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Roadway access
Overview Constantly growing traffic congestion, concerns
over traffic safety, and the ever-increasing costs of upgrading our roads have
generated a new interest in managing access to our highway systems. Access management
is the process that provides access to land development while simultaneously preserving
the flow of traffic on surrounding roadways. Three issues kept in the forefront
of access management are safety, capacity, and speed. Fewer direct accesses,
greater separation of driveways, and better driveway design and location are the
basic elements of access management. When these techniques are uniformly and comprehensively
implemented, there is less occasion for through traffic to brake and change lanes
in order to avoid turning traffic. Consequently, with good access management,
the flow of traffic will be smoother and average travel speeds higher. There will
definitely be less potential for accidents. Before-and-after analyses show that
routes with well-managed access can have 50% fewer accidents than comparable roadways
with no access controls. Take a look at Access Management 101 to learn
about specific countermeasures and how they can work for you in your community.
Access Management 101A good
access management program will - Limit the number of trouble spots
or conflict points at driveway locations. Conflict points are places in the
roadway that have the potential for trouble, where crashes can almost be predicted.
We all have conflict points in our roadways, and the goal is to reduce the number
of them. The more conflict points that occur at an intersection, the higher the
potential for vehicular crashes. When left turns and cross-street through movements
are restricted, the number of conflict points is significantly reduced.
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Separate conflict areas. Intersections created by public streets and driveways
represent basic conflict areas. Adequate spacing between intersections allows
drivers to react to one intersection at a time, while simultaneously reducing
crash potential.
- Reduce the interference of through traffic.
Through traffic often needs to slow down for vehicles exiting, entering, or turning
across a roadway. Providing turning lanes, designing driveways with large turning
areas, and restricting turning movements in and out of driveways allows turning
traffic to get out of the way of through traffic.
- Provide sufficient
spacing for placement of traffic signals. Good spacing of signalized intersections
reduces conflict areas and increases the potential for smooth traffic progression.
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Provide adequate and easy-access parking areas. Design easily accessible
on- and off-street parking that can accommodate cars and other vehicles. The goal
is to cause minimal traffic disturbance, thus reducing the number of driveways
that businesses need for access to major roadways.
Want to learn more
about access management? Contact the National Highway Institute, FHWA's technical
training organization. It develops and administers transportation-related training
and education programs that assist federal, state, and local transportation agencies
and private transport providers and firms. National Highway Institute
4600 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22203
(703) 235-0500 or at their
website, www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov Back to Table of Contents
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