of largest number of rollovers occurred after a vehicle impacted
tree placement are further discussed in the landscaping an embankment or a ditch (25, 54). The principal cause of
section; however, a recent three-phase study performed at rollovers is a vehicle “tripping” on an element of the roadside
California Polytechnic State University (53) specifically environment, such as a ditch or an embankment; neverthe-
evaluated the placement of large trees in raised medians on less, sharp pavement drop-off on the shoulder may also lead
urban and suburban highways. They evaluated sites with to vehicle tripping for roads without a curb. To prevent vehi-
and without large trees and determined that at a 95-percent cle tripping, the grade of ditches, slopes, and embankments
level of statistical confidence, an increased number of fatal should be minimized as much as possible, and pavement
or injury crashes were associated with the presence of drop-offs must be kept to a minimum.
median trees. The association between median tree crashes These strategies are potentially more relevant to rural and
and left-side-only crashes, however, was only marginally suburban environments than to urban ones, however. In urban
significant. The three-phase study also indicated that me- areas, the roadside is typically characterized not by shoulders
dian trees on urban and suburban highways were associated and embankments, but by curb and gutter applications and by
with an increase in collision frequency. Study researchers adjacent roadside development. This is evidenced when one
were not able to identify any systematic relationships be- compares the absolute number of rollover crashes in urban
tween the left-side crash rates and median widths or tree environments with the number of rollover crashes in rural
18

environments. In 2002, there were roughly 1,800 rollover hazard associated with larger mail collection boxes, a common
crashes in urban areas, compared with over 6,200 for rural re- feature in urban environments, as well as neighborhood de-
gions. Accounting for exposure, roughly one rollover per billion livery units, which are associated with apartment complexes.
miles of travel occurs in urban areas whereas almost six Crash tests of these features have shown them to fail safety
rollovers per billion miles of travel occur in rural environments. requirements, and the Roadside Design Guide recommends
While the conditions that lead to rollover crashes are not placing them outside of clear recovery areas.
clear, crash data analyses indicate that these crash types are While making mailboxes crashworthy will satisfy safety
generally associated with high-speed travel. Of the roughly associated with mailbox-related crashes, it is important to
8,000 rollovers that occurred in 2002, only about 600 occurred recognize that the placement of mailboxes may have an
on roadways classified as urban minor arterials, collectors, important impact on the overall safety of the roadway. Mail-
and locals. boxes should not obstruct intersection sight distance, nor
The sideslope of an urban road should, in general, slope should they be located directly on higher-speed roadways,
from the edge of the right-of-way toward the curb of the road. where stopping associated with mail delivery and collection
This slope will prevent any road drainage from encroaching can lead to substantial speed differentials between vehicles on
on adjacent property and enables the drainage to be contained the travelway, thereby increasing the possibility of a rear-end
within a closed drainage system. As a result, the slope is often collision. Where such conditions exist, the Roadside Design
quite flat (1V:6H typically) for curbed urban roads. For roads Guide recommends the use of a 2.4-m (8-ft) mailbox turnout
without a curb, the design guidelines for rural roadside con- lane adjacent to the travelway to allow vehicles to leave the
ditions should be applied. That is, the terrain, including travelway for mail collection and delivery purposes. This
drainage channels, should be safely traversable by a motor turnout concept does not apply to urban curbed streets. At
vehicle, and the placement of obstacles such as headwalls must curbed residential locations, the Roadside Design Guide rec-
be flush with the ground surface and designed to be navigated ommends that the minimum distance from the roadside
by an errant vehicle. face of the mailbox to the face of the curb should be 150 mm
(6 in.), with a preferred offset ranging from 200 to 300 mm
Safety research. The research team was not able to locate (8 to 12 in.).
research specific to the urban roadside slope and safety A common issue regarding the placement of mailboxes in
implications associated with this terrain. Most of the studies an urban environment is that the governing jurisdiction
applicable to the urban condition focused on the presence of (often a city or county) may not adopt the guidelines com-
roadside obstacles rather than the companion roadside slope. monly accepted by state departments of transportation. Many
urban jurisdictions allow home owners to construct a mailbox
Strategy summary. Common grading strategies are as of their choosing. In areas in which mailbox vandalism is
follows: common, home owners have begun to erect increasingly rigid
(less forgiving) mailbox units. A rigid brick mailbox is a com-
Purpose Strategy
mon site along many urban residential roadways. The problem
Minimize crash likeli- Maintain traversable grades that are of rigid mailbox units is compounded by the general place-
hood free of rigid obstacles (P)
ment of such mailboxes adjacent to a driveway (to make it
Minimize crash severity • Flatten grades to reduce chance of
easy for the home owner to retrieve mail). Since the curb has
vehicle rollover (P)
• Create an object setback policy (T) a secondary function of delineating the edge of the roadway,
a mailbox placed on the departure side of a driveway (where a
curb cut interrupts the roadway delineation) is particularly
Static Roadside Treatments vulnerable to errant vehicles that exit the road to the right.
Mailboxes
Safety research. NCHRP Report 350 provides recom-
General information. The Roadside Design Guide (1) de- mended procedures to ensure roadside features such as mail-
tails the preferred specifications for the design and installa- boxes are crashworthy (36). Since mailboxes are a common
tion of mailboxes. In general, AASHTO recommends the use fixed object adjacent to urban streets (particularly residential),
of a 100-mm by 100-mm (4-in. by 4-in.) wooden post or a they warrant particular attention when reviewing urban road-
38-mm (1.5-in.) light-gauge pipe for mounting mailboxes, side safety. Many urban jurisdictions do not require crash-
with these posts embedded no deeper than 600 mm (24 in.) worthy mailboxes. There are several yielding mailbox designs
in the ground. Mailboxes should further be mounted to their approved for the National Highway System (NHS) that could
supports to prevent the mailbox from separating from the be incorporated in an urban setting. Chapter 11 of the Road-
post during a crash event. Also of concern is the potential side Design Guide (1) provides a comprehensive summary of
 19

the safe placement of mailboxes. The use of yielding mail- surface and pedestrian facilities due to pavement heave and
boxes is promoted in the Roadside Design Guide. This permits cracking.
convenient mailbox placement adjacent to the road. Mailbox Placement criteria, in some cases, is based on the func-
placement for urban commercial locations is not included in tional purpose or posted speed limits of adjacent roads. Com-
the chapter and is a less common problem. In addition to mon landscape placement issues addressed in jurisdiction
yielding mailbox support design, some jurisdictions promote plans include the following:
the placement of reflective object markers on the mailbox or
• Proximity to intersections,
post to improve nighttime visibility (55).
• Proximity to driveways,
Strategy summary. Common mailbox safety strategies • Maintaining a clear vision space,
are as follows: • Lateral offset placement of trees and landscaping,
• Longitudinal placement of trees and landscaping,
Purpose Strategy • Median planting strategies, and
Minimize crash likeli- • Remove or relocate mailboxes to • Strategic placement strategies for visual perception.
hood safe locations (P)
• Add reflective object markers to These specific placement strategies are further described in
improve nighttime visibility (T) the following:
Minimize crash severity • Develop policies to require
crashworthy mailboxes in urban • Proximity to intersections. Sight distance should be main-
environments (P)
• Shield rigid mailboxes where
tained in the proximity of intersections. As a result, many
practical (P) landscape guidelines restrict tree placement in the imme-
diate vicinity of intersections. The North Carolina Tradi-
tional Neighborhood Development (TND) Guidelines (56)
Landscaping, Trees, and Shrubs
and the City of Seattle Street Tree Planting Procedures (57),
General information. Several types of roadside land- for example, recommend that trees should be located
scaping are commonly employed to enhance the aesthetics no closer than 9 m (30 ft) from intersection corners. Land-
of roadside environments. These treatments may include scape Design Guidelines for the City of Simi Valley (58)
the placement of shrubs, street trees, or alternative treat- requires a clearance distance of 10.7 m (35 ft) from the ex-
ments such as landscape berms. In addition to the concern tended curb at the near side of the cross street curb.
of traversability in the event that an errant vehicle encoun- Another approach to intersection clearance is based on
ters roadside landscaping, a common safety issue of adjacent street type and intersection configuration. For example, the
landscape treatments is sight distance and the impact land- Montgomery, Alabama, Street Tree Master Plan (59) uses
scape treatments may have for intersection, driveway, and street type and traffic control to determine tree offsets from
stopping sight distance considerations. Regional jurisdic- intersections. Example minimum tree placement guidelines
tions often have landscaping design guidelines, landscaping at intersections for Montgomery are depicted in Table 7.
policies, and street tree master plans. These documents Figure 3 is based on an FHWA publication and demon-
address a variety of landscaping issues including plant type, strates the sight triangle that is required to be free of trees
maintenance, and plant placement. Since trees, in particu- at an example intersection (60). Higher-speed vehicles that
lar, can vary from small, flexible species up to more rigid do not stop at the intersection require more sight distance
varieties, the careful selection of tree species is critical. In than stopped vehicles, as shown.
addition, different tree species can have substantially differ- Guidelines for Tree Planting and Maintenance on Urban
ent root systems. Species selection should also focus on Roads, published by the Traffic Authority of New South
the potential for the tree system to adversely impact road Wales, further recommends that skewed intersections,

Table 7. Guidelines for minimum tree placement offsets

at intersections for Montgomery, AL.

Intersection Control Major Street Neighborhood Street

Traffic Light 9.1 m (30 ft) --
Four-Way Stop 9.1 m (30 ft) 4.6 m (15 ft)
Major Street Two-Way Stop 12.2 m (40 ft) --
Neighborhood Street Two- 9.1 m (30 ft) 4.6 m (15 ft)–Stops
Way Stop 9.1 m (30 ft)—Does Not Stop
Source: Adapted from Montgomery Street Tree Master Plan (59).
20

Graphic adapted from Trees in Hazardous Locations (60).

Figure 3. Intersection sight triangles.

locations with high turning speeds, or locations where fast- initial inspection; however, at this location the intersecting
approaching vehicles veer into the left lane to avoid roadway is characterized by a horizontal curve. With the
impacting right-turning vehicles are all locations where landscaping placement close to the driveway, the driver of
cluster run-off-road crashes can be expected and where an exiting vehicle cannot detect approaching vehicles with-
additional space free of roadside objects such as trees out edging into the active travel lane; therefore, these road-
should be provided (61). side treatments encroach on the required sight distance. As
• Proximity to driveways. The placement of trees near drive- can be viewed in the photo, the adjacent property owner
ways poses similar sight distance issues as those identified also positioned large “ornamental” rocks at the corner,
for intersections. As an example, the City of Simi Valley thereby adding a rigid obstacle in the immediate vicinity of
guidelines requires a 1.5-m (5-ft) clearance between trees the roadway.
and driveway edges (58). By contrast, the Montgomery • Maintaining a clear vision space. Traditional Neighbor-
recommendations indicate that trees should not be placed hood Development (TND) Guidelines recommends that
within 4.6 m (15 ft) of driveways (59). The City of Seattle, vertical space ranging from 0.6 to 2.1 m (2 to 7 ft) above
in Street Tree Planting Procedures, requires maintaining a ground be maintained to preserve lines of sight (56). The
minimum distance between trees and driveways of 2.3 m AASHTO publication Highway Safety Design and Opera-
(7.5 ft) with a recommended distance of 3.0 m (10 ft) (57). tions Guide (30) recommends that the vertical “clear
Many landscape policies do not directly stipulate tree vision space” range from 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 10 ft) to ensure
placement near driveways, but use an approach similar to clear sight distance for drivers in low-riding sports cars as
the New South Wales guidelines, which simply state that well as drivers in high trucks and buses. This vertical clear
drivers exiting driveways should be able to see approaching space is common to many regional landscaping plans. The
traffic and pedestrians (61). As an example, the attractive “clear vision space” is essentially the space above shrub
landscaping depicted in Figure 4 seems reasonable upon growth and below tree overhang. A low tree overhang can
also create an obstacle for pedestrian access, as shown in
Figure 5.
Figure 6 depicts another type of encroachment into the
vertical clear vision space. Often landscape berms are used
to screen adjacent parking from the roadway. The photo
on the left shows a longitudinal landscape berm and the
effect it has on horizontal sight distance. At the location
shown, the road has a horizontal curve to the right (in the
direction the vehicle shown is traveling) and has numer-
ous driveways that are not easily visible due to the berm
height. The photo on the right depicts the same location
but more clearly shows that the height of the berm exceeds
the height of a typical passenger car. This type of landscape
treatment is a common roadside treatment in many urban
areas.
Photo by Karen Dixon.
• Lateral offset placement of trees and landscaping. Tra-
Figure 4. Landscaping in sight triangle for driveway. ditional Neighborhood Development (TND) Guidelines
 21

Graphic reprinted fromVegetation Control for Safety. A Guide for Street and Highway
Maintenance Personnel, FHWA-RT-90-003 (120).

Figure 5. Overhead object hazard.

recommends that planting strips located between the curb equidistant between the pavement edge and the edge of the
and sidewalk should be at least 1.8 m (6 ft) wide (56). This sidewalk (59). For major street locations, trees should not
resource further suggests that for streets with design speeds be located closer to the edge of pavement than two-thirds
at or below 32 km/h (20 mph) or for streets that permit of the distance from the pavement edge to the right-of-way
on-street parking, small street trees can be planted within limits. The Georgia Department of Transportation Online
0.9 m (3 ft) of the back of curb or along the approximate Policy and Procedure System (62) recommends that in an
centerline of the planting strip. The Seattle planting proce- urban environment, trees with diameters less than 100
dures permit tree planting 1.1 m (3.5 ft) from the face of mm (4 in.) should be laterally positioned 1.2 m (4 ft) for
curb (57). The Montgomery, Alabama, plan recommends posted or design speeds of 56 km/h (35 mph) or less, 2.4 m
that at neighborhood street locations trees should be in- (8 ft) for posted or design speeds of 64 to 72 km/h (40 to
stalled at a point equidistant between the pavement edge 45 mph), and outside the clear zone for speeds greater than
and the right-of-way limits or, for residential neighborhoods, 72 km/h (45 mph). For larger trees, the minimum lateral

Photos by Karen Dixon.

Figure 6. Landscape berm that blocks horizontal sight distance.

22

placement should be 2.4 m (8 ft) from the curb or 1.2 m

(4 ft) from the outside shoulder in central business districts
or commercial locations for posted or design speeds of
56 km/h (35 mph) or less. Similarly, for speeds of 64 km/h
(40 mph) the lateral clearance of 3.0 m (10 ft) should be
maintained. For speeds of 72 km/h (45 mph), a lateral off-
set of 4.3 m (14 ft) is recommended. The Georgia Depart-
ment of Transportation further requires that large trees be
placed beyond the clear zone limits for speeds greater than
72 m/h (45 mph).
AASHTO (30) suggests that landscape design include
consideration of the mature size of trees and shrubs and
how they will influence safety, visibility, and maintenance
costs as they mature. In addition, if on-street parking is
permitted, the landscape border area needs to be wide
enough to accommodate the planned landscaping and still Reprinted from Guidelines of Highway Landscaping (20)
permit access to parked vehicles.
Figure 7. Example of plant layering.
New Zealand’s Guidelines for Highway Landscaping
(20) recommends plant layering, an approach in which
plants are grouped according to height, as depicted in
Figure 7. suggests tree placement approximately 9.1 m (30 ft) on
This plant layering approach permits the use of roadside center, but also emphasizes that canopy trees should not be
landscaping and, as indicated in the guide, will do the positioned under service wires (59).
following: Other placement constraints in the Seattle procedures
– Allow wider clear zones for rigid objects, include space separating trees from underground utility
– Permit the inclusion of large trees in the roadside design, lines of 1.5 m (5 ft), a minimum space of 3.0 m (10 ft) sep-
– Allow appropriate sight distance, and arating trees from power poles (4.6 m [15 ft] recom-
– Permit visually appealing plant compositions. mended), and a space of 6.1 m (20 ft) separating trees from
Finally, at horizontal curve locations the lateral offset of street lights or other existing trees (57). The City of Simi
landscaping features must not obstruct sight distance, as Valley requires a separation of 4.6 m (15 ft) between trees
shown in Figure 8. and street light standards, 3.0 m (10 ft) between trees and
• Longitudinal placement of trees and landscaping. In ad- fire hydrants and alleys, and 1.5 m (5 ft) between trees and
dition to lateral offset placement standards and constrain- water meters or utility vaults (58).
ing the placement of trees near intersections or driveways, • Median planting strategies. Many jurisdictions maintain
longitudinal placement strategies include placement to similar lateral offset guidelines as for the right side of the
help develop tree canopies and placement to help avoid roadside (in the direction of travel). The New South Wales
conflicting obstacles. One source recommends that trees be guidelines note that where planting is required in a median,
spaced so that mature tree canopies grow within 3 m (10 ft) trees should be located a minimum lateral distance from
of each other to help provide shade (63). This placement the nearest travelway of 2.5 m (8.2 ft) (61). The City of Simi
results in tree spacing from 7.6 to 15.2 m (25 to 50 ft) de- Valley guidelines suggest that median tree spacing can vary
pending on the tree type. The City of Montgomery plan based on tree type (58). Shrubs should have a mature

Graphic reprinted from Trees in Hazardous Locations (60)

Figure 8. Sight distance around a horizontal curve.

 23

height of 0.8 m (2.5 ft), and ground cover should be set 10 cm (4 in.) should not be permitted within a roadside clear
back from the curb edge a minimum of 0.5 m (1.5 ft). zone region. The authors further suggested that if the trees are
• Strategic placement strategies for visual perception. One needed for aesthetics or environmental reasons, the tree loca-
report from Denmark suggests that the traffic-related feature tion should be behind a barrier, ditch, or retaining wall.
of roadside plantings may be due to the visual narrowing of A 1999 study conducted in Washington State examined
the driver’s field of view, which results in speed reductions both rural and urban environments and developed models
(15). This speed reduction hypothesis is echoed in other lit- for both conditions as well as models combining the urban
erature, but it has not yet been empirically substantiated. and rural data (68). The researchers determined that the vari-
able representing the number of isolated trees in a section had
Safety research. There is considerable anecdotal infor- a negative sign (indicating a decrease in accident frequency)
mation in the literature that supports the potential benefits of for urban areas. This same variable had a positive sign
roadside landscaping placement for health and driver well- (indicating an increase in accident frequency) for rural loca-
being. Similarly, impact with a rigid object, such as a large tions. The authors also evaluated crash severity. The models
tree, is a known hazard, and this danger has been consistently they developed predicted that in an urban environment
reinforced in rural roadside research. While shrubs are often isolated trees can be expected to result in possible injury
classified with trees for the purposes of analyzing crash data, while the presence of tree groups can be expected to result in
it is important to consider the safe placement of shrubs sep- disabling injuries or fatalities. The authors had a similar finding
arately from that of trees and other landscaping elements, as for tree groups in rural environments. The authors attributed
many types of landscaping elements are considered frangible. the reduction of accident frequency due to isolated trees in
The majority of roadside landscape safety literature has urban environments to the fact that there are fewer trees in
focused on the safety condition of street trees. The placement urban environments than in rural ones.
or removal of street trees is often one of the most contentious In 1999, Kloeden and colleagues published a study of
elements with respect to the design of roadsides in urban areas. crashes that occurred between 1985 and 1996 in Southern
Urban stakeholders often seek to incorporate street trees in the Australia (69). The researchers did not separate the crashes
design of urban roadsides; however, when trees are placed ad- into urban and rural categories; however, they did perform
jacent to the travelway, they can become rigid, fixed-object evaluations based on the speed zones associated with the
hazards. Current practice discourages the placement of trees crash locations. Table 8 depicts the distance to roadside haz-
with mature-tree caliper widths greater than 100 mm (4 in.) ards for fatalities that occurred during the study period for
along the roadside (1, 37). This maximum tree size is based on speed zones of 80 km/h (50 mph) or less. The offset values
the crash tests of 100 by 100 mm (4 by 4 in.) wooden signposts. shown in this table are rounded to the closest meter. This
A tree, unlike a wood signpost, has a root system; however, the Australian study found that 58.6 percent of roadside hazard
wood post used for sign supports has long been the reference fatalities were due to vehicle impacts into trees.
for tree size on the assumption that if the wooden signpost is A study published in 2003 evaluated five arterial roadways
safe, then a tree of a similar size should also be safe (64, 65). in downtown Toronto and sought to understand the safety
In 1986, the FHWA commissioned a study to reduce haz- impacts of placing landscape elements, such as mature trees,
ards due to trees (66). Although the study focused generally on adjacent to the travelway. The sites were selected because
the rural environment, the researchers found that for fatal tree all five sites were undergoing various environmental and
crashes, the median tree diameter at breast height was 508 mm aesthetic improvements due to community concerns associ-
(20 in.), whereas the median tree diameter for nonfatal tree ated with major road reconstruction projects. The sites were
crashes was 381 mm (15 in.). FHWA’s Roadside Improvements tracked from 1992 to 1995 as they underwent these improve-
for Local Roads and Streets further notes that trees with multi- ments. This study found a statistically significant reduction
ple trunks, groups of small trees, or a combination of a small in mid-block crashes from the pre- to post-test conditions,
tree and another fixed object can act as a potential hazard and although the authors did not elaborate on the nature of
should be considered collectively (67). For combined effects, the crashes that were investigated as part of the study (70).
the cross section should not exceed 83.87 sq cm (13 sq in.). These results, however, cannot be uniquely attributed to trees
A 1990 study performed by Turner and Mansfield evaluated since the projects involved major reconstruction.
urban tree safety in Huntsville, Alabama, based on a study of Researchers from Monash University Accident Research
tree crashes (7). The study presents aggregate information on Centre in Australia published a study in 2003 that evaluated
the characteristics of urban run-off-road crashes into trees, but roadside safety issues in Victoria from 1996 to 2000 (71). They
did not include information on the specific road characteris- determined that 4.1 percent of collisions with roadside trees
tics of the environments in which these crashes occurred. The resulted in a fatality, compared with only 2.3 percent of other
authors concluded that mature trees with diameters larger than roadside object crashes. They also noted that the likelihood of
24

Table 8. Offsets to roadside hazards in fatalities.

