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Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638
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World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR 2016 Shanghai. 10-15 July 2016

Reclassification of urban road system: integrating three dimensions

of mobility, activity and mode priority
Bing Liua,a,*, Linli Yan bb, Zhiwei Wang bb
a
aUrban Planning Department, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092,China
Urban Planning Department, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092,China
b
b Shanghai Tongji
Shanghai Tongji Urban
Urban and
and Planning
Planning Design
Design Insititute,
Insititute, Shanghai
Shanghai 200092,Chian
200092,Chian

Abstract
Abstract

Although
Although transport
transport development
development has has shifted
shifted from
from car-oriented
car-oriented to to people-oriented
people-oriented paradigm,
paradigm, urban
urban road
road design
design practices
practices are
are far
far
lagging behind
lagging behind in in China.
China. One
One fundamental
fundamental reason
reason isis the
the lack
lack of
of aa new
new road
road classification
classification system
system asas well
well as
as relevant
relevant technical
technical
guidance adapting
guidance adapting with
with the
the transformation.
transformation. ThisThis paper
paper aims
aims to to find
find aa reclassification
reclassification approach
approach which
which could
could balance
balance the
the different
different
requirements of
requirements of mobility,
mobility, street
street activity
activity and
and green
green transport
transport priority,
priority, and
and provide
provide aa better
better basis
basis for
for urban
urban road
road planning
planning andand design.
design.
This
This paper
paper firstly
firstly reviews
reviews the
the provisions
provisions of of road
road classification
classification in in the
the current
current "code
"code for
for transport
transport planning
planning and
and urban
urban road"
road" of
of China,
China,
and
and points
points out
out the
the defects
defects of
of the
the single
single classification
classification standard
standard based
based onon car-oriented mobility, which
car-oriented mobility, which resulted
resulted in
in many
many problems
problems
such
such asas inadequate
inadequate bus bus priority,
priority, squeezed
squeezed space
space forfor non-motorized
non-motorized transport
transport andand street
street life
life decay.
decay. Then,
Then, itit compares
compares the the
international
international practices
practices of
of road
road classification
classification updates
updates and
and adjustments;
adjustments; andand further
further clarifies
clarifies the
the relationship
relationship from
from three
three aspects
aspects ofof
mobility
mobility and
and place,
place, multi-modes
multi-modes and and differentiated
differentiated priorities,
priorities, as
as well
well as
as standardization
standardization and and flexibility
flexibility of
of road
road classification
classification system,
system,
thereby establishing
thereby establishing aa theoretical
theoretical framework
framework for for urban
urban road
road reclassification.
reclassification. InIn the
the background
background of of green
green transport
transport and
and street
street revival,
revival,
this paper argues the necessity of urban road reclassification, and proposes a three-dimensional
this paper argues the necessity of urban road reclassification, and proposes a three-dimensional road classification system road classification system
integrating "hierarchy
integrating "hierarchy of of mobility,
mobility, types
types ofof street
street activity
activity and
and travel
travel mode
mode priority".
priority". The
The new
new HAM
HAM system
system is
is expected
expected to to provide
provide
aa more
more balanced,
balanced, comprehensive
comprehensive and and flexible
flexible approach
approach forfor urban
urban road
road design
design accommodating
accommodating multi-modes
multi-modes ofof green
green transport
transport and
and
aa variety
variety of
of street
street activities,
activities, to
to meet
meet thethe policy
policy shift
shift from
from the
the "car-oriented"
"car-oriented" to to the
the "people-oriented".
"people-oriented".
©
© 2017
2017 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
© 2017 The Authors.
Peer-review under Published by
responsibility of Elsevier
WORLD B.V.
CONFERENCE ON TRANSPORT RESEARCH SOCIETY.
Peer-review under responsibility
Peer-review under responsibility of WORLD of WORLD CONFERENCE
CONFERENCE ON ON TRANSPORT
TRANSPORT RESEARCH RESEARCH SOCIETY.SOCIETY.

