The effect of street design on speed of vehicles along urban residential streets in Johor

Abstract

Street design plays an important role in controlling vehicular speed. This has a direct impact on enhancing the safety of road users and the quality of the environment for residents living adjacent to the streets. The increasing of road accidents every day is worrisome. The safety of other road users is adversely affected when drivers travel at high speeds. Speeding is also the cause of noise and air pollution, which may negatively impact community livability. The speed of the vehicle is influenced by the physical condition of the road such as uneven roads, sharp turns and narrow lanes. Thus, by tweaking the design of streets, it is possible to achieve speed reduction. The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of road geometry and parking on speed of a moving vehicles in urban residential areas. This study was conducted on local streets and collectors in Johor. The data obtained were vehicle speed, road characteristics (road length, road width, road gradient) and number of parked vehicles. Then, the data were analysed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to find the relationship between street design and vehicle speed. The result from the analysis shows that road characteristics such as traffic calming and road gradient can significantly influence vehicle speed.