Distance of
Roadside Hazard Cumulative
from Road Number of Percentage Percentage
(m)(ft) Crashes (%) (%)
0 (0) 34 22.2 22.2
1 (3) 38 24.8 47.1
2 (7) 30 19.6 66.7
3 (10) 18 11.8 78.4
4 (13) 12 7.8 86.3
5 (16) 5 3.3 89.5
6 (20) 3 2.0 91.5
7 (23) 1 0.7 92.2
8 (26) 3 2.0 94.1
9 (30) 1 0.7 94.8
10 (33) 3 2.0 96.7
14 (46) 2 1.3 98.0
15 (49) 2 1.3 99.3
16 (52) 1 0.7 100.0
Total 153 100.0
Source: Adapted from Severe and Fatal Car Crashes Due to Roadside Hazards (69).
Note: Crashes involving multiple fatalities are only counted once in this table.

a fatality is greater for collisions at higher speeds and that the urban street trees in curbed urban and suburban highway
most frequently impacted roadside hazards were trees, poles, medians with a variety of median widths, including narrow
fences, and embankments. medians. The researchers concluded that large trees located
A study published in 2005 by Bratton and Wolf performed in medians are associated with more total crashes as well as
an analysis using national crash data and concluded that more fatal and injury crashes. The presence of median trees
crash frequency is generally higher and injury level more was statistically significant for the severity model developed
severe in higher speed rural areas (72). They also noted that for the study. The researchers also found a positive rela-
crashes involving trees are more injurious than all crashes in tionship between median trees and hit-pedestrian crashes at
general. Bratton and Wolf were not able to identify a signifi- non-intersection locations. The median width results were
cant difference between tree collision rates in urban and rural inconclusive.
areas. Although they noted that trees, as fixed objects, statis-
Strategy summary. A variety of strategies have been pro-
tically increase the likelihood of injury in accidents, trees are
posed, applied, and/or tested for safe application of landscap-
involved in a small overall percentage of these crash events.
ing and tree placement adjacent to the roadside. The safety of
The authors went on to note that since the clear zone concept
these strategies in some cases is well known; in other cases,
does not appear to be a feasible notion for the urban envi-
strategies hold promise but their exact influence on safety is
ronment, designers should develop a way of safely integrat-
unknown. Common strategies are as follows:
ing trees into the urban roadside environment.
Researchers at California Polytechnic State University Purpose Strategy
performed a three-phase study completed in 2004 (with in-
Prevent large trees from • Restrict/Refine planting
terim reports in 2002 and 2003) in which they evaluated the growing in hazardous guidelines regarding tree and
street tree application specifically for the urban median con- locations landscaping placement (T)
dition (53). In the initial stages of the research, the re- • Implement plant layering
searchers performed a literature review and noted the wide strategies (T)
variety of anecdotal evidence and conflicting empirical evi- Eliminate hazardous • Remove or shield isolated large
dence produced for previous studies into the roadside safety tree conditions trees (diameter of 100 mm [4 in]
of the urban street tree. They noted that there are a variety or more) (P)
• Shield tree groups (P)
of clearance standards used throughout the United States • Establish urban lateral offset
for recommended offset values to roadside hazards such as guidelines for large trees (T)
large trees (defined as trees with diameters greater than 100 • Delineate hazardous trees to
mm [4 in.] for their study) and very little direction regard- improve visibility (E)
ing appropriate placement of trees in medians. As a result, Minimize level of Reduce travel speed on adjacent
Phases 2 and 3 of the study were focused on evaluating severity road (P)
 25

Street Furniture Utility Poles, Luminaires, and Signposts/Hardware

General information. In many urban areas, the use of General information. In both the national and interna-
street furniture is a common approach to improving the aes- tional literature, the placement of utility poles, light poles, and
thetic quality of a street. Street furniture includes items placed similar vertical roadside treatments and companion hard-
adjacent to the road that are there to improve the adjacent ware is frequently cited as an urban roadside hazard. For
land use or to improve the transportation operations. In some example, Haworth and Bowland have noted that while im-
jurisdictions, street lights and signs are included in the cate- pacts with trees were more common outside the Melbourne,
gory of street furniture; however, for the purposes of this Australia, metropolitan area, single-vehicle crashes with
review, street furniture is considered to be supplemental poles or posts were more common within the metropolitan
items such as benches, public art, trash receptacles, phone region (73). A 1998 study by the European Transport Safety
booths, planters, bollards, fountains, kiosks, transit shelters, Council identified collisions with utility poles or posts as one
bicycle stands, and so forth. Often the placement of these de- of the top two roadside hazards for Finland, Germany, Great
vices can obscure sight distance, so their location should not Britain, and Sweden (74).
occur in the sight triangles of intersections or driveways.
Many street furniture items are placed along the right-of-way Safety research. This section discusses the research litera-
by property owners, as in the case of the placement of a side- ture for utility poles, lighting supports, and signposts/roadside
walk cafe in front of a restaurant, and are thus largely outside hardware.
the engineer’s control. Transit shelters are provided to protect
• Utility poles. Utility poles are prevalent in urban environ-
transit riders from inclement weather and must be located
ments and can pose a substantial hazard to errant vehicles
close to the curb to facilitate short bus dwell times.
and motorists. A study of utility pole crashes, for example,
One interesting way that some jurisdictions manage the
found that crash frequency increases with daily traffic
placement of street furniture by land owners is by a permit-
volume and the number of poles adjacent to the travel-
ting process that requires vendors or property owners to
way (33). Utility poles are more prevalent adjacent to urban
acquire liability insurance for street furniture located adja-
roadways than rural highways, and demands for opera-
cent to the road. Seattle is one city with this insurance
tional improvements coupled with limited street right-of-
requirement. Other jurisdictions restrict the placement of
way often lead to placing these poles proximate to the
private street furniture by a permitting process comple-
roadway edge (see Figure 9).
mented by a tax for each square meter or square foot of pub-
The absolute number of fatalities related to utility
lic right-of-way used. Dublin, Ireland, is one city that uses
poles has remained around 1,200 since the mid 1980s
this approach.
(see Figure 10) (75). Utility poles are involved in the sec-
ond highest number of fixed-object fatalities (trees are
Safety research. The research team for this project was
involved in the highest number of fixed-object fatalities).
not able to locate any research evaluating the relative hazard
In a statistical study performed by Washington State
that may be posed by street furniture. Nevertheless, street
Department of Transportation researchers, utility poles
furniture can potentially create sight distance obstructions
were identified as one of the roadside features that can
when located near an intersection, particularly when large
significantly affect the injury level or severity of run-off-
numbers of people congregate as a result of the street furni-
road crashes (68).
ture. It is also important that the sight distance of pedestrians
The literature regarding crashes related to utility poles
be maintained when placing street furniture proximate to the
has identified utility poles as being principally an urban
roadway.
hazard, with urban areas experiencing 36.9 pole crashes
per 161 km (100 mi) of roadway, compared with 5.2 pole
Strategy summary. Common street furniture safety strate-
crashes per 161 km (100 mi) of roadway for rural areas
gies are as follows:
(76). Zegeer and Parker found that the variable that had
Purpose Strategy
the greatest ability to explain crashes related to utility poles
was the average daily traffic (ADT) along the roadway (33).
Minimize likelihood of • Locate street furniture as far
crash from street as possible (P) The significance of ADT as the critical variable explains the
• Restrict street furniture placement importance of vehicle exposure to understanding run-off-
to avoid sight distance issues road crashes with utility poles.
for road user (P) A common recommendation for addressing the utility
Minimize crash severity Develop street furniture that meets pole safety issue is to place utilities underground and
basic crashworthy standards (E) thereby remove the hazardous poles. The removal of all
26

Photos by NCHRP Project 16-04 research team.

Figure 9. Road widening resulting in utility pole hazards.

poles in the urban roadside environment is not practical as or warning motorists of the obstacles (78). The report in-
these poles often function as the supports for street lights cludes several initiatives in which pole relocation or re-
and other shared utilities. There are, however, several moval is currently targeted as a safety strategy.
known utility pole hazardous locations that should be Additional ways to minimize utility pole crashes are plac-
avoided when feasible. In general, utility poles should be ing utilities underground (where feasible), using shared
placed in the following locations: poles to reduce pole density, and relocating poles to less vul-
– As far as possible from the active travel lanes, nerable locations. The delineation of poles using reflective
– Away from access points where the pole may restrict tape or buttons may also help an alert driver identify a util-
sight distance, ity pole and avoid it; however, this delineation treatment
– Inside a sharp horizontal curve (as errant vehicles tend may also act as an attractor for impaired drivers who are at-
to continue straight toward the outside of curves), and tempting to guide their vehicles by road edge delineation.
– On only one side of the road (66, 77). The Land Transport Safety Authority in New Zealand rec-
State of the Art Report 9: Utilities and Roadside Safety ommends that utility poles and large trees be highlighted
summarizes categories for utility pole safety solutions as using a uniform method that cannot be removed, such as
the following: changing the pole position; using safety de- reflectorized markers or paint markings (79).
vices (crash cushions, safety poles, guardrail, and barriers); Increasing the lateral distance of utility poles from the
travel lanes appears to be a promising improvement strategy.
Many jurisdictions maintain an operational offset of 0.5 m
(1.5 ft), but several agencies are seeking to increase the pole
placement offset in urban regions. Haworth and colleagues
(80) observed that in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia,
poles involved in fatal crashes were most often less than 2
m (6.6 ft) from the edge of the road. The Clear Roadside
Committee established by the Georgia Utilities Coordinat-
ing Council suggests that for curbed sections, poles should
be placed as far as is practical from the face of the outer
curbs, with the following goals:
– Lateral clearance of 3.6 m (12 ft) from the face of the
Graphic reprinted from State of the Art Report 9: Utilities and Roadside curb to the face of the pole.
Safety (75).
– For speed limits greater than 56 km/h (35 mph) but
Figure 10. Fatalities related to crashes with not exceeding 72 km/h (45 mph), a lateral clearance of
utility poles (1980–2000). 2.4 m (8 ft).
 27

– For roads with posted speed limits less than or equal to An important issue in addressing roadside safety is the
56 km/h (35 mph), a lateral clearance of 1.8 (6 ft) (81). role of lighting in making potentially hazardous roadside
Similar to the Georgia policy, the Maine Utility Pole Lo- environments visible to the road users (motor vehicle driv-
cation Policy suggests that offsets should be greater than ers, bicyclists, and pedestrians), particularly during night-
2.4 m (8 ft) for roadways with posted speed limits of 40 to time hours. Other issues with roadside lighting, as cited in
55 km/h (25 to 35 mph) and that offsets should be greater the literature, include frequency and spacing of lights (56)
than 4.3 m (14 ft) on roadways with posted speed limits of and lighting color and associated visibility (85). These is-
65 to 70 km/h (40 to 45 mph) (82). sues are beyond the scope of this study.
In Sweden, emphasis is placed on system level improve- • Signposts and roadside hardware. The design of signposts is
ments. Based on the idea that the transportation system directed by NCHRP Report 350, and there has been substan-
itself is unsafe, Sweden is redeveloping the system to re- tial research devoted to designing these features to be tra-
duce user errors that lead to injury or death. One of the versable (36). Multiple designs for these features are included
strategies to achieve this goal is to modify the system to in the current edition of the Roadside Design Guide (1), and
ensure that users are not exposed to impact forces that can specifications for evaluating these features are contained in
kill or severely injure the users (71). AASHTO’s Standard Specifications for Structural Supports for
Finally, some utility pole literature suggests the use of Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals (84).
breakaway poles. In the event that an errant vehicle impacts Crash severity can be minimized through the use of tra-
a breakaway pole, the pole will swing upward and then back versable hardware, such as break-away light posts, mail-
down (thereby permitting the impacting vehicle to travel boxes, and utility poles. The current standard for break-
safely under the pole). One concern with breakaway utility away hardware, as contained in the Roadside Design Guide
poles has been whether they pose a threat to pedestrians and NCHRP Report 350, is that breakaway features func-
when they swing back down after swinging up to avoid a tion omni-directionally to ensure that the features do not
crash. A 1970s series of case studies performed in Australia constitute a hazard from any impact direction (1, 36). To
by McLean, Offler, and Sandow evaluated crashes in the prevent vehicle snags, the stub height after breakaway
proximity of Stobie poles (utility poles with two rolled-steel should not exceed 100 mm (4 in.) (see Figure 11).
joists separated by concrete) (83). In evaluating the risk to While an unobstructed and traversable roadside is pre-
pedestrians, the researchers determined that there were no ferred, it may be necessary at some locations to use break-
cases in their studies where a pedestrian was in the imme- away features, which will minimize the severity of the initial
diate vicinity of a collision between a car and a Stobie pole. impact by an errant vehicle. Breakaway poles and similar
• Lighting and visibility. The design of luminaire posts is di- features must be designed to prevent intrusion on the pas-
rected by NCHRP Report 350, and substantial research has senger compartment of the vehicle, either by minimizing
been devoted to designing these light poles to be yielding the weight and load of such features, or by providing a sec-
upon impact (using breakaway bolts) (36). Multiple designs ondary hinge, at least 2.1 m (7 ft) above the ground, that
for these posts are included in the current edition of the permits the vehicle to pass safely beneath the post upon im-
Roadside Design Guide (1), and specifications for evaluat- pact. The current edition of the Roadside Design Guide pro-
ing these features are contained in AASHTO’s Standard vides specifications for these devices and suggests that the
Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, concern for pedestrians in urban areas has led to a trend of
Luminaires, and Traffic Signals (84). using fixed supports for some urban locations (1).

Graphic reprinted from Roadside Design Guide (1) with permission.

Figure 11. Stub of a breakaway support.

28

Strategy summary. Common strategies for utility poles, Also, in locations with bicycle activity, safety barriers located
lighting supports, and signposts/roadside hardware are as immediately adjacent to the road may expose cyclists to un-
follows: necessary risks because the barriers may give a sensation of
“squashing” the cyclist between the barrier and an adjacent
Purpose Strategy motor vehicle (79).
Treat individual high • Remove or relocate poles (P)
risk pole locations • Place poles on inside of horizontal Safety research. Considerable research has been per-
curves and avoid placement on formed on a variety of traffic barriers. NCHRP Report 490: In-
outside of roudabouts or too close
Service Performance of Traffic Barriers includes an extensive
to intersection corners (P)
• Use breakaway or yielding literature review that discusses the evolution of traffic barrier
poles (T) crashworthiness (87). The following summaries briefly re-
• Shield poles (P) view the application of these tested barriers (barriers, bridge
• Improve pole visibility (E) rails, and end treatments) in an urban environment.
Treat multiple poles in • Establish urban clear zone offset
high risk locations guidelines for pole setback • Barriers. Barriers can be categorized as flexible (cable barri-
distances from curb (P)
• Place utilities underground while
ers and W-beam guardrail with weak post), semi-rigid (thrie
maintaining appropriate beam and W-beam guardrail with strong post), and rigid
nighttime visibility (P) (concrete barrier system such as the New Jersey barrier).
• Combine utilities/signs onto Because guardrails are most typically associated with
shared poles (reduce number rural and higher speed environments, the use of guardrails
of poles) (P)
in urban environments is often restricted to protection of
• Replace poles with building-
mounted suspended lighting bridge approaches and departures. In fact, the conventional
(where suitable) (E) (86) use of guardrail is to shield roadside objects from impact
Minimize level of Reduce travel speed on adjacent that pose a greater threat than impact to the guardrail it-
severity road (P) self. Since the placement of guardrails at locations with
frequent driveways is problematic due to the numerous
breaks in the barrier treatment and the adverse effect of
Safety Barriers
the guardrail on driveway and intersection sight distance,
Roadside barriers are subject to NCHRP Report 350 testing the use of conventional guardrail is minimal in urban
criteria (36). There are several types of safety barriers that low-speed corridors. AASHTO indicates that for very low
may be present in an urban environment. These include the traffic volume locations, traffic barriers are not generally
following: cost-effective (32). This recommendation is confirmed by
research performed by Stephens (88) and Wolford and
• Barriers (flexible, semi-rigid, and rigid); Sicking (89). In the event that an engineer does endorse the
• Bridge railings; and use of a barrier in an urban environment, factors in addi-
• End treatments (crash cushions and end terminals). tion to the lateral offset, deflection distance, terrain effects,
flare rate, and length of need (common to rural placement
Generally, most of the research on safety barriers has been design) must be supplemented by consideration of corner
oriented toward the design of barriers and their placement to sight distance, pedestrian activity (with particular atten-
shield vehicles from hazardous roadside conditions. The tion to the needs of persons with disabilities), and bicycle
Roadside Design Guide and NCHRP Report 350 provide con- activity (1).
siderable information on placement and design of safe bar- When the use of a protective barrier is warranted in the
rier systems (1, 36). FHWA maintains a roadside hardware urban environment, the application of aesthetic barrier treat-
website that provides information about specific roadside ments may be considered. These treatments perform the
hardware that has been tested (see http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ same general function as a guardrail (shield hazardous envi-
roadway_dept/road_hardware/index.htm). ronments) while enhancing the aesthetics of a roadway.
In the urban environment, many of the safety barriers The use of barriers in an urban environment can be to
common to rural environments may not be suitable due to shield roadside obstacles (such as rigid utility poles), sepa-
constraints regarding space available for flared end treatments, rate motorized and nonmotorized traffic, and provide a
the constraining influence of safety barriers on pedestrian physical separation between the active travel lanes and pe-
activity, and the potential obstruction of sight distance at the destrian activity. For barriers with a shielding objective, sev-
many intersections and driveways in the urban environment. eral different barriers may be considered. For example, the
 29