Keywords:road
Keywords:road reclassification
reclassification system
system ;; three-dimensional
three-dimensional integration
integration ;; road
road function
function ;; street
street activity;co-modal
activity;co-modal approach
approach

*
* Corresponding
Corresponding author.
author. Tel.: +86-21-65987689; fax:
Tel.: +86-21-65987689; fax: +86-21-65987689.
+86-21-65987689.
E-mail address:liubing1239@tongji.edu.cn
E-mail address:liubing1239@tongji.edu.cn

2214-241X©
2214-241X© 2017
2017 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by
by Elsevier
Elsevier B.V.
B.V.
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of
of WORLD
WORLD CONFERENCE
CONFERENCE ON ON TRANSPORT
TRANSPORT RESEARCH
RESEARCH SOCIETY.
SOCIETY.

2352-1465 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Peer-review under responsibility of WORLD CONFERENCE ON TRANSPORT RESEARCH SOCIETY.
10.1016/j.trpro.2017.05.447
628 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638
2 Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

Nomenclature

AD UPC Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council

Code TPUR Code for Transport Planning and Urban Road
MOC Ministry of Construction
MOPS Ministry of Public Security
MoT Minister of Transport of UK
MV Motorized Vehicle
NMV Non-motorized Vehicle
NYC DOT Department of Transportation in New York City
SH URCTC Shanghai Urban-Rural Construction and Transportation Committee
TfL Transport for London
UK DOT Department of Transport in the United Kingdom

1. Introduction

1.1. Background

At present, the transport system remains highly dependent on cars and levels of traffic,
congestion and greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to increase, and street activities are
subject to recession with more disturbances from continuous through-traffic. This indicates
that a business-as-usual approach in the future will not lead to the achievement of green
transport evolution and that the paradigm of urban transport planning will need to be changed.
In particular, there will need to be a greater focus on the urban road system, because it
provides most of the spaces for pedestrians, non-motorized vehicles and buses in the city.
Urban road classification system, to a large extent, determines the network structure,
building standards and space use of roads, inevitably exerting a strong impact on both urban
and transport planning. Buchanan Report in 1963 laid out a basic principle for road functional
classification with the distinction between roads for movement and those providing access to
buildings (MoT, 1963). This road hierarchy classification has become an influential force in
shaping the layout of urban areas (MoT, 1963) by affecting the relationships between roads,
buildings and urban structure. As a product of the motor era, this car-dominated road
classification tries to balance the needs of movement for automobiles and the environmental
considerations for urban areas; but in practice, the technical standards for vehicular movement has been emphasized
in the planning, while its function as places for social activities has been neglected, and the movement of other surface
modes have not been integrated into the system, either.
The dogmatism of function classification which resulted in car priority and dysfunctional layouts lacking in
urbanity (Marshall, 2004) is being challenged. With the upsurge of smart growth, new traditional urbanism and green
transport trends, street-oriented classification becomes one of the hot spots for road planning and design studies. In
some highly motorized cities, new classification systems began to emerge, in which the different mobility demands
for various activities, the coordination of road geometric design with its surrounding environment, and the balance
between cars and other travel modes like buses, bicycles and pedestrians have been paid more attention.
China has witnessed the rapid growth of automobiles since 1990s, which exacerbated the serious conflicts of mixed
traffic in high-density Chinese cities. Many high streets became trunk roads for cars, making the coexisted problems
of road congestion, traffic disorder and street life decline even worse. Hence the function division of urban roads to
solve these problems was raised to an unprecedented height. Following the Buchanan principles, “Code for Transport
Planning and Urban Road” (Hereinafter referred to as the “Code TPUR”) of China was issued in 1995, which
established urban road classification system based on the movement and access function of roads. The four level tier
of “expressway-arterial road-collector road-local road” in the Code TPUR laid the foundation of road hierarchy, and
 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638 629
Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

