Superstreet Traffic Design
New Study Shows Design to be Safer, Faster
Anyone who has felt the frustration that accompanies battling traffic to drive to work can smile at this news—engineers are working on making your drive faster and safer. One possible solution is something called a “superstreet” traffic design. The superstreet design re-routes any driver looking to make a left-hand turn or trying to cross a thoroughfare, funneling them to the right before they make a quick U-turn around a broad median.
A recent study performed by North Carolina State University researchers showed that the superstreet design results in a 20 percent overall reduction in travel time compared to conventional traffic designs. The researchers also found that the superstreet design is substantially safer than traditional intersections. Superstreet intersections experienced 46 percent fewer car collisions, and 63 percent fewer collisions that resulted in personal injuries.
The savings in time can be attributed to drivers not being stuck waiting to make left hand turns, or not having to wait for traffic from cross-streets to cross the thoroughfare. Superstreets do a better job of keeping traffic moving. The increased safety can be attributed to drivers not having to turn, from a standstill, across several lanes of traffic that are moving in the opposite direction.
While the superstreet design has actually been around for two decades, this was the largest analysis of superstreets ever performed in real traffic conditions.