Road infrastructure is evolving to meet new safety, efficiency, and sustainability challenges. The Guide to Road Design Part 7: New and Emerging Treatments, published by Austroads, provides cutting-edge design solutions for roads, intersections, motorways, and pedestrian zones across Australia.
This guide compiles the latest research findings, pilot projects, and case studies from across the country, ensuring that Australian road networks remain safe, adaptive, and future-ready.
✔ Enhances safety – Reduces crash rates and injury severity.
✔ Improves traffic efficiency – Minimizes congestion and optimizes road space.
✔ Encourages sustainable transport – Supports pedestrian and cyclist-friendly infrastructure.
✔ Reduces maintenance costs – Integrates long-term, low-maintenance designs.
Intersections are critical points of conflict in road networks. Emerging treatments focus on improving safety, reducing delays, and optimizing traffic flow.
✔ Slows vehicles at critical points to reduce collision impact.
✔ Improves pedestrian safety with elevated crossings.
✔ Best suited for urban streets with high pedestrian traffic.
✔ Prevents lane weaving and improves lane discipline.
✔ Reduces conflict points and speeds within roundabouts.
✔ Enhances capacity of high-volume intersections.
✔ Minimizes right-turn conflicts by shifting turn lanes away from the main intersection.
✔ Reduces delays and improves signal efficiency.
✔ Ideal for high-traffic urban roads.
Midblock sections between intersections often experience speeding, congestion, and pedestrian safety concerns.
✔ Single-lane roads with wide shoulders to allow passing movements.
✔ Encourages speed reduction while maintaining traffic flow.
✔ Best for low-volume rural and suburban roads.
✔ Adaptive traffic signals and lane controls for dynamic congestion management.
✔ Ramp metering technology to regulate freeway entry speeds.
✔ Reduces bottlenecks and optimizes road capacity.
✔ Improves pedestrian visibility and reduces vehicle speeds.
✔ Dedicated cycling infrastructure ensures safer non-motorized transport.
✔ Encourages active transport solutions for urban centers.
✔ Reallocates road space by converting multi-lane roads into single-lane streets with added bike lanes or pedestrian zones.
✔ Reduces speeding and enhances community accessibility.
✔ Ideal for urban and suburban corridors.
✔ Visually signals speed limit changes at town or residential area entrances.
✔ Uses pavement markings, landscaping, and signage for traffic calming.
✔ Reduces excessive sight distance at intersections to prevent high-speed turns.
✔ Encourages drivers to slow down for better reaction time.
The Guide to Road Design Part 7 serves as a blueprint for innovation in Australia’s road network. By integrating these new and emerging treatments, road planners can create safer, more efficient, and future-ready infrastructure. As road technology evolves, Australia’s transport systems must adapt to ensure long-term safety and sustainability.
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