it played an important role in separating mixed traffic and promoting the standardization and normalization of road
planning and construction in the fast growing period of China.
Driven by the increasing travel demands of cars, lots of urban roads were built or upgraded to adapt to the large-
scale motorization process of Chinese cities. For them, car-oriented road network was formed rapidly during the last
two decades, whereas “multi-modal transport network with complementary advantages” was far from the
requirements of Code TPUR. The outcomes arising from this road classification are not aligned with the green
transport principles, and it has caused more concerns in the fields of urban planning and transport planning. Under the
background of New-type Urbanization Plan of China issued in 2014, the paradigm shift to people-oriented green
transport planning is highlighted to deliver the goals of efficient, inclusive and sustainable development. Urban road
system is considered to be an essential part of this transformation, for it determines the rights of way of all kinds of
surface modes and the space quality for numerous road users.
Since the lock-in effects of road classification system for the overall layout of transport network and urban areas,
it is of great significance to reclassify urban roads to coordinate multi-modal traffic as well as to facilitate street
activities, which will help to improve road conditions for green modes and accordingly, enhance street vitality.

1.2. Purpose

This paper aims to find a reclassification approach which could balance the different requirements of mobility,
street activity and green transport priority, and provide a more integrated framework for urban road planning and
design, not only for Chinese cities but also other similar cities worldwide. From a global perspective, the car ownership
per capita of Chinese cities is relatively low even though the tremendous increase in the number of cars, and other
modes except for car still hold the largest share of total travel demands. In this regard, the coordinated multi-modal
surface transport is promising to be realized in Chinese cities with the advance of modified road classification system,
so as to promote green transport and to create harmonious street space.
This paper firstly reviews the provisions of urban road classification in the current "Code TPUR" of China, and
points out the defects of the classifying principles based on car-oriented mobility, which overlooked the characteristics
of different traffic flows and the place function of urban roads. Based on the comparisons of the latest international
practices of urban road reclassification under the background of green transport and street revival, it further clarifies
three relationships in the road reclassification system, including mobility and place, multi-modes and priority, as well
as standardization and flexibility; then proposes a three-dimensional road classification system integrating "hierarchy
of mobility, types of street activity and travel mode priority" refereed to “HAM system”. This paper suggests how the
system may be adapted to meet today’s people-oriented planning agenda in China, with more balanced, comprehensive
and flexible approach for road classification accommodating multi-modes of green transport and a variety of street
activities.

2. Defects of current road classification system in China

2.1. “Blind area” in urban road network

There are specific differences between countries in the definition of various types of urban roads. According to
the definition in Code TPUR, local roads connect collector roads and those roads with lowest mobility in residential,
commercial and industrial areas. Such facilities provide traffic circulation within these areas, carry local bus routes
with design speed of 30km/h; but ideally should not penetrate identifiable residential neighborhoods. Thus, the scope
of local roads in China is relatively small, and lots of narrow streets and alleys with lower standards but suitable for
walking and cycling are ruled out of local road category, which hinders the functions of local roads for providing
microcirculation services and slow-pace street life experiences.
Though the role of local roads in the network is emphasized in “Code TPUR”, the construction focus on the trunk
roads, subject to the surging demand of motorized traffic since the 1990s. During that period, China’s economic was
booming and road supply was seriously lagging behind; so the arterial road system was established soon in many
cities to repay the “debt”. After 2000, “Smooth Traffic Project” was initiated by the MOPS and the former MOC in
order to improve road traffic management. The project implemented in many cities aimed to solve the prominent
630 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638
4 Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

problems of traffic jams and accidents and to increase the travel speed of motor vehicles, with great efforts on traffic
improvement of arterial roads.
For the regulations of local road planning, there are no detailed provisions for its layout but total network density
requirements for a large zone, resulting in failures to achieve the target in individual plot developments and insufficient
total supply of local roads (Liu, 2009). In practice, with limited financial resources of road construction by local
governments, super-block-patterned land development about 30-50hm2 were common in recent times, where local
roads were substituted/downgraded to access roads in gated communities or even canceled, to reduce the size of urban
road construction and the amount of investment. In this case, many roads serving circulation in local areas cannot be
effectively controlled and managed as urban local roads, causing “blind areas” and fragmentation of local road
network.

