Vehicle speeds on residential streets

The paper outlines a study of traffic speeds in residential streets in Melbourne. Speed data were collected from 55 sites in the middle suburbs of Melbourne. Data on traffic conditions and the physical properties of streets were also collected. The study was carried out in two stages; the first between April and December 1980 and the second between February and May 1981. The first stage of the study was a pilot survey using 18 sites. This pilot survey indicated that important factors in determining traffic speeds were the length of street, the amount of non local traffic using the street and, on collector streets, the volume of traffic on the street. The second stage of the study increased the number of sites to 55. These sites were chosen to provide a range of street lengths, widths and traffic volumes. This survey indicated that the important factors in determining vehicle speeds were street length, street width and traffic volume (a).