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Road
A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The words "road" and "street" are commonly considered to be interchangeable, but the distinction is important in urban design. There are many types of roads, including parkways, avenues, controlled-access highways (freeways, motorways, and expressways), tollways, interstates, highways, and local roads. The primary features of roads include lanes, sidewalks (pavement), roadways (carriageways), medians, shoulders, verges, bike paths (cycle paths), and shared-use paths. Definitions Historically, many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or some maintenance. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines a road as "a line of communication (travelled way) using a stab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Controlled-access Highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms include ''wikt:throughway, throughway'' or ''thruway'' and ''parkway''. Some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic. In countries following the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, Vienna convention, the motorway qualification implies that walking and parking are forbidden. A fully controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, Intersection (road), intersections or frontage, property access. They are free of any at-grade intersection, at-grade crossings with other roads, railways, or pedestrian paths, which are instead carried by overpasses and underpasses. Entrances and exits to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Road Hierarchy
A road hierarchy is a system for categorizing roads. Road networks worldwide are typically organized according to one or more schemes: * ''Functional classification'' reflects a road’s intended role, balancing mobility (efficient through movement) and access (reaching properties) by defining a clear hierarchy from Arterial road, arterials (including limited-access roads and controlled-access highways) to Collector road, collectors and local roads. * ''Administrative classification'' mirrors government tiers responsible for funding and maintenance, creating a hierarchy from national to local roads. * ''Design type classification'' groups roads by Geometric design of roads, geometric and operational characteristics, such as lane configuration and access control, and does not always form a strict hierarchy. While conceptually distinct, these classification systems often overlap in practice. Roads of higher administrative status typically serve higher functional roles and follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stroad
A stroad is a thoroughfare that combines the features of streets and roads. Common in the United States and Canada, stroads are wide arterials (roads for through traffic) that also provide access to strip malls, drive-throughs, and other automobile-oriented businesses (as shopping streets do). Stroads have been criticized by urban planners for safety issues and for inefficiencies. While streets serve as a destination and provide access to shops and residences at safe traffic speeds, and roads serve as a high-speed connection that can efficiently move traffic at high volume, stroads serve both purposes. They are often an expensive, inefficient, and dangerous compromise. Etymology In 2011, the American civil engineer and urban planner Charles Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, coined the word "stroad" as a blend of the words ''street'' and ''road'' to illustrate what he characterized as failures in the North American pattern of development''.'' Criticisms Poor mix of st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tollway
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance. Toll roads have existed in some form since antiquity, with tolls levied on passing travelers on foot, wagon, or horseback; a practice that continued with the automobile, and many modern tollways charge fees for motor vehicles exclusively. The amount of the toll usually varies by vehicle type, weight, or number of axles, with freight trucks often charged higher rates than cars. Tolls are often collected at toll plazas, toll booths, toll houses, toll stations, toll bars, toll barriers, or toll gates. Some toll collection points are automatic, and the user deposits money in a machine which opens the gate once the correct toll has been paid. To cut costs and minimise time delay, many tolls are collected with electronic toll collecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Road Surface
A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, hoggin, cobblestone and granite setts were extensively used, but these have mostly been replaced by asphalt or concrete laid on a compacted base course. Asphalt mixtures have been used in pavement construction since the beginning of the 20th century and are of two types: metalled (hard-surfaced) and unmetalled roads. Metalled roadways are made to sustain vehicular load and so are usually made on frequently used roads. Unmetalled roads, also known as gravel roads or dirt roads, are rough and can sustain less weight. Road surfaces are frequently marked to guide traffic. Today, permeable paving methods are beginning to be used for low-impact roadways and walkways to prevent flooding. Pavements are crucial to countries such as United St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traffic
Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and timely flow of traffic. Organized traffic generally has well-established priorities, lanes, right-of-way, and traffic control at intersections. ( International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea govern the oceans and influence some laws for navigating domestic waters.) Traffic is formally organized in many jurisdictions, with marked lanes, junctions, intersections, interchanges, traffic signals, cones, or signs. Traffic is often classified by type: heavy motor vehicle (e.g., car, truck), other vehicle (e.g., moped, bicycle), and pedestrian. Different classes may share speed limits and easement, or may be segregated. Some jurisdictions may have very detailed and complex rules of the road while others rely more on drive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstate
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, and started an effort to construct a national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921. In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were funded and maintained by U.S. states, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane freeways. After Dwight D. Eisenhower be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or a translation for ''motorway'', ''Autobahn'', ''autostrada'', ''autoroutes of France, autoroute'', etc. According to Merriam-Webster, the use of the term predates the 12th century. According to Online Etymology Dictionary, Etymonline, "high" is in the sense of "main". In North American English, North American and Australian English, major roads such as controlled-access highways or arterial (road), arterial roads are often state highways (Canada: provincial highways). Other roads may be designated "county highways" in the US and Ontario. These classifications refer to the level of government (state, provincial, county) that maintains the roadway. In British English, "highway" is primarily a legal term. Everyday use normally implies roads, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shoulder (road)
A shoulder (American English), hard shoulder (British English) or breakdown lane (Australian English) is an emergency stopping lane by the road verge, verge on the outer side of a road or motorway. Many wider freeways, or Limited-access road, expressways elsewhere have shoulders on both sides of each directional carriageway—in the median, as well as at the outer edges of the road, for additional safety. Shoulders are not intended for use by through traffic, although there are exceptions. Purpose Shoulders have multiple uses, including: * Emergency vehicles such as ambulances, fire trucks and police cars may use the shoulder to bypass traffic congestion in some countries. * In the event of an emergency or Breakdown (vehicle), breakdown, a motorist can pull into the shoulder to get out of the flow of traffic and obtain a greater degree of safety. * Active traffic management, used on busy multi-lane roads, may allow 'hard shoulder running' by general traffic at reduced speeds duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lane
In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each direction, separated by lane markings. On multilane roadways and busier two-lane roads, lanes are designated with road surface markings. Major highways often have two multi-lane roadways separated by a median. Some roads and bridges that carry very low volumes of traffic are less than wide, and are only a single lane wide. Vehicles travelling in opposite directions must slow or stop to pass each other. In rural areas, these are often called country lanes. In urban areas, alleys are often only one lane wide. Urban and suburban one lane roads are often designated for one-way traffic. History For much of human history, roads did not need lane markings because most people walked or rode horses at relatively slow speeds. However, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetlights or Bench (furniture), benches. A street can be as simple as a level patch of Dirt road, dirt, but is more often pavement (material), paved with a hard, durable surface such as Tarmacadam, tarmac, concrete, cobblestone or brick. It can be designed for both social activity and movement. Originally, the word ''street'' simply meant a paved road (). The word ''street'' is still sometimes used informally as a synonym for ''road'', for example in connection with the ancient Watling Street, but city residents and urban planning, urban planners draw a significant modern distinction: a road's main function is transportation, while streets facilitate public interaction. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidewalk
A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Hiberno-English, Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone, or asphalt, it is designed for pedestrians. A sidewalk is normally higher than the carriageway, roadway, and separated from it by a curb. There may also be a Road verge, planted strip between the sidewalk and the roadway and between the roadway and the adjacent land. Terminology The preferred term for a pedestrian path beside a road varies based on region. The term "sidewalk" is preferred in most of the United States and Canada. The term "pavement" is more common in the United Kingdom and some other members of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic United States such as Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey. Australia, New Zealand, and many other Commonwealth countr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