2.2. Motorized traffic dominated criteria

Urban road function classification in Code TPUR is established on the mobility criteria basically concerning with
movement and access function of motorized vehicles, which govern how different kinds of traffic flows relate to each
other to attain efficiency and safety of the road system as a whole. Although non-motorized vehicles, pedestrians and
buses were attached great importance in this Code, their networks were relied on the motorized one with little
consideration on their own classification structure/organization principles. In the era of Code TPUR preparation,
bicycle trips were accounted for a very high proportion in many big cities, and bicycle was regarded as an obstacle
for public transport. Therefore, the general provision of “giving priorities to public transport in large and medium-
sized cities, to replace long-distance bicycle trips gradually” was clearly put forward. It can be seen that, emphasis on
its suitability of short-distance travel instead resulted in the neglect of functional differences of bicycle and other travel
modes, also to prioritize the use of road space between these competing modes.
As to public transport, the actual bus network layout is difficult to conform the requirements of road planning
proposed in Code TPUR. According to the provisions in the chapter of Urban Road System, “main entrances of public
buildings should not be permitted on arterial roads” to ensure the through movement function, implicating that arterials
do not serve as transit corridors; correspondingly, “bus lines and stops can be arranged on collector roads” to carry
large number of passengers there. However, in reality, lot of development activities have been concentrated along
arterial roads, and bus lines are still converging to these main roads. There is no basis for the right-of-way for buses
due to the missing provisions of bus priority on urban roads under this classification system. Likewise, it occurs
frequently that the spaces for bicycles and pedestrians are squeezed so as to increase the space for motorized traffic.
Since the current road classification system was built on the single-dimensional standard of car-oriented
hierarchical order (Ye, 2010), it makes car traffic to be incompatible with other modes, and unable to adapt to the
balanced development of multi-modal transport.

2.3. Weakened place function of roads

Urban roads are not only channels for traffic flows, but also places for various activities which could reflect the
features of landscape, culture and social interaction of a city. The place function inherent in urban roads is recognized
in “Code TPUR”, but for a particular category of roads, emphasis on some certain place functions should be considered
(Xu, 1995). “This has meant in practice that a diversity of actual streets has had to be shoehorned into a narrow range
of categories apparently dominated by traffic function” (Marshall, 2005).
The four-tier hierarchical road classification being executed conceals the richness of place characteristics and
makes it difficult to deliberate the differentiated/distinct street activities and ways of space use in road planning and
design. The planning and management of road system is mostly concerned with traffic function, including the control
of number of lanes, the dimension of turning radius, site access for motor vehicles and so on. On the contrary, the
space and facilities are lack of effective control with inadequate management, such as pedestrian realm, furnishings
zone, planting zone which relates to frontage activities, streetscapes, on-road parking and pedestrian crossing, and
impose effects on place function of urban roads directly.
In the absence of “place” thinking, the fundamental task of road design was simplified to meet the requirements of
design speed, capacity and other related specifications, then “less attention was paid to ambient environment and
 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638 631
Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

spatial patterns” (Li, 2001). With guidance of this kind of classification system, it can easily obliterate the distinct
characteristics of urban roads, weakening or even damaging street amenity, environment quality and cultural
atmosphere of the areas along the routes. To preserve the unique character of neighborhoods/ compromise local
distinctiveness

2.4. Necessity of urban road reclassification system

From the above, car-oriented road classification system which separated the functions of “traffic and place” as well
as “movement and access”, had led to the fragmentation of non-motorized network and degradation of place function.
Today, the integrated development of road multiple functions is being recognized, and the ideology of urban road
classification has begun to change. based on vehicular access and mobility needs.
On one hand, the “place” dimension could correct the rigid tendency of road planning and design. Only with a
comprehensive consideration of cross-scale mobility, environmental capacity and community values, can it fully
respond to the aspirations of the neighboring areas. One the other hand, the function of movement and access presents
a greater/wide range of compatibility within multi-modal transport system. Many cases combining the functions of
commercial street and traffic thoroughfare (taking Champs-Elysees Avenue for a typical example) show that the
features of efficiency of car traffic, accessibility of transit and high priority for walking may be contained in one road
simultaneously. It is more urgent to provide a guidance for individualized road space with a variety of purposes, but
current technical framework of road classification system as well as related planning policies and regulations could
not adapt to the changing tendency.
If the car-oriented road classification continued to be used in the future, it would hinder the construction of multi-
modal network even the development of green transport system. With pro-green planning policies under the national
strategy of New-type Urbanization, it is a good chance to promote the restructure of road classification system with
equal emphasis on both traffic and space function, together with balanced jurisdictions of multi-modal mobility, to
create well-tailored road system containing diverse street activities and more inclusive/pluralistic hierarchical order.