California Department of Transportation published a report quacy). Transitions to guardrails must be located at both
in 2002 with a focus on suitable aesthetic barriers (90). This the approach and departure end of all bridge rails. Bridge
report includes the status of crash testing as well as the rails must be designed to retain a large passenger car at
advantages and disadvantages of each treatment. Candidate the legal driving speed for local streets and roads (94). The
barriers for urban environments include concrete barriers bridge rails must, therefore, be structurally designed and
with textured and patterned surfaces, timber guardrail, pre- maintain their structural integrity after impact.
cast concrete guardwall, and stone masonry guardwall. • End treatments. For locations where the end of the barri-
The placement of barrier in the vicinity of a median is a ers cannot be adequately flared or protected, it is necessary
common strategy in rural environments to help prevent to use an end treatment such as a barrier terminal or crash
head-on collisions by errant vehicles. Washington State, for cushion. Aesthetic enhancements to end treatments have
example, performed an evaluation of median treatments for not received much attention, so conventional treatments
multi-lane, divided state highways with full access con- are necessary in the urban environment. These treatments
trol (91). The researchers determined that the placement of should not allow a vehicle to penetrate, vault, or roll upon
a barrier for medians up to a width of 15 m (50 ft) is cost- impact. They should have the strength and redirectional
effective. In an urban environment, the median width is nar- qualities of a standard barrier.
row and often serves the combined functions of separating
opposing directions of travel and acting as pedestrian refuge Dynamic Roadside Conditions
at certain locations. Currently, concrete Jersey barriers are
Bicycle Facilities
used most commonly for medians in urban locations.
The placement of barriers adjacent to the road intro- General information. Bicycle facilities consist of road
duces a new roadside hazard. For example, use of rigid bar- and roadside features intended for bicycle operation. These
riers tends to result in a greater number of minor crashes, facilities may include standard lanes, wide outside lanes,
but dramatically reduces the number of serious or fatal bicycle lanes, and off-road bicycle paths. Accompanying bicy-
head-on and run-off-road crashes (92). Lee and Manner- cle facilities may be bicycle hardware located along the road-
ing (68) determined that for urban environments, guard- side, such as bicycle racks. In general, the literature regarding
rails are significantly associated with an increase in crash the relationship between bicycle facilities and roadside safety
frequency, but the severity of these crashes is likely to re- is limited. Wide shoulders and bicycle lanes provide an addi-
sult in possible injury only. tional “clear” area adjacent to the travelway, so these features
In locations where aesthetics are important and a bar- could potentially provide a secondary safety benefit for
rier is required, jurisdictions may develop crash-tested motorists, provided bicycle volumes are low. These bicycle
options such as the Vermont-approved stone masonry facilities will also further separate the motor vehicle from any
system shown in Figure 12 (in addition to the various aes- roadside obstructions and improve the resulting sight distance
thetic barriers identified in the California report previ- for motor vehicle drivers at intersecting driveways and streets.
ously indicated [90]). A second area of consideration is the placement of bicycle-
• Bridge rails. In both urban and rural environments, bridges supportive hardware, such as bicycle racks, adjacent to the
should be equipped with rails that do not permit vehicles travelway. Bicycle racks are commonly made of steel or other
to penetrate the space beyond the rail (i.e., structural ade- metals and are typically bolted to the ground to secure locked
bicycles from potential theft. These features are not designed to
be yielding should a run-off-road event occur. To date, there
has been little evaluation of the potential roadside hazard posed
by such treatments, although they can clearly present a poten-
tial fixed-object hazard. Making such features yielding would
potentially minimize the core function of these features—
providing a secure location for locking up bicycles. Thus,
a potentially more desirable alternative may be to encourage
the placement of these features outside of the clear zone.
Safety research. Most of the bicycle research focuses on
specific bicycle safety issues such as safety helmets and train-
ing. Several studies have developed and reviewed previous
bicycle suitability or compatibility criteria (95, 96). The crite-
Photo reprinted from Guardrail Study (93).
ria for determining bicycle suitability include available lane
Figure 12. Stone masonry barrier. width, traffic volume, and vehicle speeds. One best practices
30

review has suggested that road safety for cyclists could be en- pedestrian, however, can be countered by the pedestrian who
hanced by increased law enforcement to ensure that cyclists elects to cross the street mid-block in areas not designated for
do not ride in the wrong direction (against traffic) or at night pedestrian crossing. The parked vehicles may act as a shield
without adequate lighting (97). This best practices review also to prevent proper sight distance for the drivers of adjacent
noted that the use of extruded curbs to separate a bike lane motor vehicles, often resulting in new conflicts between
from traffic should be avoided. motor vehicles and pedestrians stepping between parked cars.
Since the focus of this research effort is roadside safety for Similarly, there is an inherent conflict between the motor ve-
the urban environment, it is helpful to understand the mag- hicle and drivers exiting or entering their parked vehicles on
nitude of the safety risk to cyclists as they encounter roadside the traffic side of the roadway.
environments. One FHWA report using hospital emergency An additional concern often cited regarding on-street
department data noted that 70 percent of reported bicycle parking is the effect it may have on reducing emergency serv-
injury events did not involve a motor vehicle and 31 percent ices’ response rate. Often the narrowing effect of on-street
occurred in non-roadway locations. For bicycle-only crashes, parking can be compounded by illegal parking too close to
a total of 23.3 percent of the recorded crashes occurred at critical locations such as intersections. The Local Govern-
sidewalk, driveway, yard, or parking lot locations (98). Stutts ment Commission released a publication called Emergency
and Hunter (99) evaluated bicycle–motor vehicle crashes and Response Traffic Calming and Traditional Neighborhood
determined that some factors associated with the crash were Streets (100) that suggests that the adverse effects of on-street
variables such as age, gender, impairment, and time of day. parking can be mitigated by implementing the following
Roadside variables (sidewalk, parking lot, and driveways) strategies:
were not statistically significant in their model.
• Placing a double set of driveways periodically (per fire
Strategy summary. Common strategies to improve bi- department recommendation) to enable local access;
cycle safety as well as bicycle–motor vehicle interactions are • Placing alleys on short blocks across from each other;
as follows: • Placing mailbox clusters, curb extensions, or similar treat-
ments where residents will find it inappropriate to park; and
Purpose Strategy • Enforcing parking criteria to minimize illegal parking.
Reduce likelihood • Use wider curb lanes (P)
of crash • Increase bicycle enforcement (T) Finally, the severity of a roadside hazard constituted by a
• Increase operational offsets (P) collision between a parked vehicle and a moving vehicle is
Reduce severity of crash Locate bicycle racks as far away minimal. Since on-street parking is generally parallel to the
from road as possible (T) moving vehicles, the impact by a moving vehicle is likely to be
a sideswipe crash. This is one of the less severe crash types. For
Parking locations with head-in or reverse-in parking, the crash severity
likelihood is increased as the moving vehicle may impact a ve-
General Information. In many urban environments, lim-
hicle in reverse. Proper sight distance and separation of parked
ited off-street parking often necessitates the use of on-street
vehicles from the active travel lane (often by the use of a bulb-
parking to address the needs of local businesses and stakehold-
out at the intersection) will help minimize safety risks between
ers. As noted in the Green Book (37), cars typically park 150 to
moving and parked or parking vehicles. As indicated in the pre-
305 mm (6 to 12 in.) from the curb and have a normal width of
vious section, curb extensions or bulb-outs can pose a hazard to
roughly 2.1 m (7 ft). Thus, approximately 2.4 m (8 ft) are
bicyclists by forcing them into the active travel lane. In the event
needed to comfortably accommodate on-street parking. One
that the parking lanes are not occupied, the extension could also
common strategy in larger cities is to design wider outside park-
create a hazard for drivers unfamiliar with it. On-street parking
ing lanes, such as 3 m (10 ft), and convert them to travel lanes
is generally not considered appropriate for higher speed roads
during peak periods and anticipated high-volume conditions.
such as suburban to urban transitional arterials.
On-street parking can potentially have mixed results on a
roadway’s safety performance. On the one hand, these fea- Strategy summary. Common on-street parking strate-
tures narrow the effective width of the roadway and may gies are as follows:
result in speed reductions, thereby leading to a reduction in
crash severity. Conversely, on-street parking may also lead to Purpose Strategy
an increase in collisions associated with vehicles attempting Reduce likelihood of Restrict on-street parking to low-
to pull in or out of an on-street parking space. crash speed roads (P)
In addition to vehicle conflicts, on-street parking serves Reduce crash severity Where parking is appropriate, use
as a physical buffer between the motor vehicle path and parallel parking rather than angular
pedestrian facilities. The added safety buffer provided to the parking (P)
 31

Sidewalks and Pedestrian Facilities

General information. Sidewalks and pedestrian facili-
ties, in general, do not pose a particular hazard to motorists.
The safety concern about locating these facilities adjacent to
the road is the risk to the pedestrians using the facilities. Pro-
viding safe facilities for pedestrians is an obvious strategy for
increasing pedestrian safety. While shared streets may be
appropriate if vehicle speeds and volumes are kept extremely
low (see Figure 13), for most roads in urban areas, vehicle
speeds warrant the use of sidewalks (21, 101, 102). The Green
Book (37) recommends the use of sidewalks on urban streets,
with sidewalk widths ranging between 1.2 and 2.4 m (4 and 8 ft)
depending on the roadway classification and nearby land use
characteristics (see Table 9). Photo reprinted from walkinginfo.org (121).
Of the roughly 75,000 pedestrian-related crashes that
occur each year, almost half occur while the pedestrian was at Figure 13. Low-speed shared street.
a non-intersection, on-roadway location (see Table 10).
The conventional approach to examining pedestrian and As shown in Table 11, approximately 13,600 crashes were
bicycle safety is to examine crash records to determine the classified as “darting into road” crashes, which is where a
non-motorized user’s action prior to a crash event. Complete pedestrian rushes into the street and is struck by a motor
and accurate motor vehicle crash data for pedestrian crashes vehicle. The majority of individuals involved in “darting-
can be difficult to find. Stutts and Hunter evaluated police- into-road” crashes were children between the ages of 5 and 9,
reported pedestrian crashes and compared these to hospital who may have been using the street for play activities (103).
emergency room records (99). They found that crash events As Whyte has indicated, the street is often the preferred play
that occurred in parking lots, driveways, and other off-road location for children, even when parks and other recreational
locations were reported less frequently than those occurring amenities may be available (104).
in the roadway. A 1999 FHWA study (98) also reviewed hos- An additional feature of the roadside environment is a
pital emergency room records and determined that 11 percent pedestrian buffer area. The pedestrian buffer is a physical
of the pedestrian–motor vehicle events recorded occurred at distance separating the sidewalk and the vehicle travelway.
roadside locations (sidewalk, parking lot, and driveway). Buffer areas typically serve a host of secondary purposes as
Of the data for which pre-crash action is known, improper well—they provide locations for on-street parking, transit
crossings were the largest single crash category, accounting for stops, street lighting, and planting areas for landscape mate-
20 percent of the total crashes. The categories that have the rials, as well as a location for a host of street appurtenances, such
most direct relationship to the roadside fell into the four cate- as seating and trash receptacles. Buffer strips may be either
gories most strongly related to the design of roadsides: jogging, planted or paved. The Green Book supports the use of buffer
walking with and against traffic, and miscellaneous activity. strips on urban arterials, collectors, and local streets (37).

Table 9. Green Book sidewalk specifications (37).

Road Class Side of Street Specification

Urban Arterials Both Border area (buffer plus
sidewalk) should be a minimum
of 2.4 m (8 ft) and preferably 3.6
m (12 ft) or more.
Collector Both sides of street for access to 1.2 m (4 ft) minimum in
schools, parks, and shopping. residential areas.
Both sides of streets desirable in 1.2 to 2.4 m (4 to 8 ft) in
residential areas. commercial areas.
Local Both sides of street for access to 1.2 m (4 ft) minimum in
schools, parks, and shopping. residential areas.
Both sides of streets desirable in 1.2 to 2.4 m (4 to 8 ft) in
residential areas. commercial areas, although
additional width may be desirable
if roadside appurtenances are
present.
Source: Developed from A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 4th ed. (37).
32

Table 10. Pedestrian location during a crash variety of options for improving pedestrian safety in the State
(2002). of Utah (107). Many of his recommendations are similar to
those already reviewed; however, he also included improving
Pedestrian Location Number Percent
Intersection - In Crosswalk 14,674 19.7
sidewalk security and visibility with street lights as an impor-
Intersection - On Roadway 15,319 20.6 tant issue. Cottrell further noted that the failure to remove
Intersection - Other 1,391 1.9 snow from sidewalks during winter conditions may result in
Intersection - Unknown Location 810 1.1
Non-intersection - In Crosswalk 381 0.5 pedestrians entering the street either to cross it or to walk
Non-intersection - On Roadway 35,785 48.0 along the cleared road. The document that to date most ex-
Non-intersection - Other 3,518 4.7
Non-intersection - Unknown Location 173 0.2
haustively summarizes strategies for improving pedestrian
In Crosswalk - Unknown if Intersection 16 0.0 safety is NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of
Other Location 1,830 2.5 the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan—Volume 10:
Unknown Location 595 0.8
Total 74,492 100.0 A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Pedestrians (123).
Source: General Estimates System (122).
This document includes methods for enhancing pedestrian
safety in the road as well as adjacent to the road. The recom-
Safety research. Several studies have evaluated potential mendations in the document are consistent with those of the
countermeasures to improve pedestrian safety. Generally, these research studies summarized in this review.
studies were based on case studies, statistical models, or subjec-
tive evaluation. Landis and colleagues (105) modeled several Strategy summary. Common strategies for eliminating
roadside walking environment variables to evaluate the pedes- or minimizing motor vehicle–pedestrian crashes at roadside
trian’s perception of risk versus actual risk. The researchers locations are as follows:
expected that as the number of driveways increased they would
Purpose Strategy
observe a decrease in pedestrian safety, but this hypothesis was
Reduce motor vehicle- • Provide continuous pedestrian
determined not to be statistically significant. They did find that
pedestrian crash facilities (P)
motor vehicle volume and vehicle speeds were significant fac- likelihood at roadside • Install pedestrian refuge medians
tors in pedestrian safety. Corben and Duarte evaluated the high locations or channelized islands (see
number of pedestrian injuries along Melbourne’s arterial roads previous section on medians and
and recommended the adoption of three practices: islands) (P)
• Offset pedestrian locations away
• Reduce traffic volumes, from travelway with pedestrian
• Reduce road widths, and buffers (P)
• Reduce vehicle speeds (106). • Physically separate pedestrians
from travelway at high-risk
Corben and Duarte further suggested that strategies for locations (P)
reducing the vehicle speed can include public awareness and • Improve sight distance by
removing objects that obscure
enforcement campaigns; gateway treatments (such as road driver or pedestrian visibility (T)
narrowing, changing pavement texture, and implementing • Maintain pedestrian facilities free
roundabouts); and streetscape improvements (106). Gateway of leaves, snow, or tree roots (T)
treatments are addressed in the traffic calming section of this • Improve visibility by installing
document, which follows this section. Cottrell reviewed a illumination for nighttime
conditions (T)
Table 11. Pedestrian crashes by type (2002). • Enforcement and public
awareness campaigns (T)
Pedestrian Crash Type No. of Crashes Percent Reduce severity of Reduce roadway design speed/
No Action 23,502 31.6 motor vehicle- operating speed in high pedestrian
Darting into Road 13,594 18.3 pedestrian crashes at volume locations (T)
Improper Crossing 15,344 20.6 roadside locations
Inattentive 521 0.7
Jogging 211 0.3
Pushing Vehicle 103 0.1 Traffic Calming Applications—Gateway
Walking with Traffic 1,746 2.3
Walking against Traffic 1,184 1.6
Treatments
Playing, Working, etc. in Roadway 8,074 10.8
Other 5,964 8.0
Although traffic calming applications have been prevalent
Unknown 4,249 5.7 throughout Europe for several decades, traffic calming is
Total 74,492 100.0 relatively new in the United States, first emerging in the
Source: General Estimates System. (122). late 1990s as a strategy for addressing community livability
 33

concerns associated with high vehicle traffic volumes and Safety research. Little information exists on the safety
speeds. The practice of traffic calming applications has performance of gateway treatments. At present, such treat-
sparked a substantial debate regarding the safety and appro- ments have not been subject to extensive crash testing,
priateness of these applications, particularly when applied to undoubtedly because of the large degree of variation in
roadways intended for higher volumes and/or higher operat- the design and materials used in the construction of such
ing speeds, such as minor arterial roadways (23, 108, 109). features. Nevertheless, as noted in Skene, such features are
Traffic calming applications come in a variety of forms, often used by Canadian and British transportation profes-
including partial and full road closures and alterations in the de- sionals in speed transition zones to provide the driver
sign of intersections and curb lines. This report is specifically fo- with visual cues of a forthcoming change in safe operating
cused on traffic calming strategies deployed at arterial transitions conditions (108). In the United States, these gateway treat-
from higher speed rural conditions to locations with lower speed ments are typically aimed at delineating the boundaries of
arterial characteristics. This transitional traffic calming strategy specific communities.
is known as a gateway and is reviewed in the following summary. Most of the research regarding gateway treatments focuses
on their influence on operating speed or road users’ percep-
General information. The traffic calming strategy known tions of gateway treatments and their understanding that they
as a gateway is defined by Burden as “a physical or geometric are, in fact, transitioning into a different and slower speed
landmark on an arterial street which indicates a change in environment.
environment from a major road to a lower speed residential In a 1997 study in the United Kingdom, researchers at the
or commercial district (110).” Burden goes on to suggest that Transport Research Laboratory performed a before-after
gateways can be a combination of street narrowings, medians, evaluation of a series of traffic calming strategies on major
signs, arches, roundabouts, or other features. The objective of roads (112). The traffic volume on candidate roads was greater
a gateway treatment is to make it clear to a motorist that he than 8,000 vehicles per day, and at least 10 percent of the traf-
or she is entering a different road environment that requires fic was composed of heavy vehicles. Speeds at inbound gate-
a reduction in speed. ways were reduced at eight out of nine locations tested. Mean
Drivers need a certain transitional speed zone with the speed reductions ranged from 5 to 21 km/hr (3 to 13 mph).
explicit guidance and roadway features to inform and encour- The study evaluated a variety of treatments, including speed
age them to gradually slow down before they reach the urban reduction signage, narrowings, dragon teeth marking, speed
residential area for a safe entry. A transitional speed zone can cushions, colored pavement, and advanced signing. The re-
also help drivers to speed up within a certain timeframe when searchers determined that the signing provided a high visual
leaving an urban area. This transition area is extremely im- impact and resulted in large speed reductions. Physical de-
portant for drivers who are not familiar with the urban area. vices such as the speed cushions resulted in a greater level of
They rely on the roadway features to indicate changes in sur- speed reduction than signing alone. The use of colored bands
roundings that require an adjustment in their driving speed placed laterally across the road and placed in a series seemed
and behavior. to result in some speed reduction, but did not result in large
The gateway concept was presented in a 1998 paper by decreases in speed. The researchers did not test the speed re-
Greg Pates in which he depicted the region between a rural duction signs and so could not comment on the effectiveness
area and a fringe area (transitioning into urban use) as the of these devices. Dragon-teeth marking, identified as one of
gateway location where travel speed should be reduced and the strategies, is depicted as a schematic and a photograph in
motorists should become more alert (111). Figure 14.

Photo and graphic reprinted from Traffic Calming on Major Roads (112) under the terms of the Click-Use License.

Figure 14. Dragon-teeth marking.

