Analysis of the Relationship between the Functionally Hierarchical Characteristics of Road Networks and Road Structure Conditions

Abstract

The road network in Japan has been steadily developed until today, however, some issues are remaining such as low travel speeds on main roads and through-passing traffics into minor streets in residential areas. This is considered because of insufficient consideration of the hierarchical function of each road at the planning stage. For this reason, it is necessary to reconsider the road network from the functional hierarchy perspective of whether each road is hierarchically being used according to its target function. Therefore, the objective of this study is to clarify influencing factors of the functional hierarchy based on questionnaire surveys for experts in road design and planning. As a result, it was found that road conditions such as the trip length and the travel speed affect the functional hierarchy, and the combination of them is necessary for proper evaluation of the functional hierarchy.