Context-sensitive design: Issues with design elements

Well-designed roadways should equally consider and address safety, mobility, and community needs. The concept of context sensitive design is an emerging project development and geometric design approach that aims to meet the objectives of these elements. Central to the design process is the selection of key design elements that have the potential to influence design choices and roadway elements. Design speed is probably the most influential factor and current practices on how this speed is selected and used may need to be revisited. The need to design a roadway that could provide all required clues to the driver in order to drive at desired operating speeds is also an issue that requires attention. Design consistency along with compatibility between design and operating speed feature prominent among the issues that should be considered within the context sensitive design. This paper focuses on various design elements and discusses their relevance, importance, and influence on context sensitive design. Journal of Transportation Engineering