CONCEPTUAL APPROACH TO RELATE DESIGN SPEED, OPERATING SPEED, AND POSTED SPEED LIMITS

Currently, the design speed of a roadway is selected based on the topography, land use, anticipated operating speed, and functional classification of a highway or street. This paper aims to review the current state-of-the-practice as it relates to speeds and geometric and operational practices. A proposed framework to relate speeds to geometric and operational practices is described to show how design speed can be determined using a series of feedback loops in the roadway design process.