34

Berger and Linauer describe the operating speed influence medians of various dimensions to help slow traffic down.
of five raised island configurations used as gateway treatments Based on a before-after site evaluation, the speed reduction at
from high-speed rural locations in Austrian villages (113). control sections (where the strategies were not deployed)
The five gateway island configurations are shown in Figure 15. ranged from 85 percent to 88 percent for initially observed
The most dramatic influence on speeds occurred for Island speeds, while the speeding percentage reduction in test sections
Number 5, where the path of the approach lane was shifted ranged from 47 percent to 67 percent of the original speeds.
dramatically. Table 12 demonstrates the range of speed re- This 20-percent speeding reduction was determined to be
ductions observed in this Austrian study, and Figure 16 shows statistically significant at a 99-percent confidence level. The
the speed profile for Island Number 5. researchers were not able to compare corresponding crash
A study performed for traffic calming strategies deployed data for the site.
from 1993 to 1996 in Ireland evaluated the transition zone as Ewing reviewed a highway reconstruction project deployed
the area between a high-speed and low-speed road (114). The in Saratoga Springs, New York (116). The case road transi-
researchers evaluated the gateway transition from rural to tioned from a four-lane, semi-rural highway with a flush,
urban environments in two phases: painted median and a speed limit of 88 km/hr (55 mph) to a
three-lane urban road with a raised median and a posted
• From the “Traffic Calming Ahead” sign to the “Do Not speed limit of 48 km/hr (30 mph). The length of road avail-
Pass” sign and able for this transition was 550 m (1,800 ft). Because the road
• From the “Do Not Pass” sign to the gateway treatments in passes the Saratoga Spa State Park, the Lincoln Baths, and the
the form of raised islands. Museum of Dance, local representatives wanted a gateway for
the transition of the road. The three photos shown in Fig-
ure 17 depict the gateway transition ultimately constructed
In the first phase, the researchers observed that the “Traf-
for this facility.
fic Calming Ahead” sign at the beginning of the transition
Roundabouts are another commonly recommended gate-
zone reduced inbound traffic speed. They determined this
way treatment. Pates has discussed how Norwegian trial
by comparing the speed reduction results in the transition
projects using roundabouts experienced average speed re-
zone with and without a “Traffic Calming Ahead” sign.
ductions of 10 km/hr (6 mph) (111). Ewing (23) and Zein
With the “Traffic Calming Ahead” sign present, the 85th
and Montufar (92) identify roundabouts as safe traffic calm-
percentile speeds ranged between 90 and 100 km/hr (56 and
ing alternatives to conventional intersections that can serve
62 mph) at the start of the transition zone. The 85th percentile
as both psychological and physical indicators of a transition
speeds at the “Do Not Pass” signs were reduced by 6 to 8 km/hr from a rural high-speed environment to the lower speed
(4 to 5 mph). At locations without the traffic calming signs, urban street. Ewing also indicates that the center islands of
the 85th percentile speeds were observed to be reduced by the roundabouts can be landscaped and possibly include
only 2 to 3 km/hr (1.2 to 1.9 mph) at the same approach sculptures or monuments. Although the research team was
location. unable to locate published research regarding the use of
In the second phase, the speed reduction analysis results street art in roundabout medians, they did speak with re-
indicated that the gateway with raised traffic islands was an searchers from both the United Kingdom and Australia.
effective traffic calming treatment. They found that speed Representatives from both countries suggested that the ap-
reductions of approximately 14 km/hr (9 mph) relative to the plication of street art in roundabouts is generally hazardous
speed recorded at “Do Not Pass” signs were achieved at gate- if these items are placed in the center of the first roundabout
ways with raised islands compared with a reduction of only encountered by the driver on a rural road. The use of a series
10 km/hr (6 mph) at gateways without raised islands. of roundabouts as a transition, with the street art located
A case study performed in Canada evaluated traffic calm- in the subsequent roundabouts, however, is a common prac-
ing strategies on an arterial road connecting two residential tice and appears to be a safe strategy for these transitional
areas (115). Mohawk Road is a two-lane road with a regions.
50-km/hr (31-mph) speed limit and was originally designed The evaluation of gateway treatments is a new area of re-
to service rural conditions. Speeding is very common on this search for transportation and, as a result, very little is known
road, and the test data showed that about 67 percent of the about crashworthiness issues. As reviewed in this summary,
vehicles were exceeding the speed limit at the test location. the focus in using gateway treatments has been on the re-
After evaluating several alternatives, the jurisdiction finally sulting speed reduction (thereby reducing ultimate crash
elected to implement a series of landscaped speed control severity).
 35

Graphic reprinted from “Raised Traffic Islands at City Limits—Their Effect on Speed” (113).

Figure 15. Gateway islands used in an Austrian study.

Table 12. Gateway median speed results from Austrian

study (113).

Island Number
Speed 1 2 3 4 5
Vmean Previous 54.0 58.0 60.0 65.0 65.0
(km/h) Subsequent 54.1 48.4 44.1 47.2 40.1
V85 Previous 62.0 67.0 70.0 76.0 77.0
(km/h) Subsequent 61.0 54.5 50.5 55.2 44.6
Vmax Previous 70.0 88.0 86.0 95.0 97.0
(km/h) Subsequent 76.2 59.3 56.1 65.8 46.9
Source: Adapted from “Raised Traffic Islands at City Limits—Their Effect on Speed” (113).

Graphic reprinted from “Raised Traffic Islands at City Limits—Their Effect on Speed” (113).

Figure 16. Island Number 5 speed profile.

36

Strategy summary. Common traffic calming gateway

strategies are as follows:

Purpose Strategy
Reduce likelihood of Apply speed reduction signs,
run-off-road crash pavement markings, and other
gateway treatments (T)
Reduce severity of run- • Construct gateway raised median
off-road crash treatments (T)
• Construct roundabouts with
traversable island centers in initial
islands (T)

Literature Review Conclusion

This review has examined the knowledge and practice of
roadside safety as they relate to the design of roadsides in
urban areas. A brief review of roadside crash statistics demon-
strates that roads in the urban environment, although gen-
erally lower speed facilities than their rural counterparts,
nevertheless suffer from run-off-road collisions with roadside
hazards. The operational offset concept for curbed urban
roadways should, therefore, not be mistaken as a safety stan-
dard, and urban setback policies should be considered for
future adoption.
Although they are not the focus of this research, the strate-
gies used in urban environments to help prevent errant vehicles
from leaving the travelway and encountering a fixed roadside
object are briefly reviewed in this report.
Finally, this review has summarized common urban road-
side objects and known safety issues associated with these
roadside objects. A collection of safety strategies (experi-
mental, tried, and proven) for each set of roadside hazards is
included.
In general, this review makes it clear that the safety impli-
cations of many roadside features (such as curbs, signs, and
utility poles) are well understood; however, there are signifi-
Photos courtesy of Reid Ewing © (116) cant gaps in understanding how many urban roadside features
Figure 17. Example of gateway transition (such as landscape buffers, trees, and lighting) should be
in Saratoga Springs, NY. addressed for safe urban roadside development.
 37

CHAPTER 3

Findings and Applications

The goals of this research effort are to develop design guide- accommodate utilities in state transportation facility rights-
lines for safe and aesthetic urban roadside treatments and of-way. FDOT included a concept in this document called
ultimately to develop a toolbox of effective treatments that “Control Zones” for consideration at facilities with limited
balance the needs of all roadway users while accommodating or no access control. Although the emphasis of FDOT’s doc-
community values. Of particular interest is the design of ument was utility pole placement, the concept of control
urban roadways that carry substantial volumes of traffic and zones can be expanded and is a promising approach for
are designed for higher operating speeds, thus often raising evaluating an urban roadside environment in its entirety.
additional roadside safety concerns. FDOT’s Utility Accommodation Manual defines control zones
To accomplish these goals, the research team performed as the following:
two specific tasks. These two research tasks were as follows:
Areas in which it can be statistically shown that accidents are
• Developing a systematic analysis approach (referred to as more likely to involve departure from the roadway with greater
frequency of contact with above ground fixed objects. (117)
an Urban Control Zone Assessment) to enable jurisdictions
to better target hazardous urban roadside locations and Example control zones include those that contain objects
• Developing before-after case studies for a variety of urban hit more than two times within three consecutive years,
roadside treatments. objects located within the return radii and object horizontal
offset distance at an intersecting street, objects located within
These two tasks are described in detail in the sections that
1 m (3 ft) of a driveway flare, and objects located along the
follow, with specific case information included in Appen-
outside edge of a horizontal curve for roads with operating
dixes A and B, available online at http://trb.org/news/blurb_
speeds greater than 56 km/h (35 mph).
detail.asp?id=9456. Appendix C (included herein) includes a
The research team performed a systematic evaluation of
toolbox that generally summarizes the safe application of
crash data to define common control zones for urban road-
roadside elements in an urban environment. A supplemental
side environments. To accomplish this task, the research team
product of this research effort is draft language for possible in-
evaluated urban crash data for four different locations. Study
clusion in the urban roadside chapter of the AASHTO Road-
areas included urban corridors located in Atlanta, Georgia;
side Design Guide. This document is included in Appendix C.
Orange County and San Diego County, California; Chicago,
Illinois; and Portland, Oregon. Although not all sites were
Urban Control Zone Assessment within the same city limits for a regional study, they were all
characterized by urban corridors where fixed-object crashes
Experimental Design
occurred along the corridor (often in cluster configurations).
Many urban roadside environments are crowded with The sources of the crash data varied. The Georgia Department
potential hazards. The task of identifying which objects pose of Transportation (GDOT) provided Atlanta crash data
the greatest risk to users of the road can be daunting for a and road characteristic information. The Oregon Depart-
jurisdiction with limited resources. In 1999, the Florida De- ment of Transportation (ODOT) provided Portland crash
partment of Transportation (FDOT) developed a document data and road information. For corridors located in Illinois
called the Utility Accommodation Manual (117). This docu- and California, the research team used data from the High-
ment’s purpose was to provide direction for ways to reasonably way Safety Information System (HSIS) database maintained
38

by FHWA. The research team specifically targeted higher are further identified in Table 14. As members of the research
speed urban roads in each of the regions, although some of team evaluated fixed-object crashes at each site, recurring
the corridors included transitions to lower speeds. road features emerged at fixed crash locations. Many of these
Comprehensive crash data can be informative, but the re- are locations where roadside crashes can be anticipated;
search team supplemented this information by collecting cor- however, the information included in Table 14 helps demon-
ridor video data for both directions of travel. The team then strate the frequency of these road conditions at the study
used this video data to determine the type and placement of locations.
roadside objects, adjacent land use, access density, and so The 6-year crash summaries included in Appendix A pres-
forth. Table 13 shows the actual corridors evaluated for this ent total crash type information for each study corridor. As is
task. The initial goal developed by the research team was a often the case along an urban corridor, a large number of
sample of 16 to 32 km (10 to 20 mi) of urban arterial per city; crashes occurred at intersections and driveways. Crashes at
however, due to select long corridors with frequent fixed these locations are generally angle, head-on, rear-end, and, in
crashes, the California and Illinois data collection consider- some instances, sideswipe crashes. In addition, intersection-
ably exceeded this initial data goal. As a result, 244.9 km related crashes often involve more than one vehicle. As a result,
(152.3 mi) of urban arterial from a total of four states are crash severity at each study corridor location is further pre-
included in this analysis. sented in Table 15, in which crash severity percentages for
The goal of this task was to identify urban control zones all crashes are contrasted with crash severity of fixed-object
that can be then applied to other regional analyses for project crashes only. The average per state for the study corridors
priority and evaluation. These zones are summarized in the representing the percent injured varied from 22.5 percent to
sections that follow. 46.1 percent for all crashes (with an overall average of 34.6 per-
cent), while fixed-object injury crashes ranged from 22.2 per-
cent to 38.3 percent (with an overall average of 29.2 percent).
Findings and Recommendations
By contrast, fixed-object crash fatalities at all locations were a
The various corridors the research team evaluated for larger percentage than for all crashes with a total average of
identification of potential urban control zones included a 1.1-percent fatal crashes for all reported fixed-object crashes
wide variety of speed limits, physical features, and types of compared with only 0.3-percent fatal crashes for all crash types
crashes. In Appendix A, each site is described in detail in- (the “all crashes” statistic includes the fixed-object crashes).
cluding observed roadway conditions as well as crash type Table 16 further depicts the total percentage of fixed-object
and crash severity information. In addition, the research crashes and pedestrian crashes for the study corridors. The
team performed a cluster crash analysis to identify loca- urban fixed-object crashes were approximately 6.7 percent of
tions with an overrepresentation of fixed-object crashes. all crashes observed for the four state study corridors.
A spot map for each site is also included in the Appendix A The nature of the roadside crashes at these corridor locations
summary. Common fixed-object crash features for each site pointed to a common set of frequently hit objects resulting

Table 13. Urban control zone sites evaluated in this study.

California Sites Georgia Sites

Study Corridor Name Length km (mi) Study Corridor Name Length km (mi)
S. H. Route 1 11.3 (7.0) Alpharetta Highway 3.5 (2.2)
S. H. Route 39 29.3 (18.2) Briarcliff Road 4.2 (2.6)
S. H. Route 74 3.2 (2.0) Candler Road 5.6 (3.5)
S. H. Route 75 5.3 (3.3) 14th St / Peachtree St 4.8 (3.0)
S. H. Route 76 11.3 (7.0) Franklin Road 3.7 (2.3)
S. H. Route 78 6.4 (4.0) Moreland Avenue 6.4 (4.0)
S. H. Route 90 8.0 (5.0) Roswell Road – 1 (Cobb) 3.2 (2.0)
Subtotal: 74.8 (46.5) Roswell Road – 2 (Cobb) 3.2 (2.0)
Roswell Road (Fulton) 3.5 (2.2)
Subtotal: 38.1 (23.8)
Illinois Sites Oregon Sites
Study Corridor Name Length km (mi) Study Corridor Name Length km (mi)
Route 6 11.9 (7.4) Beavercreek Rd 3.2 (2.0)
Route 14 16.6 (10.3) Brookwood Ave 5.5 (3.4)
Route 19(Cook) 9.2 (5.7) Cascade Hwy 1.6 (1.0)
Route 19(Dupage) 12.1 (7.5) Evergreen Pkwy 4.3 (2.7)
Route 25 13.7 (8.5) Farmington Rd 2.7 (1.7)
Route 31 14.0 (8.7) Foster Rd 9.3 (5.8)
Route 41 16.6 (10.3) McLoughlin Blvd 2.4(1.5)
Subtotal: 94.1 (58.4) 185th Ave 8.9 (5.5)
Subtotal: 37.9 (23.6)
 39

Table 14. Urban control zone corridor overview.

Lane merge with object offsets

Lane merge with object offsets

Longitudinal barrier/guardrail
maintained at right-turn lanes
Numerous roadside obstacles

Scenic / tourist location with

Roadside at horizontal curve
Driveway / intersection with
obstacles located on far side

with obstacle offsets 4–6 ft

Median at horizontal curve
Channelization island very

Guardrail wrapped around

within 1–2 ft (on tangent)
Roadside ditch with non-

obstacles (offset varies)

Corridor clear zone not
Uneven roadside with
traversable headwalls
with obstacles 4–6 ft
small with poles

close obstacles
offset 2–6 ft
curb return
2–6 ft

> 6 ft
Case No. Corridor Description
UCZ-CA-1 SH 1, Orange County, CA x x x x
UCZ-CA-2 SH 39, Orange County, CA x x
UCZ-CA-3 SH 74, Orange County, CA x x
UCZ-CA-4 SH 75, San Diego County, CA x x x x
UCZ-CA-5 SH 76, San Diego County, CA x x
UCZ-CA-6 SH 78, San Diego County, CA x x x
UCZ-CA-7 SH 90, Orange County, CA x x x
UCZ-GA-1 Alpharetta Highway, Fulton x
County, GA
UCZ-GA-2 Briarcliff Rd., DeKalb County, x x x x
GA
UCZ-GA-3 Candler Rd., DeKalb County, x x x
GA
UCZ-GA-4 14th St./Peachtree St., Fulton x x
County, GA
UCZ-GA-5 Franklin Rd., Cobb County, GA x x
UCZ-GA-6 Moreland Dr., DeKalb County, x x x
GA
UCZ-GA-7 Roswell Rd. (1), Cobb County, x x
GA
UCZ-GA-8 Roswell Rd. (2), Cobb County, x
GA
UCZ-GA-9 Roswell Rd., Fulton County, GA x x x
UCZ-IL-1 Route 6, Will County, IL x x
UCZ-IL-2 Route 14, Cook County, IL x x
UCZ-IL-3 Route 19, Cook County, IL x x x
UCZ-IL-4 Route 19, DuPage County, IL x x
UCZ-IL-5 Route 25, Kane County, IL x x x x
UCZ-IL-6 Route 31, Kane County, IL x x x x
UCZ-IL-7 Route 41, Cook County, IL x x x x x x x
UCZ-OR-1 Beavercreek Rd., Clackamas x x
County, OR
UCZ-OR-2 Brookwood Pkwy., Washington x x x x
County, OR
UCZ-OR-3 Cascade Hwy., Clackamas x x x x
County, OR
UCZ-OR-4 Evergreen Pkwy, Washington x x
County, OR
UCZ-OR-5 Farmington Rd., Washington x x x
County, OR
UCZ-OR-6 Foster Rd., Multnomah County, x x x x
OR
UCZ-OR-7 McLoughlin Blvd., Clackamas x x x
County, OR
UCZ-OR-8 185th Ave., Washington x
County, OR

from these crashes, with varying severity levels. Commonly • Barrier or guardrail, and
hit fixed objects included the following: • Embankment.

• Poles and posts, In addition, roadside furniture may have been impacted,
• Light standards, but the crash databases classified this type of roadside object
• Traffic signals, as “other unidentified object.”
• Trees and landscaping, As shown in Table 14, the primary locations for fixed-object
• Mailboxes, crashes were characterized by several common road and road-
• Walls and fences, side configurations. Often, locations with these configurations
40

Table 15. Summary of crash severity distributions for study corridors.

All Crashes Fixed-Object Crashes

Percent Percent
Case No. No Injury Percent Percent No Injury Percent Percent
or Injured Fatal or Injured Fatal
Unknown Unknown
UCZ-CA-1 57.27 42.48 0.26 77.66 21.32 1.02
UCZ-CA-2 55.28 44.13 0.59 74.66 24.80 0.54
UCZ-CA-3 70.30 29.70 0.00 64.29 35.71 0.00
UCZ-CA-4 66.39 33.33 0.28 62.30 37.70 0.00
UCZ-CA-5 29.79 69.09 1.12 56.52 39.13 4.35
UCZ-CA-6 31.72 66.42 1.87 56.41 41.03 2.56
UCZ-CA-7 62.64 37.21 0.14 76.62 23.38 0.00
Average (CA) 53.34 46.05 0.61 66.92 31.87 1.21
UCZ-GA-1 79.48 20.47 0.05 75.00 23.61 1.39
UCZ-GA-2 81.46 18.48 0.06 73.86 26.14 0.00
UCZ-GA-3 75.63 24.25 0.12 74.63 24.63 0.75
UCZ-GA-4 80.23 19.72 0.05 64.02 35.37 0.61
UCZ-GA-5 72.76 27.16 0.08 76.79 23.21 0.00
UCZ-GA-6 75.46 24.43 0.11 71.69 28.31 0.00
UCZ-GA-7 78.33 21.52 0.15 86.49 13.51 0.00
UCZ-GA-8 73.11 26.78 0.11 84.21 15.79 0.00
UCZ-GA-9 80.56 19.31 0.13 72.09 27.91 0.00
Average (GA) 77.45 22.46 0.10 75.42 24.28 0.31
UCZ-IL-1 72.75 26.95 0.30 79.07 18.60 2.33
UCZ-IL-2 79.09 20.64 0.27 78.57 19.05 2.38
UCZ-IL-3 71.63 28.12 0.25 75.68 22.52 1.80
UCZ-IL-4 74.37 25.51 0.12 75.81 24.19 0.00
UCZ-IL-5 68.69 30.78 0.54 72.09 25.58 2.33
UCZ-IL-6 74.35 25.51 0.14 84.00 15.00 1.00
UCZ-IL-7 73.20 26.32 0.49 67.28 30.51 2.21
Average (IL) 73.44 26.26 0.30 76.07 22.21 1.72
UCZ-OR-1 55.91 44.09 0.00 60.00 40.00 0.00
UCZ-OR-2 55.26 44.74 0.00 70.59 29.41 0.00
UCZ-OR-3 46.20 53.80 0.00 50.00 50.00 0.00
UCZ-OR-4 53.90 45.35 0.74 50.00 44.44 5.56
UCZ-OR-5 61.49 38.30 0.21 69.23 30.77 0.00
UCZ-OR-6 58.40 41.13 0.47 44.44 51.85 3.70
UCZ-OR-7 56.79 43.21 0.00 73.33 26.67 0.00
UCZ-OR-8 61.82 38.03 0.15 66.67 33.33 0.00
Average (OR) 56.22 43.58 0.2 60.53 38.31 1.16
Average (4 States) 65.11 34.59 0.30 69.74 29.17 1.10

experienced clustered crashes while much of the roadside along Each of these potential Urban Control Zones is discussed
the corridor remained free of crashes. The road and roadside in the sections that follow.
configurations that are often involved in fixed-object crashes
can be generally grouped into the following: Obstacles in Close Lateral Proximity
to the Curb Face or Lane Edge
• Obstacles in close lateral proximity to the curb face or lane
edge; Historically, a lateral offset (referred to as an operational
• Roadside objects placed near lane merge points; offset) of 0.5 m (1.5 ft) has been considered the absolute
• Lateral offsets not appropriately adjusted for auxiliary lane minimum lateral (or perpendicular) distance between the
treatments; edge of an object and the curb face. As previously indicated,
• Objects placed inappropriately in sidewalk buffer this offset value enabled vehicle access, that is, a person
treatments; could open a car door if the vehicle were stopped adjacent
• Driveways that interrupt positive guidance and have objects to the curb. This operational offset was never intended to
placed near them; represent an acceptable safety design standard, although
• Three kinds of fixed-object placement at intersections; it was sometimes misinterpreted as being one. The urban
• Unique roadside configurations associated with high crash environment limits lateral offset distances simply because
occurrence; and of the restricted right-of-way widths common to an urban
• Roadside configurations commonly known to be hazardous. setting.
 41

Table 16. Summary of crash type distributions.

