Road Diet: Systemically Identifying Candidate Road Diet Locations

Federal Highway Administration2016PDFBriefUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of SafetyUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of SafetyUnited StatesManaged lanesTraffic lanesTraffic safetyMedian lanesCountermeasuresFHWA-SA-17-018A Road Diet is generally described as removing or narrowing vehicle lanes from a roadway and reallocating the extra space for other uses or travel modes, such as parking, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, transit use, turn lanes, medians, or pedestrian refuge islands. Road Diets are a highly effective and relatively inexpensive safety countermeasure that has the potential to calm traffic, provide operational benefits that can improve user access and traffic flow (e.g., dedicated turn lanes, bus pull outs, dedicated bicycle lanes), and improve the quality of life for all road users. Whether interested in implementing Road Diets on a large scale or identifying potential locations that yield one or two ideal sites, agencies can employ several methods to systemically identify candidate locations.95