Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices. Topic 57-19. Design Practices to Achieve Desired Travel Speeds

Speed management is an approach to achieving appropriate motor vehicle speeds in consideration of the roadway context and the safety of all road users, including pedestrians and bicycles. Speed management may entail changes to speed limits, changes to roadway and roadside designs, and the use of traffic control measures to maintain or achieve desired speeds. Also included is the use of enforcement and technology to increase compliance with speed limits and provide feedback to drivers about desirable “target” speeds. Any phase of roadway development from preliminary design and planning stages through construction, to improving any known or existing roadway conditions may consider speed management. When selecting appropriate speed management designs and treatments, it is necessary to consider the current and future project needs and objectives, performance goals, roadway context, purpose of the roadway facility for all users, and budgetary constraints. Managing and achieving appropriate vehicle speeds usually requires a multifaceted approach that leverages appropriate speed limit setting, roadway design and other infrastructure techniques, operational strategies, education, and enforcement. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and many state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) have developed a variety of speed management resources, and many state DOTs have developed policies and practices for managing roadway speeds in different contexts. Objective: The objective of this synthesis is to document state DOT design policies and practices for managing vehicle operating speeds proactively and reactively on streets and highways. Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to): (1) Written policies, implementation processes and procedures of the state DOT speed management effort; (2) Integration practices of speed management efforts with planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance functions in the state DOT; (3) State DOT formal written processes for addressing a speed management need and how the project solution is identified, analyzed, approved, funded, implemented, and coordinated/communicated with the community and stakeholders; (4) State DOT practices for before and after reviews, including documented state DOT case studies of project outcomes of speed management implementation; (5) State DOT efforts to align speed management elements with national, state, and local practice relative to geometric design, pavement markings, signs, signals, and lighting; (6) The goals of state DOT speed management efforts and individual “toolbox” measures that are being used; and (7) State DOT processes for design exceptions. Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified. Information sources (partial): (1) Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Project Development and Design Guide. Chapter 16: Speed Management. 2025. (2) Federal Highway Administration. Engineering Speed Management Countermeasures: A Desktop Reference of Potential Effectiveness in Reducing Crashes. 2023. (3) Federal Highway Administration. Safe System Approach for Speed Management. 2023. (4) California Department of Transportation. Traffic Calming Guide. 2023. (5) Institute of Transportation Engineers. A Guide to Vertical Deflection Speed Reduction Techniques: Planning and Design of Speed Humps, Speed Tables and Other Related Measures. 2022. (6) California Department of Transportation. Geometric Design Strategies for Speed Reduction and Traffic Calming: Survey of Practice. 2021. (7) Florida Department of Transportation. Florida DOT Design Manual: Speed Management. 2021. (8) Federal Highway Administration. Noteworthy Speed Management Practices. 2020. (9) South Carolina Department of Transportation. Traffic Calming Guidelines. 2019. (10) Sanders, R. L., Belinda Judelman, B., and Schooley, S. NCHRP Synthesis 535: Pedestrian Safety Relative to Traffic Speed Management. 2019. https://doi.org/10.17226/25618. (11) Federal Highway Administration. Speed Management ePrimer for Rural Transition Zones and Town Centers. 2018. (12) Federal Highway Administration. Speed Management Toolkit. 2017. (13) Federal Highway Administration. Traffic Calming ePrimer. 2017. (14) Federal Highway Administration. Factors Influencing Operating Speeds and Safety on Rural and Suburban Roads. 2015. (15) Federal Highway Administration. Speed Management: A Manual for Local Rural Road Owners. 2012. (16) Torbic, D. J., Gilmore. D. K., Bauer, K. M., Bokenkroger, C. D.. Harwood, D. W., Lucas, L. M., Frazier, R. J., Kinzel, C. S., Petree, D. L., and Forsberg, M. NCHRP Report 737: Design Guidance for High-Speed to Low-Speed Transition Zones for Rural Highways. 2012. https://doi.org/10.17226/22670. (17) Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Traffic Calming Handbook. 2012. (18) Delaware Department of Transportation. Traffic Calming Design Manual. 2012.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5996

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $65,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 20-05, Topic 57-19

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC    20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Larson, Sandra

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Missouri, Columbia

  Columbia, MO  United States  65211
• Principal Investigators:

  Brown, Henry

• Start Date: 20260701
• Expected Completion Date: 20270630
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway design; Speed control; State departments of transportation; Traffic calming; Traffic safety
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01972837
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 20-05, Topic 57-19
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Nov 25 2025 3:53PM