Percent Fixed-Object Percent Pedestrian

Case No. Percent Others
Crashes Crashes
UCZ-CA-1 10.1 1.1 88.8
UCZ-CA-2 5.4 2.6 92.0
UCZ-CA-3 8.5 1.2 90.3
UCZ-CA-4 17.1 0.8 82.1
UCZ-CA-5 6.4 0.7 92.9
UCZ-CA-6 14.6 3.0 82.4
UCZ-CA-7 5.5 0.9 93.6
Average (CA) 9.7 1.5 88.9
UCZ-GA-1 1.9 0.5 97.6
UCZ-GA-2 2.6 0.4 97.0
UCZ-GA-3 3.9 1.5 94.6
UCZ-GA-4 2.8 1.0 96.2
UCZ-GA-5 4.7 1.3 94.0
UCZ-GA-6 5.9 1.6 92.5
UCZ-GA-7 5.6 0.8 93.6
UCZ-GA-8 10.7 0.0 89.3
UCZ-GA-9 2.9 1.6 95.5
Average (GA) 4.6 1.0 94.5
UCZ-IL-1 6.4 1.6 92.0
UCZ-IL-2 3.8 1.3 94.9
UCZ-IL-3 4.7 0.8 94.5
UCZ-IL-4 3.6 0.5 95.9
UCZ-IL-5 6.6 2.1 91.3
UCZ-IL-6 4.8 0.4 94.8
UCZ-IL-7 14.8 1.8 83.4
Average (IL) 6.4 1.2 92.4
UCZ-OR-1 2.7 0.0 97.3
UCZ-OR-2 14.9 0.0 85.1
UCZ-OR-3 7.6 0.0 92.4
UCZ-OR-4 6.7 1.1 92.2
UCZ-OR-5 2.8 1.3 95.9
UCZ-OR-6 3.2 1.6 95.2
UCZ-OR-7 9.3 0.0 90.7
UCZ-OR-8 1.8 1.4 96.8
Average (OR) 6.1 0.7 93.2
Average (4 States) 6.7 1.1 92.3

The research team for this project observed several objects frequency. Posts (which could, in some instances, be classified
located within inches of the edge of the road for the selected as breakaway) were included in this assessment because these
study corridors. In general, these items were utility poles, items are often coded as “poles or posts,” so posts could not
light standards, street signposts, and trees. Evaluation of the always be evaluated separately in the analysis.
role of trees in crashes was difficult because the types of To evaluate fixed-object crashes associated with poles,
trees in the selected study corridors varied dramatically and posts, and light standards, the research team viewed the cor-
included mature rigid trees as well as small-caliper orna- ridor videos (for both travel directions) and for each location
mental trees. Due to the varying nature of the tree placement recorded data for the characteristics listed in Table 17.
along the corridors (and the wide range of their frangible For the study corridors extending over the 6-year period,
tendencies), the research team often could not identify a a total of 503 crashes into poles, posts, or light standards
specific tree involved in the crashes recorded in the crash occurred. Of these, 389 occurred during dry weather, 78 dur-
database. Actual crash reports were not available for most of ing wet weather, 4 during ice, 4 during fog, 19 during snow,
the locations, so unless a tree exhibited scars, it was not feasi- and 9 during unknown weather conditions. Table 18 depicts
ble to determine actual tree types involved in crashes. the distribution of these weather-related crashes on the basis
Poles, posts, and light standards, however, were easier to of corridor speed limit. Most crashes occurred during dry and
evaluate. The lateral placement of these items was generally wet conditions on roads with posted speed limits of 48 to
consistent along short corridor segments. The research team, 72 km/h (30 to 45 mph).
therefore, further evaluated crash locations on the basis To evaluate lateral offset to the objects that were hit, Table 19
of crash records for crashes involving poles, posts, and light further shows these crashes aggregated by the posted speed
standards to determine common lateral offsets and crash limit and lateral distance category. (The lateral offset was the
42

Table 17. Pole/post/light-standard variables.

Description Available Options

Curb: Yes or No
Continuous Edge line Present: Yes or No
Bike Lane Present: Yes or No
Driveway Immediately Upstream of Object Hit: Yes or No
Night Hours (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.): Yes or No
Weather at Time of Crash: Dry
Wet
Ice
Fog
Snow
Other or Not Stated
Lateral Distance from Curb Face (when present) or Less than 1’
Lane Edge (when no curb): 1’ – 2’
2’ – 4’
4’ – 6’
6’ – 8’
8’ – 10’
10’ – 15’
15’ – 20’
Greater than 20’

distance from the curb face or lane edge [at locations without Roadside Objects Placed Near Lane Merge Points
curb].) Only a small subset of these urban crashes occurred at
The placement of roadside objects in the vicinity of lane
locations where curb was not present. As a result, Table 20 de-
picts the 456 sites where curb was present at the pole, post, or merge points increases the likelihood of vehicle impact
light-standard crash location. The cumulative percentage with these objects. The research team identified several
demonstrates that, for curb locations, 93.4 percent of all cluster crashes at these lane merge locations: lane drop lo-
fixed-object pole/post/light standard crashes occurred within cations, acceleration taper ends, and bus bay exit transi-
1.8 m (6 ft) of the curb face while 82.5 percent of these oc- tions. As shown in Table 14, six sites included cluster
curred within 1.2 m (4 ft) of the curb. crashes at taper point locations where fixed objects were
This observation, combined with a tendency for clustered laterally located less than 1.8 m (6 ft) from the curb face or
crashes (for poles, these occurred along short road segments lane edge (for locations where curb was not present). Clus-
with objects laterally positioned close to the road), suggests ter crashes occurred at two additional sites where these
that in an urban environment the placement of rigid objects objects were located more than 1.8 m (6 ft) laterally. Lon-
should ideally be more than 1.8 m (6 ft) from the curb face and gitudinal placement of objects within approximately 6.1 m
no closer than 1.2 m (4 ft) wherever possible. (20 ft) of the taper point increased the frequency of these
In addition, the frequency of object impact was greater at crashes. Figure 18 shows two example crash locations with
locations where objects were in close proximity to the road and a pole located at lane merge tapers. This increased likeli-
located on the outside of a horizontal curve. These crashes oc- hood of fixed-object crashes at lane merge tapers suggests
curred at locations where objects were placed on the right edge that an object-free buffer zone at taper points on urban
of the road and at locations where objects were placed on me- roadways would eliminate or reduce roadside crashes at
dians. This suggests that the lateral offset placement of objects these locations and allow drivers to focus solely on merging
at horizontal curves should be increased wherever possible. into the traffic stream.

Table 18. Poles/post/light-standard crashes for speed limit

thresholds.

Speed Limit km/h (mph)

40 48 56 64 72 80 89
Weather (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (50) (55) Total
Dry 0 72 152 29 104 19 13 389
Wet 1 18 26 7 22 2 2 78
Ice 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 4
Fog 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 4
Snow 1 2 1 0 4 1 0 9
Other or Not Stated 1 8 6 2 2 0 0 19
Total: 3 102 188 38 135 22 15 503
 43

Table 19. Lateral distance to objects that were hit for all corridors.

Lateral Speed Limit km/h (mph)

Distance 40 48 56 64 72 80 89 Cumulative
m (ft) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (50) (55) Total Percent Percent
0–3 0 35 71 2 19 1 1 129 25.6 25.6
(0–1)
3–7 2 29 44 16 50 13 3 157 31.2 56.8
(1–2)
7–13 0 26 32 2 32 2 3 97 19.3 76.1
(2–4)
13–20 1 6 23 8 18 1 0 57 11.3 87.4
(4–6)
20–26 0 3 11 1 11 0 0 26 5.2 92.6
(6–8)
26–33 0 3 4 3 2 4 2 18 3.6 96.2
(8–10)
33–49 0 0 0 3 2 0 6 11 2.2 98.4
(10–15)
49–66 0 0 3 3 1 1 0 8 1.6 100
(15–20)
Total: 3 102 188 38 135 22 15 503 100

Lateral Offsets Not Appropriately Adjusted be consistently maintained at extended-length, left-turn lane
for Auxiliary Lane Treatments locations. When a lane is added that functions as a higher
speed turn lane or a through lane, the roadside objects should
At many of the study corridors, roadside objects, such as be shifted laterally as well.
utility poles, were placed a considerable distance from the ac- Other auxiliary lane locations can include bike lanes. At these
tive travel lane. Often lateral offsets of 3.7 to 4.3 m (12 to 14 ft) locations, the higher speed motor vehicles are further separated
existed at mid-block locations; however, at locations with aux- from the roadside environment, so the width of the clear zone
iliary lanes, such as extended-length, right-turn lanes devel- should include the bike lane. This does not, however, modify the
oped for driveway or intersection turning movements, the recommended minimum lateral offset from the curb face.
lateral location of the objects remained unchanged, resulting
in an effective lateral offset that was often less than 0.6 m (2 ft).
Objects Placed Inappropriately
Two of the corridors depicted in Table 14 consistently included
in the Sidewalk Buffer Treatment
cluster crashes at these turn-lane configurations. In addition,
crashes at many of the other corridor sites occurred periodi- The placement of roadside objects immediately adjacent
cally (but not always in clusters) at similar turn-lane locations. to active travel lanes at some corridor sites increased when
This observation suggests that increased lateral offsets should a sidewalk was physically separated from the curb by a

Table 20. Lateral distance to objects that were hit for corridors
with curb only.

Lateral Speed Limit km/h (mph)

Distance 40 48 56 64 72 80 89 Cumulative
m (ft) (25) (30) (35) (40) (45) (50) (55) Total Percent Percent
0–3 0 35 71 2 19 1 1 129 28.3 28.3
(0–1)
3–7 2 29 44 16 50 13 3 157 34.4 62.7
(1–2)
7–13 0 26 27 2 30 2 3 90 19.7 82.5
(2–4)
13–20 1 6 23 2 18 0 0 50 11.0 93.4
(4–6)
20–26 0 3 10 1 9 0 0 23 5.0 98.5
(6–8)
26–33 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 6 1.3 99.8
(8–10)
33–49 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.2 100
(10–15)
49–66 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 100
(15–20)
Total: 3 102 176 25 126 16 8 456 100
44

Photo by Karen Dixon.

Figure 18. Pole placed at lane merge.

buffer strip that contained fixed objects. Interestingly, white line is often not included at locations with a curb as the
crashes varied dramatically at these locations. At locations curb itself functions to delineate the edge of the road. During
with buffer strips 0.9 m (3 ft) wide or narrower, objects nighttime or inclement weather conditions, the need for
were systematically hit. Wider buffer strips containing ma- positive guidance along the right edge of the road may be
ture trees with large-diameter trunks placed within 0.9 to heightened due to reduced visibility. In addition, impaired or
1.2 m (3 to 4 ft) of the curb showed a significant increase in fatigued drivers may depend more heavily on this delineation
the number of severe crashes with the trees. At locations to help them keep their vehicle within the boundaries of the
with smaller, ornamental trees located in the center of a travelway. For a few of the observed corridors, a continuous
buffer strip, the number of severe crashes into trees was white line occurred either at the edge of the gutter pan or a few
dramatically reduced. By contrast, utility poles and light feet from the gutter pan to delineate a separate bicycle lane.
standards were frequently hit at locations where these When this white line was not present, single-vehicle crashes
objects were placed in the center of the buffer strip. At sev- tended to occur more frequently at driveway locations. In par-
eral sites, however, the research team observed smaller, ticular, objects positioned on the far side of driveways were hit
more forgiving objects, such as landscaping with small- more often than objects located away from driveways or
caliper trees, positioned near the center of the buffer strip objects that were located on the near side of driveways. This
and the more rigid poles and light standards positioned observation is not a surprise because the curb line may no
immediately adjacent to the sidewalk and as far from the longer provide positive guidance to vehicles at driveway
active travel lane as possible. The crash analysis at these entry points, and the driveway configuration certainly does
staggered-object-placement buffer strips showed very few not provide a re-direction function when a vehicle drifts
roadside crashes. from the road. Figure 20 shows an example crash location
This research suggests that the placement of rigid objects with a pole located at the far side of a driveway. The place-
on sidewalk buffer strips 1.2 m (4 ft) wide or narrower ment of the pole within the sidewalk is, of course, also not
should be avoided. For wider buffer strips, placement of the recommended.
more forgiving roadside items close to the road and place- Of the 456 pole/post/light crashes that occurred at loca-
ment of the more rigid objects at a greater lateral offset of tions with curb (see Table 20), 181 occurred at driveways,
1.2 m (4 ft) or more from the curb face is recommended. so this location accounted for approximately 40 percent of all
Figure 19 depicts recommended buffer strip object place- of these crashes. Of the 181 driveway-associated, fixed-object
ment scenarios. crashes, 155 occurred at locations with no supplemental
positive guidance such as a white edge line, approximately
86 percent of these crashes. This percentage of the crashes
Driveways Interrupt Positive Guidance/Objects
associated with driveways that did not provide additional
Placed Near Driveways
positive guidance could simply be an artifact of how many
Many rural roads have a white edge line delineating the right sites did not have an edge line, but this high a number of
edge of the travelway. In urban environments, a continuous crashes certainly warrants future research. Regardless, avoiding
 45

Curb Width
Approx. 6"
Buffer Strip
Width > 4'

Frangible Object near

Curb Face Center of Buffer Strip

4' minimum from Curb Face to

Impact Surface of Rigid Object

Adjacent Lane

Sidewalk
Landscape and Rigid Object Placement for Buffer Strip Widths > 4’

Curb Width
Approx. 6"
Buffer Strip
Width < 4'

Frangible Objects Only

Curb Face
in Buffer Strip Region

Rigid Objects Placed on

Far Side of Sidewalk
Adjacent Lane

Sidewalk

Landscape and Rigid Object Placement for Buffer Strip Widths ≤ 4’

Figure 19. Object placement at buffer strips.

the placement of poles on the immediate far side of some cases, the crash occurred because a driver attempted to
driveways will help to reduce the number of crashes. It is avoid hitting another vehicle; however, several single-vehicle
important to remember that placing poles on the immediate crashes were also observed at intersection locations. In gen-
far side of a driveway may sometimes be the result of trying eral, these single-vehicle, fixed-object crashes at intersections
to avoid putting an object on the near side of the driveway in fell into one of the following three categories:
the visibility triangle for drivers of vehicles exiting the drive-
way, so relocation of the pole should avoid this critical loca- • Impacted small channelization islands (often these is-
tion as well. lands included signs, traffic signals, or poles). This inter-
section crash type occurred at six of the study corridors
(see Table 14).
Three Kinds of Fixed-Object Placement
• Impacted objects positioned close to the lane edge. These
at Intersections
objects often interfered with turning movements when
Crashes at intersections often occur between vehicles; vehicles veered from their turning path.
however, several intersection crashes in which vehicles hit • Impacted objects where pedestrian ramps at intersection
roadside objects were also noted in the corridor analysis. In corners were oriented in such a way as to direct errant
46

Photo by Karen Dixon. Photo by Karen Dixon.

Figure 20. Lack of positive guidance at a driveway. Figure 21. Object orientation with access ramp.

vehicles toward roadside objects. Figure 21 shows one crash Roadside Configurations Commonly Known
location where this occurred. This crash condition is similar to Be Hazardous
to the driveway crash condition with no positive guidance
Several roadside crashes occurred at locations where they
discussed previously.
would be expected. These sites exhibited characteristics known
to result in potentially hazardous conditions. For example,
Unique Roadside Configurations Associated locations with roadside ditches, nontraversable headwalls and
with High Crash Occurrence culverts (often at driveways), or uneven roadside grading were
common roadside crash locations. In addition, crashes
Several of the study corridors were characterized by high
occurred at high-speed locations where sloping curb delin-
crash numbers at a specific location. Often this peak in crash
eated the roadside edge, but adequate clear zone was not
statistics resulted from a physical road feature unique to the
available. Finally, three of the corridors were located in the
site. For example, at corridor UCZ-IL-1 a disproportionately
vicinity of scenic or tourist attractions. At these locations,
large number of crashes involved an underpass structure.
roadside objects were hit more frequently even when lateral
When members of the research team inspected the site, they
offsets to the objects were similar to those at other crash-free
determined that sometime in its past, a two-way road with
sites. Regardless of the cause, additional lateral offset to
one lane under each side of the underpass wall had been
objects in these or similar locations seems prudent to mini-
converted into a two-lane, one-way road. This modification
mize the risk of hazardous run-off-road crashes for unfamiliar
occurred at two separate locations due to the creation of a
drivers.
one-way pair configuration. As a result, the approach to the
underpass required vehicles to shift in an effort to avoid the
wall now located between the lanes in the same direction of Case Study Task and
travel. The crashes occurred when a vehicle did not safely Summary of Findings
navigate this required lane shift. This crash cause was evident
Experimental Design
due to a scarred underpass wall.
Locations of this type are unique and should be considered The individual projects selected as part of this case study
individually for crash mitigation treatments. The creation of task were used to identify strategies where safety and aes-
simple crash spot maps (as shown in Appendix A) can enable thetics were incorporated into the roadway’s design. The
an agency to quickly identify cluster crash locations of this research team identified several recent beautification or
nature. roadside improvement projects to use as indicators for the
 47

influence of improvements on crash conditions. Ideally, 3. Crash severity—the proportion of crashes involving seri-
a project where only one item is changed (such as moving ous injury or death compared with property-damage-only
trees to the far side of sidewalks) would be perfect for this (PDO) crashes.
task; however, the research team could not identify projects 4. Crash type—changes in specific types of crashes that have
of this nature because, in general, transportation agencies occurred as a result of the improvement.
implement multiple improvements in each project. As a re- 5. Average daily traffic (ADT)—the average number of ve-
sult, the data analysis for this case study task can provide hicles per day using the roadway.
general indications about the safety impacts of beautifica-
tion or roadside improvement projects, but cannot be used In addition to crash type summary information and crash
to explicitly evaluate individual features and their associated severity summary information, Appendix B includes a simple
hazards. before-after crash summary comparison for each site. Often
Initially, the research team proposed two levels of case before-after analyses are limited because researchers study
studies (one with comparison sites); however, the NCHRP corridors where safety issues are prominent and so the re-
Project 16-04 panel requested the stand-alone case studies sulting improvements can be dramatic; however, for the beau-
(locations without comparison sites) so as to evaluate as tification and roadside enhancement projects the focus is not
many projects as possible. The stand-alone case studies in- on operations and safety but rather on aesthetics and livability.
clude crash type summaries, crash severity summaries, and As a result, the before-after analysis can provide a useful in-
before-after crash analysis for a specific improvement dication about possible safety implications of a change to the
corridor with data developed and provided by local juris- road environment. Table 21 demonstrates the basic type of
dictions. The research team attempted to solicit candi- data included in the before-after analysis for each case study
date projects from a variety of geographically distributed included in Appendix B.
jurisdictions.
Inclusion of a case study project required that the project
Findings and Recommendations
have a focus on median or roadside improvements as well as
having available most, if not all, of the requested data. The Table 22 illustrates the individual case study elements in-
research team attempted to collect crash data for 3-year cluded in Appendix B as well as the general observed safety
periods before and after the project was implemented. This trend for each project. The research team attempted to exclude
level of crash information was not available for all sites. projects in which entire lanes were added as the observed
In select cases, projects with a minimum of 1 year of data safety results because these types of projects provide con-
were included; projects with less than 1-year’s worth of founding information; nonetheless, a few of the projects had
post-reconstruction data were excluded. The construction some lane widening (often due to realignment) and are so
period is indicated in the case study summaries included in noted in the table. The crash trends identified in Table 22
Appendix B. show (1) when crash frequency increased by more than one
More specifically, the research team collected data in the crash per year (or by more than 5 percent), (2) when crash
following five areas for the case study analysis: frequency decreased by more than one crash per year (or by
more than 5 percent), or (3) when change in crash frequency
1. Crash frequency—the absolute number of crashes occur- was minimal (within one crash per year on average or within
ring before and after the context-sensitive improvement. 5 percent of the original crash rate). These crash trends are a
2. Crash rates—raw crash volumes considered in relation to summary of the before-after analysis documented in Table 21
the traffic volume carried by the roadway. and the individual case studies included in Appendix B.

