Profile-speed data-based models to estimate operating speeds for urban residential streets with a 30 km/h speed limit

A speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour (km/h) has been widely introduced for urban residential streets to ensure traffic safety and allow these streets to fulfil other intended functions. However, excessive speeds on these roads are very common, causing traffic safety problems and threatening the liveability of neighbourhoods. An effective and active way to deal with speeding is the application of a performance-based design approach, as mentioned in previous research. In a performance-based design approach, street geometrics and roadside elements are selected based on their influence on the desired driving speeds. The relationship between driving speeds and street features therefore needs to be determined. Although several studies have developed operating speed models for urban streets, all of these models were calibrated based on data for streets with speed limits of more than 30 km/h. The present research is designed to investigate the influence of various roadway and roadside characteristics on operating speeds on urban tangent street sections with a 30 km/h speed limit using profile-speed data. A simultaneous equation regression with a three-stage-least-square (3SLS) estimator was used for the modelling effort. The driving speed models developed in this study incorporate several street design factors, which provide helpful information for urban planners and street designers to cope with speeding issues on residential streets.

► Operating speed models were developed for streets with a 30 km/h speed limit.
► Profile-speed data were used for speed model development instead of spot-speed data.
► Maximum tangent speeds and speeds at intersections were modelled simultaneously.
► Various street design factors were found as significant predictors of operating speeds.