Improved Speed Policies

General Description:

Improved Speed Policies use speed regulations to improve safety and traffic flow characteristics.  Speed limits may be used to reduce conflicts between vehicles, wildlife, and bicyclists/pedestrians. 

Effects of Solution:

¨ Increase Passenger Throughput

¨ Increase Roadway Capacity

þ Manage System Efficiency (Improves safety and traffic flow)

¨ Reduce Local Demand

Minimum speed limits may be used to increase overall traffic speeds, while maximum speed limits may keep excessive speeds down.  Additional measures, such as Traffic Calming infrastructure, may be used in conjunction with speed limits to control traffic behavior.  Enforcement Techniques are necessary to implement changes in speed policy.

Examples of Implementation:

No specific examples available at the time of publication.

Cost/Financial Information:

Costs will vary depending upon the policies and related systems/technologies used.  See related fact sheets for more information.

Additional Resources:

Transportation Research Board publication Special Report 254: Managing Speed

http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/sr/sr254.pdf#search='trb%20sr%20254'

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