5 Components of a City Road
5 major components of a city road such as footpath, kerb, pedestrian crossing, median are described below
1. Footpath
The portion of the roadway of an urban road reserved only for pedestrians is called Footpath.
They are provided in urban areas when vehicular, as well as pedestrian traffic, are heavy, to provide protection to pedestrians and decrease accidents.
Footpaths are generally provided on either side of the road and the minimum width should be 1.5 m.
2. kerbs
A kerb (also termed as a curb)is a vertical or sloping member provided along the edge of a pavement or Shoulder to give strength and protect the edge of the pavement. It Indicates the boundary between the pavement and shoulder or sometimes island or footpath or car parking space.
kerbs are generally constructed of cut stone or cement concrete slabs. The kerbs are usually divided into three groups based on their function.
i) Low or mountable kerb.
ii) Semi barrier type kerb.
iii) Barrier type kerb.
The kerb and the road surface near the edge together form a side channel that carries rainwater that comes from the road surface.
3. Pedestrian Crossing or Cross Walk Line
The particular places on a road where pedestrians cross the pavement are properly marked by pavement markings. This portion of pavement is called pedestrian crossing or crosswalk line.
The width of the pedestrian crossing may be between 2.0 m and 4.0 m depending on the local requirements.
Pedestrian crossings should be provided at important road intersections or some other places to enable pedestrians to cross safely the road in heavy traffic.
The location of the pedestrian crossing should be so selected that the pedestrians are subjected to minimum difficulty.
4. Traffic Lane
The carriageway constructed for a single line of traffic movement is called a traffic lane. The lane width is determined on the basis of the width of the vehicle and the minimum side clearance for safety.
When the side clearance is increased up to a certain limit there is an increase in the operating speed of vehicles and hence an increase in the capacity of the traffic lane. The width of the carriageway depends on the width of the traffic lane and the number of lanes.
5. Median or Central Reserve or Traffic Separator
A median or central reserve is the longitudinal space separating the dual carriageway it is also known as a traffic separator.
As per I.R.C recommendation, the minimum desirable width of the median is 5 m for the rural highway which may be reduced up to 3 m where the land is restricted.
The absolute minimum width of the median in an urban area is 1.2 m and the desirable minimum width are 5 m.
Advantages of Median or Central Reserve or Traffic Separator
⇰ It prevents head-on collisions between vehicles moving in opposite directions on the adjacent lane.
⇰ It helps in channelizing the traffic stream at intersections.
⇰ It helps in segregating slow traffic and protects the pedestrian.
⇰ It provides a stopping area in case of emergencies.
⇰ It provides space for future widening of the carriageway.
Disadvantages of Median or Central Reserve or Traffic Separator
Provision of median increase the width of the right of way. So where the land is costly, the total cost may be very high.
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