A Decision Support Tool for Accommodating Right-Turning Trucks at Urban Intersections in Walkable Communities

Abstract

Many North American jurisdictions are creating walkable urban environments through compact Complete Streets (CS) geometric designs, while not addressing the mobility and accessibility of goods despite the essential role goods movement plays in sustaining the liveability of the community. Prescriptive curb radii limits recommended by CS guidelines to lower pedestrian crossing distances may not adequately accommodate the right-turn maneuver of a truck. The paper develops a performance-based decision support tool to guide the design of urban intersection curb radii that facilitate the safe and efficient accommodation of trucks and pedestrians. The decision support tool relies on a novel Freight-Walkability relationship to define the context of urban intersections and establishes a curb radius design domain. A case study demonstrates the quantification of the Freight-Walkability relationship (in terms of peak hour right-turning truck volumes and a proposed Walkability Index) and the application of the tool at an existing intersection in Winnipeg, Canada. The tool helps transportation engineers and planners balance the mobility needs of trucks and pedestrians through short-term street-level design changes and long-term land use transformations.