Table 21. Evaluation matrix for case study sites.

Comparison

Candidate Street -- Candidate Street -- Crash Standard

Analysis Category Before After Reductions Deviation
Crash Frequency
Crash Rate
Severe and Fatal
Crash Frequency
Single-Vehicle
Crash Frequency
ADT
48

Table 22. Case study project elements versus before-after crash trends.

Streetscape Project Elements Before-After Crash Trends*

Widening of Road > 8’

Add or Enhance Street
Relocate Utility Poles
Sidewalk Additions /

Frequency of Single-
Enhanced Pedestrian

Frequency of Severe
Add Landscaping /

Crossings / Access
Improve Roadside
Landscape Buffer

Frequency of All
Bus Stops / Bays

Median Islands /
Curb Extensions

Trees Removal /

Vehicle Crashes
Next to Road &
Curb & Gutter

Raised Islands
Grading/Ditch
Improvements

Bicycle Lanes
Street Trees

Crash Rate
Relocation
Sidewalk

Removal

Crashes

Crashes
Lights
Case No.
CS-AZ-1 x x x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇔
CS-AZ-2 x x x x x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇔ ⇑
CS-AZ-3 x x x x ⇓ ⇔ ⇑ ⇔
CS-CA-1 x x x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇔ ⇑
CS-CA-2 x x x x ⇑ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔
CS-CA-3 x x x x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇔
CS-MN-1 x x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇓
CS-MT-1 x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇔ ⇔
CS-MT-2 x x x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇔ ⇑
CS-NC-1 x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇑
CS-NC-2 x x x x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇓
CS-NC-3 x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇑
CS-NC-4 x x x x x x x ⇓ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔
CS-NC-5 x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇔
CS-NC-6 x x x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇓
CS-NC-7 x x x ⇓ ⇑ ⇔ ⇓
CS-OR-1 x x x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇑ ⇔
CS-OR-2 x x x x x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇑ ⇔
CS-OR-3 x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇔
CS-OR-4 x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇑
CS-OR-5 x x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇔
CS-OR-6 x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇓
CS-OR-7 x x x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇑
CS-UT-1 x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇔
CS-UT-2 x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇓ ⇑
CS-UT-3 x x x ⇓ ⇓ ⇔ ⇓
CS-UT-4 x x x ⇑ ⇑ ⇔ ⇔
*Before-After symbols depict the following:
⇑  Crash frequencies increased by more than one crash per year; crash rates increased by more than 5 percent.
⇓  Crash frequencies decreased by more than one crash per year; crash rates decreased by more than 5 percent.
⇔  Crash frequencies for the “After” condition were within one crash per year of the “Before” condition; crash rates for the “After” condition
were within 5 percent of the “Before” condition crash rates.

In Table 22, the before-after crash trends are represented Only three of the case study sites exhibited an increase greater
by the four statistics: than one additional severe crash per year. All three of these
case study sites included sidewalk improvements with buffer
• Frequency of all crashes at a site, strips, but several similar improvement projects resulted in
• Crash rate, little change to a reduction in severe crashes.
• Frequency of severe crashes at a site, and Since the focus of this research effort is roadside crashes,
• Frequency of single-vehicle crashes. and these frequently are single-vehicle crashes, an increase in
these kinds of crashes may be of concern. Single-vehicle
Ideally, a reduction in all four trend statistics would be crashes increased by more than one crash at eight of the sites.
observed, clearly demonstrating enhanced safety at a site; In general, these sites included pedestrian enhancement im-
however, in many cases, an increase occurred for one before- provements; however, as was the case with the sites of severe
after crash trend statistic while others remained constant or crashes discussed above, there were many pedestrian enhance-
decreased. For all candidate improvement projects, a designer ment projects that resulted in reduced single-vehicle crashes.
seeks to reduce the number of severe crashes at a site. Severe Since inspection of the individual before-after crash trends
crashes, for the purposes of the values shown in the case study provides confounding results, a more effective approach may
tables, generally include incapacitating injuries or fatalities. be to examine all four before-after crash trends collectively.
 49

At 10 of the sites, crashes were reduced or remained constant. incremental roadside safety improvement on their urban cor-
At nine additional sites, three of the four crash trends were ridors. The research suggests the following:
reduced or remained similar during the “after” period. This
results in 19 of the 27 sites having a general trend of crash re- • Avoid locating rigid obstacles in close proximity to a curb
duction. None of the sites exhibited an increase in all four face or lane edge (at curb locations where it is possible, in-
crash trend statistics, and only five sites exhibited an increase crease the lateral offset to rigid objects to 1.8 m [6 ft] from
in three of the four crash trends evaluated. As a result, specific the face of the curb and do not allow the distance of this
case study assessments (see Table 22 and Appendix B) pro- offset to be less than 1.2 m [4 ft]);
vided inconclusive results and should be used simply as indi- • Restrict the placement of rigid objects at lane merge loca-
cators of the expected outcomes for similar improvement tions (avoid placing rigid objects within 3.0 m (10 ft) lon-
projects. gitudinally of the taper point, which will provide a 6.1-m
(20-ft), object-free length);
• Maintain offsets at selected higher speed auxiliary lane
General Recommendations
locations, such as extended-length, right-turn lanes (main-
The use of corridor video analysis combined with historic tain the lateral offset from the curb face at these locations);
crash statistics provided meaningful insight into urban road- • Maintain careful object placement within the sidewalk
side crash conditions and locations where roadside objects buffer treatment (avoid rigid objects in buffers 0.9 m (3 ft)
should not be located, if possible. Conversely, the use of in width or less and strategically position objects in wider
roadside improvement or beautification case studies did not buffers); and
directly help to address specific roadside safety issues, but • Avoid placing rigid objects in the proximity of driveways
these case studies can be used by an agency proposing similar (avoid placing rigid objects on the immediate far side of the
projects to determine expected overall safety performance of driveway and do not place any objects within the required
these improvements. sight triangle for the driveway).
This research clearly shows that there are specific locations
prone to roadside crashes where agencies should avoid the In addition, roadside crashes occurred frequently at inter-
placement of rigid objects. For jurisdictions with limited sections; at unique configurations (e.g., a one-way lane split at
roadside safety improvement funds, urban control zones can an underpass); and known hazardous roadside conditions, such
be used to help agencies establish spending priorities for as roadside ditches, non-traversable headways, and so forth.
50

CHAPTER 4

Conclusions and Suggested Research

Conclusions Each of these urban control zones is reviewed in detail in

Chapter 3. The recommendations that are the result of this
The urban roadside environment is complex. Due to the research effort are the following:
constrained nature of this built environment, it is difficult for
a designer to achieve an acceptable clear zone, free of objects. • Where possible at curb locations, provide a lateral offset to
As a result, a lateral offset that enhances roadway operations rigid objects of at least 1.8 m (6 ft) from the face of the curb
may be used, but this offset does not represent a safe place- and maintain a minimum lateral offset of 1.2 m (4 ft).
ment for rigid roadside objects. • At lane merge locations, do not place rigid objects in an area
This research identified known safety characteristics that is 3.0 m (10 ft) longitudinally from the taper point. This
and placement strategies for urban roadside objects by will result in a 6.1-m (20-ft), object-free length at the taper
means of a comprehensive literature review. Following point. The lateral offset for this 6.1-m (20-ft) section should
this state-of-the-practice identification, the research team be consistent with the lane width, typically 3.7 m (12 ft).
further evaluated roadside safety conditions using two • Although many auxiliary lanes, such as bus lanes or bicy-
approaches. cle lanes, have low volumes and may be included as part of
First, the research team videotaped over 241 km (150 mi) a clear zone in the urban environment, higher speed aux-
of urban corridors and compared their 6-year crash history iliary lane locations, such as extended length right-turn
and crash locations to the various roadside features observed lanes, are common locations for run-off-road crashes.
on these corridors. The result of this assessment was the iden- A lateral offset of 1.8 m (6 ft) from the curb face to rigid ob-
tification of several potential urban control zones. These jects is preferred, and 1.2-m (4-ft) minimum lateral offset
locations are shown to have a greater likelihood of crashes should be maintained.
and, as a result, should be kept free of rigid objects whenever • At locations where a sidewalk buffer is present, rigid ob-
possible. These urban control zones include locations with jects should not be located in the buffer area when it has
the following: a width of 0.9 m (3 ft) or less. For buffer widths greater
than 0.9 m (3 ft), lateral offsets from the curb face to rigid
• Obstacles in close lateral proximity to the curb face or lane objects should be maintained with a minimum offset of
edge; 1.2 m (4 ft). At these wider buffer locations, other frangi-
• Roadside objects placed near lane merge points; ble objects can be strategically located to help shield any
• Lateral offsets not appropriately adjusted for auxiliary lane rigid objects.
treatments; • Rigid objects should not be located in the proximity of
• Objects placed inappropriately in sidewalk buffer treatments; driveways, and care should be taken to avoid placing rigid
• Driveways that interrupt positive guidance and have ob- objects on the immediate far side of a driveway. In addi-
jects placed near them; tion, objects should not be located within the required
• Three kinds of fixed-object placement at intersections; sight triangle for a driveway.
• Unique roadside configurations associated with high crash
occurrence; and A second component of this research included a case study
• Roadside configurations commonly known to be hazardous. assessment for roadside enhancement or beautification
 51

projects. At these locations, the governing agencies incor- A third issue for future research is the definition of a haz-
porated a variety of urban roadside changes to improve the ardous tree. Although this study identified some recommended
aesthetic quality of the roadside and enhance the functional tree placement strategies, the concept of a tree as a rigid object
use of the space, often with particular emphasis on pedes- requires further definition. Historically, a tree with a caliper
trian facilities. Although the findings of this task were in- width of 4 in. or more has been considered a rigid object, but
conclusive, the individual case studies can be used by agencies the literature review indicated that this dimension was based
to help determine general safety trends for similar future on wooden pole crash tests. The influence of tree type (soft
projects. wood versus hard wood), tree size, root system configuration,
and similar issues merits further consideration.
A fourth issue for further research resulting from this eval-
Suggested Research
uation is the influence of moving light standards farther from
This research effort creates a foundation for better under- the travel lane and how this change in location might affect
standing on how urban roadside configurations can influence nighttime visibility. At the study corridors, numerous light
safety. As with any such effort, the questions answered by this standards located close to the road were hit by vehicles, so
research also help to identify knowledge gaps. The gaps could the recommendation to move these lights closer to the near
substantially benefit from future research efforts. side of the sidewalk or even to the far side of the sidewalk
Specifically, the research team identified five specific issues would probably improve safety as it relates to roadside haz-
that merit additional research. The first issue is the influence ards. The effect of this relocation of the street lights on safety
of positive guidance at driveway and intersection locations. as it relates to visibility merits further evaluation for light
This issue appeared to contribute to crash conditions; how- pedestals that do not include mast arm configurations that
ever, the disproportionate number of sites where positive can be easily lengthened.
guidance in the form of a white edge line was not present pro- The fifth issue for further research is roadside improvements
hibited the researchers from drawing definitive conclusions at intersections where pedestrian access ramps appear to direct
regarding this issue. an errant motor vehicle toward a rigid object (often a signal
The second issue of interest is the evaluation of auxiliary pole). It seems like a minor issue to shift the pole so that this
lanes and their role in roadside safety. In some instances, the conflict is minimized; however, often a pedestrian button is
inclusion of a bicycle lane provided an additional offset to located on the pole, and this relocation could adversely affect
roadside objects. At these locations, the number of roadside operations for the pedestrian. As a result, the placement of
crashes appeared to be reduced. This observation suggests traffic signal poles in relation to access ramps, roadside safety,
that the bicycle lane can be included as part of the available and pedestrian usability should be assessed.
clear zone and that at locations where this occurs, the white Finally, the research team identified one additional item
stripe that separates the motor vehicle lane from the bicycle that is not included in the five research issues but appears to
lane could serve as the edge of the clear zone. Alternatively, warrant further evaluation. For the corridor analysis task, the
some of the sites studied included what appeared to be an research team attempted to identify corridors with relatively
almost continuous right-turn lane (referred to in the report high operating speeds (as higher speed crashes generally result
as an extended right-turn lane). At these locations, turn in greater injury severity). A few of these corridors transi-
movements were channelized by pavement markings only. tioned into lower speed corridors with on-street parking and
A large number of crashes occurred when these auxiliary turn curb extensions. The curb extensions generally were posi-
lanes functioned similarly to through lanes, yet lateral offsets tioned to help define intersections and to enable shorter
were not increased. At locations where upstream or down- pedestrian crossing distances. Since the number of sites with
stream lateral offsets were approximately 4.3 m (14 ft), these this lower speed configuration was limited, the research team
offsets were reduced to less than 0.6 m (2 ft) adjacent to the could not comprehensively evaluate these curb extension
turn lanes. The number of roadside crashes dramatically in- locations. However, at the few locations where the research
creased as a result. Future research should investigate when team did observe these extensions, roadside crashes appeared
an auxiliary lane should be treated as another motor vehicle to peak during nighttime hours, presumably when on-street
lane. For example, could a short right-turn pocket be treated parking was limited. Due to the small sample size, the re-
like a bicycle lane and this width be included in the clear zone search team could not draw any definitive conclusions; there-
or should any lane designed for motor vehicles, regardless of fore, the team strongly recommends that roadside safety at
its function, be treated similarly? curb extensions be the subject of future research.
52

References

1. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi- 13. Al-Madani, H. and Al-Jahani, A. R. “Assessment of Drivers’ Com-
cials. Roadside Design Guide. Washington, DC (2002). prehension of Traffic Signs Based on Their Traffic, Personal, and
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic Safety Social Characteristics.” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic
Facts 2005: A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data from the Psychology and Behaviour, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2002) pp. 63–76.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates System. 14. Recarte, M. A. and Nunes, L. “Mental Load and Loss of Control
DOT HS 810 631. U.S. DOT, Washington, DC (2006). Over Speed in Real Driving. Towards a Theory of Attentional
3. Neuman, T. R., Pfefer, R., Slack, K. L., Raub, R., Lucke, R., and Speed Control.” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology
Wark, R. NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of the and Behaviour, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2002) pp. 111–122.
AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan—Volume 1: A Guide for 15. Herrstedt, L., Kjemtrup, K., Borges, P., and Anderson, P. An Im-
Addressing Aggressive-Driving Collisions. Transportation Board of proved Traffic Environment, a Catalogue of Ideas. Report 106. Road
the National Academies, Washington, DC (2003). Data Laboratory, Road Standards Division, Road Directorate,
4. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. National Transportation Sta- Denmark Ministry of Transport (1993).
tistics 2005. U.S. DOT, Washington, DC (2005). 16. Brewer, J., German, J., Krammes, R., Movassaghi, K., Okamoto, J.,
5. Bryer, T. E. “Safety Management.” The Traffic Safety Toolbox: A Otto, S., Ruff, W., Sillan, S., Stamatiadis, N., and Walters, R. Geo-
Primer on Traffic Safety. Institute of Transportation Engineers, metric Design Practices for European Roads. FHWA-PL-01-026.
Washington, DC (1993) pp. 11–23. FHWA, U.S. DOT, Washington, DC (2001).
6. Zeigler, A. J. Guide to Management of Roadside Trees. Users Manual. 17. Lynch, K. The Image of the City. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
FHWA-IP-86-17. Michigan DOT, FHWA, U.S. DOT, Washington, (1960).
DC (1986). 18. Sivak, M. “Recent Psychological Literature on Driving Behaviour:
7. Turner, D. S. and Mansfield, E. R. “Urban Trees and Roadside What, Where, and by Whom?” Applied Psychology: An International
Safety.” ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 16, Review, Vol. 46, No. 3 (1997) pp. 303–310.
No. 1 (1990) pp. 90–103. 19. Groeger, J. A. and Rotherngatter, J. A. “Traffic Psychology and Be-
8. Chowdhury, M. A., Warren, D. L., Bissell, H., and Taori, S. “Are havior.” Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Be-
the Criteria for Setting Advisory Speeds on Curves Still Relevant?” haviour, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1998) pp. 1–9.
ITE Journal (February 1998) pp. 32–45. 20. Transit New Zealand. Guidelines for Highway Landscaping.
9. Kubilins, M. A. “Designing Functional Streets That Contribute to SP/M/020. Version 2. (PDF). (2006). www.transit.govt.nz/technical/
Our Quality of Life.” Transportation Research E-Circular E-C019: view_manual.jsp?content_type=manual&=edit&primary_key=
Urban Street Symposium Conference Proceedings. Transportation 31&action=edit#about.
Research Board, National Research Council (December 2000). 21. City of Las Vegas. “Streets: A Users’ Manual—Your Guide to the
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/circulars/ec019/ec019.pdf. Las Vegas Neighborhood Traffic Management Program.” Las
10. Fitzpatrick, K., Carlson, P., Brewer, M., and Wooldridge, M. D. Vegas, NV (2001).
“Design Speed, Operating Speed, and Posted Speed Limit Prac- 22. Land Transport Safety Authority. Guidelines for Urban-Rural
tices.” Transportation Research Board 82nd Annual Meeting Com- Speed Thresholds: RTS 15. Wellington, NZ (2002).
pendium of Papers (CD-ROM). Transportation Research Board of 23. Ewing, R. Traffic Calming: State of the Practice. Institute of Trans-
the National Academies, Washington, DC (2003). portation Engineers, Washington, DC (1999).
11. Fitzpatrick, K., Shamburger, B., and Fambro, D. “Design Speed, 24. FHWA. Synthesis of Shoulder Rumble Strip Practices and Policies
Operating Speed, and Posted Speed Survey.” Transportation Re- (2000). http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/fourthlevel/exec_summary.htm.
search Record 1523. Transportation Research Board, National Re- Accessed May 17, 2004.
search Council, Washington, DC (1996) pp. 55–60. 25. Neuman, T. R., Pfefer, R., Slack, K. L., Hardy, K. K., Council, F.,
12. Tarris, J. P., Mason, Jr., J. M., and Antonucci, N. “Geometric Design McGee, H., Prothe, L., and Eccles, K. NCHRP Report 500: Guid-
of Low-Speed Urban Streets.” Transportation Research Record: ance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety
Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1701. Transporta- Plan—Volume 6: Guide for Addressing Run-Off-Road Collisions.
tion Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies,
DC (2000) pp. 95–103. Washington, DC (2003).
 53

