Effectiveness of speed tables installed singularly in home zones on 130 m–170 m long side streets

<p>Home zones are becoming increasingly common in residential districts. In order to slow down the traffic to 20 km/h, speed tables (STs), the least expensive among all the available traffic calming measures, are considered the option of choice for home zone areas. The current design guidelines define the recommended speed table design parameters and indicate the expected speed reductions that can be achieved. Noteworthy, the latter are not always achieved in practice. This article presents the results of speed surveys carried out on two purposefully chosen, short side streets including single speed tables. While the speed tables had similar geometry, the streets themselves differed in terms of design parameters and street landscaping. The speed survey data and the results of statistical analyses carried out as part of this study showed that speed tables cause gradual slowing of the approaching traffic. In turn, speed reductions across speed tables were found to depend not only on the speed table parameters, but also on the direction of travel, street shapes in the plan and street landscaping and presence of vehicles parked on either side of the street.</p>