Clear Zone – A Synthesis of Practice and an Evaluation of the Benefits of Meeting the 10-ft Clear Zone Goal on Urban Streets

In urban communities, there are often limited amounts of right-of-way available for establishing a large setback distance from the curb for fixed objects. Urban communities must constantly weigh the cost of purchasing additional right-of-way for clear zones against the risk of fixed object crashes. From 2004 to 2006, this type of crash on curbed roads represented 15% of all fatal crashes and 3% of all crashes in the state of Iowa. Many states have kept the current minimum AASHTO recommendations as their minimum clear zone standards; however, other states have decided that these recommendations are insufficient and have increased the required minimum clear zone distance to better suit the judgment of local designers. This report presents research on the effects of the clear zone on urban curbed streets. The research was conducted in two phases. The first phase involved a synthesis of practice that included a literature review and a survey of practices in jurisdictions that have developmental and historical patterns similar to those of Iowa. The second phase involved investigating the benefits of a 10 ft clear zone, which included examining urban corridors in Iowa that meet or do not meet the 10 ft clear zone goal. The results of this study indicate that a consistent fixed object offset results in a reduction in the number of fixed object crashes, a 5 ft clear zone is most effective when the goal is to minimize the number of fixed object crashes, and a 3 ft clear zone is most effective when the goal is to minimize the cost of fixed object crashes.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/reports/clear_zone_report.pdf
• Record URL:
  • http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/reports/clear_zone_report.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Iowa State University, Ames

  Center for Transportation Research and Education
  2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
  Ames, IA  United States  50010-8664

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  Iowa Highway Research Board, 800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010

  Midwest Transportation Consortium

  Iowa State University, 2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
  Ames, IA  United States  50010-8664
• Authors:
  • Maze, Thomas H
  • Sax, Christian
  • Hawkins, Neal
• Publication Date: 2008-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 158p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Clear zones; Curbs; Highway design; Right of way (Land); Streets; Traffic crashes; Urban areas; Urban highways
• Uncontrolled Terms: Fixed object collisions
• Geographic Terms: Iowa
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01118670
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: IHRB Project TR-560, MTC Project 2006-05, CTRE Project 06-261
• Files: TRIS, ATRI, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 22 2009 9:33AM