26. FHWA. “Boosting Roadway Safety with Rumble Strips.” Focus: 43. Plaxico, C. A., Ray, M. H., Weir, J. A., Orengo, F., Tiso, P.,
Accelerating Infrastructure Innovations (May 2002). www.tfhrc. McGee, H., Council, F., and Eccles, K. NCHRP Report 537: Rec-
gov/focus/may02/rumble.htm. Accessed May 29, 2004. ommended Guidelines for Curb and Curb-Barrier Installations.
27. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi- Transportation Research Board, National Research Council,
cials. Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities. Washington, Washington, DC (2005).
DC (1999). 44. Downs, H. G., Jr. and Wallace, D. W. NCHRP Report 254: Shoul-
28. Moeur, R. C. “Analysis of Gap Patterns in Longitudinal Rumble der Geometrics and Use Guidelines. Transportation Research
Strips to Accommodate Bicycle Travel.” Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC (1982).
Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1705. 45. Belmont, D. M. “Effect of Shoulder Width on Accidents on Two-
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Lane Tangents.” Highway Research Board Bulletin 91. Highway
Washington, DC (2000) pp. 93–98. Research Board, National Research Council (1954) pp. 29–32.
29. Mak, K. K., Bligh, R. P., and Ross, Jr., H. E. “Clear Zone Require- 46. Belmont, D. M. “Accidents versus Width of Paved Shoulders on
ments for Suburban Highways.” Transportation Research Record California Two-Lane Tangents—1951 and 1952.” Highway Re-
1500. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, search Board Bulletin 120. Highway Research Board, National
Washington, DC (1995) pp. 119–126. Research Council (1956) pp. 1–16.
30. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi- 47. Hauer, E. “Shoulder Width, Shoulder Paving and Safety.”
cials. Highway Safety Design and Operations Guide. Washington, http://roadsafetyresearch.com (2000). Accessed May 17, 2004.
DC (1997). 48. Zimmer, R. A. and Ivey, D. L. Pavement Edges and Vehicle Stability:
31. American Association of State Highway and Transportation A Basis for Maintenance Guidelines. Texas Transportation Insti-
Officials. A Guide for Achieving Flexibility in Highway Design. tute, College Station, TX (1982).
Washington, DC (2004). 49. Olson, P. L., Zimmer, R. A., and Pezoldt, V. Pavement Edge Drop.
32. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Final Report. UMTRI-86-33. University of Michigan Transporta-
Officials. Guidelines for Design of Very Low-Volume Local Roads tion Research Institute, Ann Arbor, MI (1986).
(ADT ≤ 400). Washington, DC (2001). 50. Zegeer, C. V., Deen, R. C., and Mayes, J. G. “Effect of Lane and
33. Zegeer, C. V. and Parker Jr., M. R. “Effect of Traffic and Roadway Shoulder Widths on Accident Reduction on Rural, Two-Lane
Features on Utility Pole Accidents.” Transportation Research Roads.” Transportation Research Record 806. Transportation Re-
Record 970. Transportation Research Board, National Research search Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC
Council, Washington, DC (1984) pp. 65–76. (1981) pp. 33–43.
34. Benekohal, R. B. and Lee, M. H. “Comparison of Safety Effects of 51. Maryland Department of Transportation. When Main Street is a
Roadside versus Road Improvements on Two-Lane Rural High- State Highway: Blending Function, Beauty and Identity—A Hand-
ways.” Transportation Research Record 1303. Transportation Re- book for Communities and Designers. MD (2003).
search Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC (1991) 52. Harwood, D. W. NCHRP Report 282: Multilane Design Alterna-
pp. 92–102. tives for Improving Suburban Highways. Transportation Research
35. Zegeer, C. V. and Cynecki, M. J. “Determination of Cost-Effective Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC (1986).
Roadway Treatments for Utility Pole Accidents.” Transportation 53. Sullivan, E. C. Safety of Median Trees with Narrow Clearances on
Research Record 970. Transportation Research Board, National Urban Conventional Highways. Applied Research and Development
Research Council, Washington, DC (1984) pp. 52–64. Facility, Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (2004).
36. Ross, Jr., H. E., Sicking, D. L., Zimmer, R. A., and Michie, J. D. 54. Viner, J. G. “Risk of Rollover in Ran-Off-Road Crashes.” Trans-
NCHRP Report 350: Recommended Procedures for the Safety Per- portation Research Record 1500. Transportation Research Board,
formance Evaluation of Highway Features. Transportation Research National Research Council, Washington, DC (1995) pp. 112–118.
Board, National Research Council, Washington, DC (1993). 55. Iowa Highway Research Board. Iowa Traffic Control Devices and
37. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi- Pavement Markings: A Manual for Cities and Counties. Center for
cials. A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 4th ed. Transportation Research and Education, Iowa State University,
Washington, DC (2004). Ames, IA (2005).
38. Dunlap, D. F., Grote, P., Fram, D. M., and Mashinter, W. Investi- 56. North Carolina Department of Transportation. Traditional Neigh-
gation of the Dynamic Impact Characteristics of Roadside Struc- borhood Development (TND) Guidelines. Raleigh, NC (August 2000).
tures. UM-HSRI-PF-72-5. Highway Safety Research Institute, 57. City of Seattle. Street Tree Planting Procedures. www.ci.seattle.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (1972). wa.us/transportation/treeplanting.htm. Accessed 2007.
39. Olson, R. M., Weaver, G. D., Ross, Jr., H. E., and Post, E. R. 58. City of Simi Valley. City of Simi Valley Landscape Design Guide-
NCHRP Report 149: Effect of Curb Geometry and Location on Ve- lines. Simi Valley, CA (January 2002).
hicle Behavior. Transportation Research Board, National Research 59. City of Montgomery. Montgomery Street Tree Master Plan.
Council, Washington, DC (1974). Montgomery, AL. www.montgomeryal.gov/media/1473969/
40. Ross, H. E., and Post, E. R. Dynamic Behavior of an Automobile street%20tree%20master%20plan%20document%20-%20final.
Traversing Selected Curbs and Medians. Research Report 140-6. pdf. Accessed 2007.
Texas Transportation Institute, Texas A&M University, College 60. FHWA. Trees in Hazardous Locations. NCHRP 17-18(3). http://
Station, TX (1975). safety.transportation.org/htmlguides/trees/. Accessed May 7, 2007.
41. Holloway, J. C., Sickling, D. L., and Rossen, B. T. Performance 61. Traffic Authority of New South Wales. Guidelines for Tree Plant-
Evaluation of NDOR Mountable Curbs. TRP-03-37-94. Midwest ing and Maintenance on Urban Roads. New South Wales, Australia
Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1994). (May 1987).
42. Wezeker, J. and Nkunga, A. Vehicle Trajectories Resulting from 62. Georgia Department of Transportation. Online Policy and Proce-
Traversing FDOT Street Curbs. B-C352. Florida Department of dure System. www.dot.state.ga.us/doingbusiness/PoliciesManuals/
Transportation (January 2003). Pages/topps.aspx. Accessed May 7, 2007.
54

63. Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon Department 80. Haworth, N., Vulcan, P., Bowland, L., and Pronk, N. Fatal Single
of Land Conservation and Development. Main Street . . . When a Vehicle Crashes Study: Summary Report. Report No. 122. Monash
Highway Runs through It: A Handbook for Oregon Communities. University Accident Research Centre, Victoria, Australia (1997).
(1999). 81. Dixon, K., Wu, C., Geary, G., Wang, J., and Coley, M. Analysis of
64. Neuman, T. R., Pfefer, R., Slack, K. L., Hardy, K. K., Lacy, K., and Fatal Crashes at Utility Pole Locations in Georgia for 1997 and 1998.
Zeeger, C. NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (2000).
AASHTO Highway Safety Plan—Volume 3: A Guide for Addressing 82. Marquis, B. Utility Pole Crash Modeling. Maine Department of
Collisions with Trees in Hazardous Locations. Transportation Re- Transportation, Augusta, ME (2001).
search Board, National Research Council, Washington DC (2003). 83. McLean, A. J., Offler, W. J., and Sandow, B. L. Adelaide In-Depth
65. Iowa State University. Vegetation Control for Safety. A Guide for Accident Study: 1975–1979: Part 7: Road and Traffic Factors. Road
Street and Highway Maintenance Personnel. FHWA-RT-90-003. Accident Research Unit, University of Adelaide, Australia (1981).
Office of Highway Safety, FHWA, U.S. DOT, Washington, DC 84. American Association of State Highway and Transportation Offi-
(1992). cials. Standard Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway
66. Zeigler, A. J. Guide to Management of Roadside Trees. Users Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals, 4th ed. Washington, DC
Manual. FHWA-IP-86-17. Michigan DOT, FHWA, U.S. DOT, (2002).
Washington, DC (1986). 85. Lewin, I., Box, P. and Stark, R. Roadway Lighting: An Investigation
67. FHWA. Roadside Improvements for Local Roads and Streets. and Evaluation of Three Different Light Sources—Final Report 522.
U.S. DOT, Washington, DC (October 1986). Arizona Department of Transportation, FHWA, U.S. DOT
68. Lee, J. and Mannering, F. Analysis of Roadside Accident Frequency (May 2003).
and Severity and Roadside Safety Management. Washington State 86. Nilsson, G. and Wenäll, J. “Fixed Roadside Objects Cause 100
Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA (December 1999). Fatalities Each Year.” Nordic Road and Transport Research, No. 1,
69. Kloeden, C. N., McLean, A. J., Baldock, M. R. J., and Cockington, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (1998)
A. J. T. Severe and Fatal Car Crashes Due to Roadside Hazards: A pp. 13–15.
Report to the Motor Accident Commission. NHMRC Road Acci- 87. Ray, M. H., Weir, J., and Hopp, J. NCHRP Report 490: In-Service
dent Research Unit, University of Adelaide, Australia (1999). Performance of Traffic Barriers. Transportation Research Board of
70. Naderi, J. R. “Landscape Design in Clear Zone: Effect of Land- the National Academies, Washington, DC (2003).
scape Variables on Pedestrian Health and Driver Safety.” Trans- 88. Stephens, L. B. “Guardrail Warrants for Low-Volume Roads.”
portation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Transportation Research Circular 416: Issues Surrounding Highway
Board, No. 1851. Transportation Research Board of the National and Roadside Safety Management. Transportation Research Board,
Academies, Washington, DC (2003) pp. 119–130. National Research Council, Washington, DC (October 1993)
71. Delaney, A., Langford, J., Corben, B., Newstead, S., and Jacques, N. pp. 74–84.
Roadside Environment Safety (Report to RACV). Monash Univer- 89. Wolford, D. and Sicking, D. L. “Guardrail Need: Embankments
sity Accident Research Centre, Melbourne, Australia (2003). and Culverts.” Transportation Research Record 1599. Transporta-
72. Bratton, N. J. and Wolf, K. L. “Trees and Roadside Safety in U.S. tion Research Board, National Research Council, Washington,
Urban Settings.” Transportation Research Board 84th Annual DC (1997) pp. 48–56.
Meeting Compendium of Papers (CD-ROM). Transportation Re- 90. California Department of Transportation. California Highway
search Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC (2005). Barrier Aesthetics. (June 2002).
73. Haworth, N. and Bowland, L. Serious Injury Single Vehicle 91. Glad, R. W., Albin, R. B., McIntosh, D. M., and Olson, D. K.
Crashes. Report No. 175. Monash University Accident Research Median Treatment Study on Washington State Highways. WA-RD
Centre, Victoria, Australia (2000). 516.1. Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia,
74. European Transport Safety Council. Forgiving Roadsides. European WA (2002).
Transport Safety Council, Brussels. www.etsc.be/documents/bri_ 92. Zein, S. R. and Montufar, J. Roadway Safety Benchmarks Over
road5.pdf. Accessed June 15, 2005. Time. Report TP 14328 E. Transport Canada, Ottawa, ON (2003).
75. Transportation Research Board Committee on Utilities. State of 93. Vermont Agency of Transportation. Guardrail Study. (2002).
the Art Report 9: Utilities and Roadside Safety. Transportation Re- 94. Office of Highway Safety. Improving Highway Safety at Bridges on
search Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC (2004). Local Roads and Streets. FHWA, U.S. DOT, Washington, DC
76. Mak, K. K. and Mason, R. L. Accident Analysis—Breakaway and (1998).
Non-Breakaway Poles Including Sign and Light Standards along 95. Turner, S. M., Shafer, C. S., and Stewart, W. P. Bicycle Suitability
Highways. DOT-HS-805-605. FHWA, U.S. DOT, Washington, Criteria for State Roadways in Texas. Report No. TX-97/3988-S.
DC (August 1980). Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, TX (1997).
77. Lacy, K., Srinivasan, R., Zegeer, C., Pfefer, R., Neuman, T. R., 96. Harkey, D. L., Reinfurt, D. W., Knuiman, M., Steward, J. R., and
Slack, K. L., and Hardy, K. K. NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Sorton, A. Development of the Bicycle Compatibility Index: A
Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan— Level of Service Concept. FHWA-RD-98-072. FHWA, U.S. DOT,
Volume 8: A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Utility Poles. Washington, DC (1998).
Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, 97. Litman, T., Blair, R., Demopoulos, B., Eddy, N., Fritzel, A.,
Washington, DC (2004). Laidlaw, D., Maddox, H., and Forster, K. Pedestrian and Bicycle
78. Transportation Research Board Committee on Utilities. State of Planning: A Guide to Best Practices. Victoria Transport Policy
the Art Report 9: Utilities and Roadside Safety. Transportation Re- Institute, Victoria, BC (2005).
search Board of the National Academies, Washington, DC (2004). 98. Sutts, J. C. and Hunter, W. W. Injuries to Pedestrians and Bicyclists:
79. Land Transport Safety Authority. Urban Roadside Barriers and An Analysis Based on Hospital Emergency Department Data.
Alternative Treatments RTS11. Wellington, New Zealand, 1995 FHWA-RD-99-078. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. DOT,
(republished in 2001). Washington, DC (1999).
 55

99. Stutts, J. C. and Hunter, W. W. Police-Reporting of Pedestrian and 112. Wheeler, A. H., Abbott, P. G., Godfrey, N. S., Phillips, S. M., and
Bicyclists Treated in Hospital Emergency Rooms. University of Stait, R. TRL Report 238: Traffic Calming on Major Roads: The A47
North Carolina, Highway Safety Research Center, Chapel Hill, Trunk Road at Thorney, Cambridgeshire. Transport Research Lab-
NC (1998). oratory, London, UK (1997).
100. Burden, D. and Zykofsky, P. Emergency Response Traffic Calming 113. Berger, W. J. and Linauer, M. “Raised Traffic Islands at City
and Traditional Neighborhood Streets. Local Government Com- Limits—Their Effect on Speed.” Proceedings of ICTCT Work-
mission, Sacramento, CA (December 2000). shop 1998. Lund Institute of Technology, Budapest, Hungary
101. Polus, A. and Craus. J. “Planning and Geometric Aspects of (1999).
Shared Streets.” Transportation Research Record 1523. Transporta- 114. Crowley, F. and MacDermott, A. Evaluation of Traffic Calming
tion Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, Schemes Constructed on National Roads 1993–1996. Road Safety
DC (1996) pp. 29–33. Engineering, R460. National Roads Authority, Dublin, Ireland
102. Gunnarsson, S. O. “Traffic Planning.” The Traffic Safety Toolbox: (2002).
A Primer on Traffic Safety. Institute of Transportation Engineers, 115. Forbes, G. and Gill, T. “Arterial Speed Calming, Mohawk Road
Washington, DC (1999) pp. 15–37. Case Study.” Transportation Research E-Circular E-C019: Urban
103. Zegeer, C. V. and Seiderman, C. B. “Designing for Pedestrians.” Street Symposium Conference Proceedings. Transportation Re-
The Traffic Safety Toolbox: A Primer on Traffic Safety. Institute of search Board, National Research Council (December 2000)
Transportation Engineers, Washington, DC (1999) pp. 177–196. pp. I-2/1–I-2/7. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/circulars/
104. Whyte, W. H. The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces. The Conser- ec019/Ec019_i2.pdf.
vation Foundation, Washington, DC (1980). 116. Ewing, R. “From Highway to My Way.” Journal of Planning,
105. Landis, B. W., Vattikuti, V. R., Ottenberg, R. M., LcLeod, D. S.,
Vol. 67(1), American Planning Association, Chicago, IL (January
and Guttenplan, M. “Modeling the Roadside Walking Environ-
2001) pp. 22–26.
ment: A Pedestrian Level of Service.” Transportation Research
117. Florida Department of Transportation. Utility Accommodation
Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1773,
Manual. Document No. 710-020-001-d. Tallahassee, FL (1999).
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council
118. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). (Database). National
(2001) pp. 82–88.
Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) and NHTSA. www-fars.
106. Corben, B. F. and Duarte, A. Injury Reduction Measures in Areas
nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx.
Hazardous to Pedestrians—Stage 1: Countermeasure Options.
119. Ostensen, A. G. “New Focus for Highway Safety.” Public Roads,
Report No. 169. Monash University Accident Research Centre,
Victoria, Australia (2000). Vol. 68, No. 5 (2005) pp. 2–7.
107. Cottrell, W. D. UDOT Report No. UT-02.10: Evaluating and Im- 120. Iowa State University Technology Transfer Center. Vegetation
proving Pedestrian Safety in Utah. Prepared by the University of Control for Safety. A Guide for Street and Highway Maintenance
Utah for the Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, Personnel, FHWA-RT-90-003. Prepared under the Rural Trans-
UT (2002). portation Assistance Program Project 70, Office of Highway
108. Skene, M. “‘Traffic Calming’ on Arterial Roadways?” Paper Pre- Safety, FHWA, U.S. DOT, Ames, IA (1990).
sented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Transporta- 121. Walkinginfo.org: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
tion Engineers. Las Vegas, Nevada (August 1–4, 1999). (website). “Shared Street (Green Street).” www.walkinginfo.org/
109. Robinson, C. C. “Traffic Calming on Arterials–Con.” Paper Pre- engineering/calming-street.cfm.
sented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Institute of Transporta- 122. NCSA and NHTSA General Estimates System. (Database).
tion Engineers. Las Vegas, Nevada (August 1–4, 1999). 123. Zeeger, C. V., Stutts, J., Huang, H., Cynecki, M. J., Van Houten, R. V.
110. Burden, D. Streets and Sidewalks, People and Cars: The Citizens’ Alberson, B. Neuman, T. R., Pfefer, R., Slack, K. L., Hardy, K. K.
Guide to Traffic Calming. Local Government Commission, Center NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO
for Livable Communities, Sacramento, CA (2000). Highway Safety Plan—Volume 10: A Guide for Reducing Collisions
111. Pates, G. “Improving Small City Highways: New Techniques for Involving Pedestrians. Transportation Research Board, National
Improving Safety and Livability Through Technology Transfer.” Research Council, Washington DC (2004).
Proceedings of the Sixth National Conference on Transportation 124. McLean, J. Effects of Sealed Shoulders on Road User Costs. Project
Planning for Small and Medium-Sized Communities. Washington Report for Austroads Project No. BS. E. N. 042. Austroads Pub-
State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA (1999). lication No. AP-R188/01. Sydney, Australia (2001).
56

