The Most Effective Traffic Calming Measures – Minnesota Transportation Research
By Malee Yang
The Complete Streets approach to roadway design uses site characteristics to create a safer, more accessible environment for all road users. New research demonstrates that roadway design features have a measurable impact on driving speeds. The development of speed reduction factors (SRFs) that estimate the impact of road features on speed reduction provides a data-driven approach to highway design.
To safeguard and accommodate all road users, MnDOT and local agencies have followed the Complete Streets approach when building and converting the state’s roads. The approach includes road design features that have been shown to lower the frequency of collisions and severe injury. Even as agencies are considering new ways to set maximum speed limits, current studies do not fully address how different road features impact vehicle traveling speeds.
Speed limits have conventionally been set based on vehicle interactions with road design and features. The Complete Streets approach emphasizes roadway conditions and speeds that prioritize access to all road users. Field data was needed to determine whether specific road features installed on Minnesota roads may cause changes in driving speeds. The resulting data could provide guidance for future road design and speed limit targets.
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