APPENDIX A

Urban Control Zone Corridor Study Reports

Appendix A: Control Zone Corridor Study Reports from the contractor’s final report for NCHRP Project 16-04 is available
on the TRB website at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=9456.
 57

APPENDIX B

Case Study Reports

Appendix B: Case Study Reports from the contractor’s final report for NCHRP Project 16-04 is available on the TRB website
at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=9456.
58

APPENDIX C

Toolkit for Urban Roadside Design

Introduction Object placement strategies. Object placement strategies

include the following:
It is a challenge to design an urban roadside environment
that balances the often conflicting demands of land owners, • Roads on tangent with vertical curb – recommend lateral
road users, and local jurisdictions to effectively use this valu- offset of 6 ft (absolute minimum of 4 ft) from curb face to
able space without dramatically compromising safety. Though rigid objects [these values also apply to median locations].
there is still much to learn about how the urban roadside con- Frangible objects should be positioned no closer than 1.5 ft
figuration influences the functional operation and safety of a to curb face.
roadway corridor, some basic design concepts can help assure • Roads at horizontal curves with vertical curb – recommend
the placement of roadside objects that minimize potentially lateral offsets to objects a minimum of 6 ft from the curb
hazardous conditions. This toolkit provides placement strate- face on the outside of curve face and a recommended lat-
gies, referred to as urban control zones, for a variety of urban eral offset of 4 ft for the inside of curve locations (absolute
conditions. The primary focus of this summary is roadside minimum of 1.5 ft for frangible items only) from curb face
object placement for high speed urban roads. Roads charac- [these values also apply to median locations]. For sharp
terized by twenty-four hour on-street parking or low speed curvature locations, determine an object free zone based
local roads are not directly addressed in this toolkit. Follow- on sight distance criteria (see Figure C-1).
ing the urban control zone section are treatment details for • Roads on tangent or curve with shoulder (no curb) – adhere
known objects common to the urban roadside environment. to clear zone guidelines where possible. If infeasible, then
locate objects immediately adjacent to the right-of-way
boundary to maximize lateral offset.
Urban Control Zones
• Auxiliary lanes that function as higher speed lanes such as
An urban control zone is a roadside location that can be extended right-turn lanes must meet the tangent and curve
shown to pose a greater hazard for errant vehicles and as such criteria.
should be given special attention regarding object placement • Auxiliary lanes such as bicycle lanes can include the width
strategies. Key urban control zones include lateral placement of the bicycle lane in the clear zone; however, it is still
strategies, lane merge locations, driveways, intersections, and recommended that lateral offset from the curb face exceed
sidewalk configurations. In addition high crash locations and 1.5 ft where possible at these locations.
common roadside crash locations can also be identified as
potential urban control zones for roadside safety.
Lane Merge Locations
Description. Often acceleration lanes, lane merges, and
Lateral Placement of Objects
bus bay exit points transition to the through travel lane at a
Description. Where possible, achieve the clear zone as taper point. At this location, the driver of the vehicle needs to
recommended by the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide. In focus on merging into the active traffic stream. If the driver
constrained urban areas where clear zones are not feasible, does not judge the merge correctly, he or she may run off the
the recommended lateral offset to roadside objects may vary road at this location. As a result, lane merge locations should
depending on specific road features. be free of roadside objects where possible.
 59

LEGEND
Lateral Offset
at Inside of Curve
Std. Recommended
4'
Lateral Offset

6' Curb Face

4'

Lateral Offset

Required Sight Distance along

4' Drivers' Line of Sight

4'

Figure C-1. Lateral placement of objects at horizontal curves.

Object placement strategies. Object placement strate- • Upstream (near side) placement of objects should be lo-
gies include the following: cated so as to provide adequate sight distance for drivers of
exiting vehicles.
• Lateral offset of rigid objects should be as large as possible.
Since the presumption is that a vehicle unable to traverse the
lane merge will continue along its current path, a lateral off- Intersections
set equivalent to a standard lane width should be kept free of
Description. Though intersections are common crash
rigid objects. Where feasible, therefore, objects should be
locations for multiple vehicle collisions, numerous single
placed at least 12 ft from the curb face so that errant vehicles
vehicle roadside crashes can also be expected at intersections.
unable to merge and that continue straight will not impact
These collisions can occur because of the use of small islands
the object. Breakaway objects should be located 4 to 6 ft from
the curb face as a minimum at the taper point locations.
• Longitudinal placement of rigid objects should not occur LEGEND
within 10 ft upstream or downstream of the taper point for Lateral Offset
at Taper Point
a total length of 20 ft where feasible (see Figure C-2).
Where this placement is infeasible, priority should be given Std. Recommended
Lateral Offset
to keeping the upstream roadside area object free.
4'
Driveways
Description. The placement of roadside objects in the
vicinity of driveways should occur in such a way as not to
Curb Face 10'
compromise available sight distance or provide a clear path
for errant vehicles to impact a rigid object on the far side of a 12'
driveway entry. 10' 4'

4'
Object placement strategies. Object placement strate- Offset extended to
Intersect where feasible
gies include the following:
Lateral Offset configuration applies to Lane Merges,
Acceleration Lanes, and Bus Bay Returns
• Downstream (far side) placement of objects should be located
10 to 15 ft from the driveway throat edge (see Figure C-3). Figure C-2. Object-free zone at merge points.
60

LEGEND
Lateral Offset
due to Driveway
Std. Recommended
Lateral Offset

4'

Curb Face

10' to
15'
4'
Drivers' Line of Sight
Drivers' Line of Sight
10' to 15' Offset at Far
Side of Driveway

Figure C-3. Roadside object-free zones at driveways.

that are not noticeable to drivers, objects located too close the edge of lane as these locations do not have a curb to
to the curb in the curb return region, and objects located help the driver realize that the vehicle has strayed from the
directly aligned with pedestrian access ramps. designated path.
• Many urban intersections with curb include directional
Object placement strategies. Object placement strategies pedestrian access ramps at the intersection corners. For
include the following: these locations, rigid objects should not be positioned so
that errant vehicles are directed towards them along the
• Research shows that curbs can provide a positive (visual) path of the access ramp. As a result, placement of pedes-
guidance but have very little re-directional ability; there- trian buttons should either be located on a breakaway
fore, curbs should be used at raised channelization islands pedestal pole adjacent to the directional ramp where pos-
to assist with providing positive guidance to the driver. sible rather than on a rigid traffic signal pole. This will
• Since research shows that sloping curbs can be traversable, enable the traffic signal pole placement to occur further
their use at channelization islands as a means of restricting away from the curb return region.
vehicle access is not recommended.
• For intersection channelization islands (also known as
corner islands), the island design should adhere to the Sidewalk Configurations
AASHTO Geometric Design of Highways and Streets criteria Description. In urban environments, sidewalks are often
(see their Exhibit 9-37 and 9-38). The island should be suf- attached directly to the curb. When this occurs, all fixed road-
ficiently designed so as to be conspicuous to approaching side objects should be located beyond the sidewalk. Another
drivers and should not encroach on vehicle paths. Simi- common sidewalk configuration includes a buffer strip be-
larly, median noses should be conspicuous and designed so tween the curb and the sidewalk edge. For these locations, ob-
as not to impede normal traffic operations. At both the jects are often located within this buffer strip. Care should be
corner islands and the median noses, the placement of rigid taken to assure that objects placed in the buffer strip area do
objects should be avoided completely. Only breakaway not become roadside hazards.
devices should be constructed at these locations.
• Often a turning vehicle does not successfully navigate the Object placement strategies. Object placement strate-
designated turn path and strays onto the adjacent curb re- gies include the following:
turn or shoulder. This situation often occurs for truck
turning movements. Object placement at the inside edge of • For a buffer strip 3 to 4 ft wide, rigid objects should not be
intersection turning movements should be as far as practi- constructed. Only frangible items such as breakaway signs
cal from the curb face or lane edge. Similarly, for locations or forgiving landscaping treatments are appropriate for use
without curb these values should be as far as possible from in these narrow buffer strips.
 61

• Buffer strips that are 5 ft wide or greater should include landscape treatments may have for intersection, driveway,
smaller roadside items such as forgiving landscaping treat- and stopping sight distance considerations.
ments or ornamental trees (with canopies that do not impede
on sight distance) in the region adjacent to the curb but be- Strategy summary. The placement criteria, in some cases,
yond recommended lateral offsets. If it is infeasible to locate is based on the functional purpose or posted speed limits of
more rigid objects such as light standards or utility poles adjacent roads. Common landscape placement issues include
beyond the sidewalk, then their placement should be imme- the following:
diately adjacent to the sidewalk so as to place them as far from
the active travelway as possible. Under no circumstances, • Avoid placement in proximity to intersections as discussed
however, should these objects be located within the sidewalk in the urban control zone section.
boundaries as this space must be kept completely object free • Avoid placement in proximity to driveways as discussed in
so that pedestrians can remain on their designated path. the urban control zone section.
• At locations with isolated hazardous trees, consider re-
moving these trees.
High Crash Locations and Common • At locations with known hazardous trees that cannot
Urban Roadside Crash Locations be relocated, shield the trees with safety barrier where
Description. Many urban corridors are characterized by possible.
unique physical features that may directly contribute to a • Lateral offset placement of trees and landscaping as dis-
roadside crash. Though the urban control zones previously cussed in the urban control zone section. Where practical,
identified capture most of the high roadside crash locations, use plant layering in front of the more rigid items. In the
a specific design or operational characteristic for a road may event of an errant vehicle, this initial landscaping will func-
also be a location that merits roadside crash mitigation. These tion as an energy dissipation device and slow down the
locations can be identified by creating spot maps that demon- vehicle prior to impact with the more rigid tree.
strate cluster crash locations that do not fall within the • Implement median planting strategies as discussed in the
bounds of the previously identified urban control zones. lateral placement urban control zone section.
• Maintaining a clear vision space, which is a space above
Object placement strategies. Each high crash location that ground that preserves the lines of sight for drivers, bicy-
fits the above description will have roadside safety improve- clists, and pedestrians. In general, this space should extend
ment strategies unique to the specific feature contributing to vertically 1 to 3 m [3.3 to 10 ft]. These dimensions will as-
the high crash numbers. As a result, placement strategies can in- sure clear sight distance for drivers in low-riding sports
clude increased lateral offset, shielding, or reconstruction for cars as well as drivers in high trucks and buses. The “clear
extreme cases. This must be evaluated on a case by case basis. vision space” then is essentially the space above shrub
growth and below tree overhang. A low tree overhang can
also create an obstacle for pedestrian access.
Roadside Treatment Details
• Longitudinal placement of trees and landscaping will help
Several roadside treatments common to an urban environ- keep landscaping growth from encroaching on other func-
ment can become roadside hazards if not properly positioned. tions of the roadside environment. In addition to longitu-
The following summaries identify these common urban road- dinal placement strategies discussed in the urban control
side features and placement strategies that may help enhance zone section, it is advisable to prohibit landscape place-
safety at these locations. ment at a variety of other locations. One jurisdiction, for
example, recommends that these placement strategies could
include the separation of trees from underground utility
Landscaping, Trees, Shrubs,
lines by 1.5 m [5 ft] and a placement a minimum of 3.0 m
and Plant Layering
[10 ft] from utility poles with 4.6 m [15 ft] recommended.
General information. Several types of roadside land- In addition, trees could be separated from street lights by
scaping are commonly employed to enhance the aesthetics of 6.1 m [20 ft], from fire hydrants and alleys a distance of
roadside environments. These treatments may include the 3.0 m [10 ft], and 1.5 m [5 ft] from water meters or utility
placement of shrubs, street trees, or alternative treatments vaults. Additional longitudinal placement strategies may
such as landscape berms. In addition to the concern of tra- be implemented to try and achieve uniform tree spacing.
versability in the event that an errant vehicle encounters This spacing will depend on the specific tree characteristics
roadside landscaping, a common issue regarding the safety of but could range from 7.6 to 15.2 m [25 to 50 ft]. Tree
adjacent landscape treatments is sight distance and the impact canopies should not be positioned under service wires.
62

• The strategic placement of landscaping to influence the vi- objects if jurisdictions do not enforce guidelines about mailbox
sual perception of a driver is a relatively new technique. type and placement. There are several crashworthy mailboxes
Landscaping can be used to help visually delineate the that have been tested including standard boxes mounted on a
downstream road and geometric features of that road. The 100 mm by 100 mm [4 in by 4 in] wooden post or a 38 mm
use of landscaping for visual perception purposes can also [11/2 in] light-gauge pipe for mounting mailboxes, with these
help create visual narrowing of the driver’s field by gradu- posts embedded no deeper than 600 mm [24 in] into the
ally tapering a tree line towards the road. ground. Mailboxes should further be mounted to their supports
to prevent the mailbox from separating from the post during a
crash event. Standard cluster mailboxes (as approved by U.S.
Utility Poles, Posts, Light Standards
Postal Service Standards) can also be used in urban regions.
General information. Utility poles, posts, light poles, Many of the larger mail collection boxes fail safety requirements
and similar vertical roadside treatments are some of the most and should be placed outside of clear recovery areas.
common urban roadside hazards. The urban environment,
by its very nature, can be expected to include these common Strategy summary. While making mailboxes crashwor-
roadside objects. thy will satisfy safety associated with mailbox-related crashes,
it is important to recognize that the placement of mailboxes
Strategy summary (for utility poles). Several potential may have an important impact on the overall safety of the
strategies can be considered for addressing roadside safety for roadway. The following recommendations detail appropriate
utility pole placement. These include the following: placement of mailboxes:

• Place utilities completely underground and remove the haz- • Mailboxes should not obstruct intersection sight distance.
ardous poles. The removal of all poles in the urban roadside • Mailboxes should not be located directly on higher-speed
environment may not be practical, but the placement of util- roadways, where stopping associated with mail delivery
ities underground, where feasible, will minimize this hazard. and collection can lead to substantial speed differentials
• Place poles as far as possible from the active travel lanes. Rec- between vehicles on the travelway, thereby increasing the
ommended goals include specific pole lateral clearance based possibility of a rear-end collision. For higher-speed urban
on speed limits. One jurisdiction suggested a pole offset strat- roads without curb where mailboxes are present, one option
egy with a target goal of 3.6 m [12 ft] from face of curb to face is to provide a 2.4 m [8 ft] mailbox turnout lane adjacent
of pole for all locations where possible. For speed limits to the travelway that will permit vehicles to leave the trav-
greater than 56 km/h [35 mph] but not exceeding 72 km/h elway for mail collection and delivery purposes. Alterna-
[45 mph], a lateral clearance of 2.4 m [8 ft] is acceptable. For tively, a minimum shoulder width for these higher-speed
roads with posted speed limits less than or equal to 56 km/h roads of 1.8 m [6 ft] should be maintained at these locations.
[35 mph], a lateral clearance of 1.8 [6 ft] is acceptable. A sec- • At curbed residential locations, mailboxes should be posi-
ond jurisdiction recommends an offset greater than 2.4 m tioned so that the minimum distance from the roadside face
[8 ft] for roads with speed limits of 40 to 55 km/h [25 to of the mailbox to the face of the curb is 150 mm [6 in], with
35 mph] and a lateral offset of 4.3 m [14 ft] for roads with a preferred offset ranging from 200 to 300 mm [8 to 12 in].
speed limits of 65 to 70 km/h [40 to 45 mph]. • Mailbox placement at driveways should be compatible
• Locate poles away from access points where the pole may with the urban control zones previously defined.
restrict sight distance or be easily impacted. • Shield rigid mailboxes.
• Place poles on the inside of sharp horizontal curves • Add reflective object markers to improve nighttime visi-
(as errant vehicles tend to continue straight towards the out- bility of mailboxes.
side of curves), but be sure pole placement conforms with the
urban control zone recommendations previously shown.
• Locate poles on only one side of the road and place shared Safety Barriers
utilities on poles where possible. General information. Roadside barriers are subject to
• Use breakaway poles at select hazardous locations or shield NCHRP Report 350 testing criteria. There are several types of
them with safety barrier. safety barriers that may be present in an urban environment.
These include the following:
Mailboxes
• Barriers (flexible, semi-rigid, and rigid),
General information. The placement of mailboxes in • Bridge Railings, and
urban environments can result in new hazardous roadside • End Treatments (crash cushions and end terminals).
 63

Generally, most of the research on safety barriers has been includes items placed adjacent to the road that are there to
oriented towards the design of barriers and their placement to improve the adjacent land use or to improve transportation
shield vehicles from hazardous roadside conditions. The Fed- operations. In some jurisdictions, street lights and signs are
eral Highway Administration maintains a roadside hardware included in the category of street furniture; however, for the
website that provides information about specific roadside hard- purposes of this review street furniture is considered to be
ware that has been tested. This information is available at: http:// supplemental items such as benches, public art, trash recep-
safety. fhwa.got.gov/roadway_dept/road_hardware/index.htm. tacles, phone booths, planters, bollards, fountains, kiosks,
transit shelters, bicycle stands, etc. Often the placement of
Strategy summary. In the urban environment, it may be these devices can obscure sight distance, so their location
challenging to construct roadside barriers in the confined should not occur in the sight triangles of intersections or
roadside space available. In locations with bicycle activity, for driveways. Many street furniture items are placed along the
example, safety barriers located immediately adjacent to the right-of-way by the property-owners themselves, as in the
road may expose cyclists to unnecessary risks as the barrier case of the placement of a sidewalk cafe in front of a restau-
may result in a sensation of “squashing” the cyclist between rant, and are thus largely outside the engineer’s control.
the barrier and an adjacent motor vehicle. Similarly, barriers
immediately adjacent to motor vehicle lanes cause vehicles to Strategy summary. Little is known about the safe place-
shy away from the barrier, thereby adversely impacting traf- ment of street furniture. The following general recommen-
fic operations. Finally, traffic barrier restricts pedestrian ac- dations should enhance roadside safety in these locations:
tivity in an urban environment and requires careful design of
openings for pedestrian crossings that include crashworthy • While maintaining its functional purpose, locate street fur-
barrier end treatments. Due to the wide variety of potential niture as far from the street as possible.
safety barriers that may be selected for use, the two references • Restrict street furniture placement to avoid sight distance
identified above should be consulted for specific applications issues for road users. The Urban Control Zones previously
for each barrier type. identified should be applied to all street furniture.
• Where possible, deploy street furniture that meets basic
crashworthy standards; however, concern for pedestrians
Street Furniture
has led to the use of fixed supports in some urban areas.
General information. In many urban areas the use of Examples of sites where breakaway supports may be
street furniture is a common approach to improving the aes- imprudent are sites adjacent to bus shelters or in areas of
thetic and functional quality of a street. Street furniture extensive pedestrian concentration.
64

APPENDIX D

Draft Chapter 10 for AASHTO

Roadside Design Guide

APPENDIX D: Draft Chapter 10 for AASHTO Roadside Design Guide from the contractor’s final report for NCHRP
Project 16-04 is available on the TRB website at http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=9456.
Abbreviations and acronyms used without definitions in TRB publications:
AAAE American Association of Airport Executives
AASHO American Association of State Highway Officials
AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
ACI–NA Airports Council International–North America
ACRP Airport Cooperative Research Program
ADA Americans with Disabilities Act
APTA American Public Transportation Association
ASCE American Society of Civil Engineers
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
ATA Air Transport Association
ATA American Trucking Associations
CTAA Community Transportation Association of America
CTBSSP Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program
DHS Department of Homeland Security
DOE Department of Energy
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FAA Federal Aviation Administration
FHWA Federal Highway Administration
FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
FRA Federal Railroad Administration
FTA Federal Transit Administration
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASAO National Association of State Aviation Officials
NCFRP National Cooperative Freight Research Program
NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program
NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NTSB National Transportation Safety Board
SAE Society of Automotive Engineers
SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act:
A Legacy for Users (2005)
TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program
TEA-21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (1998)
TRB Transportation Research Board
TSA Transportation Security Administration
U.S.DOT United States Department of Transportation