3. Practices of Road Classification Revision

Many cities across the world have gone beyond the conventional road classification system; where the
classifications have been revised or updated to cater for their own characteristics and visions. Roads are defined into
broader “typologies” that not only respond to the context of vehicular network, but also to other networks (such as
transit and bicycle), land uses and environment factors (NYC DOT, 2009).

3.1. The United States

More states and cities in the United States advocate the idea of “Complete Streets”, which was proposed by David
Goldberg and adopted by “Complete Street Coalition” in US; and they emphasize a more balanced consideration of
several objectives of transport, community and environment in roads design. New York City committed to build
world-class streets; and five typologies of streets were generalized to this end, including “general street, boulevard,
slow street, transit street and pedestrian-only street” (NYC DOT, 2009). With this effort, the design of a road can be
considered in a comprehensive way. In Charlotte, the streets were divided into five categories as “main street, local
street, avenue, boulevard and parkway”, considering the right combination of land uses and streets to facilitate planned
growth (Charlotte City Council, 2007). The classification falls along the continuum from the most “people-oriented”
of main street to the most “auto-oriented” of parkway emphasizing different mixes of travel modes, to provide more
choices and safer environment for road users. While in Redwood City of California, streets are organized on the basis
of local context and different priority of various travel modes; in order to better serve multi-modal travel activities,
some new street types such as “transit street and bicycle boulevard” were proposed (Redwood City Council, 2010) to
form the “network of complete streets”.

Tab. 1 Road classification in New York City

632 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638
6 Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

Road
City description
classification
Serve both local and through traffic; emphasize the movement and access of motor vehicles, and may also
include dedicated facilities for buses and/or bicyclists; vehicles and pedestrians are typically separated. Allow
General Street
for streets of varying designs and operation characteristics through certain design parameters with great
flexibility.
Usually act as grand promenades between important destinations with wide multiple roadways to emphasize
Boulevard
greening and visual quality; inner roadways are intended for through traffic and the outer for local traffic.
New
Use extensive traffic-calming measures to reduce vehicle speeds, discourage vehicular through-traffic; green
York Slow Street
and beautify the streetscape, creating a comfortable environment for bicycling and walking.
City
Exclusive, nearly-exclusive surface transit (bus) use or where transit operations are given priority. Emphasize
Transit Street urban design and transit-supportiveness such as well-designed bus queuing areas with attractive landscaping,
outdoor furniture and materials.
Streets exclusively for pedestrian only with full-time restriction of vehicle access. The design can be as simple
Pedestrian-
as general street without vehicle access or be more intensively designed with attractive streetscape and plaza
only Street
treatment.
Source：Street Design Manual, NYC DOT, 2009

Tab. 2 Road classification in Charlotte

Road
City description
classification
Provide access to and function as centers of civic, social, and commercial activity with the highest level of
Main Street comfort, security and access for pedestrians. Developed along main street is mixed-use dense and focused
towards the pedestrian realm.
Provide access to residential, industrial, commercial as well as mixed-used areas with low speed and
Local Street
traffic volume. Provide a comfortable and safe environment for pedestrians and cyclists.
Serve a diverse set of functions in a wide variety of land use contexts, providing a balance of service for
Charlotte
Avenue all modes of transport. Provide for high-quality pedestrian access, high level of transit accessibility, and
bicycle accommodations such as bike lanes and may also carry significant automobile traffic.
Move larger number of vehicles from one part of a city to another; The priority for vehicular movement is
Boulevard
higher than that of avenues, but still provide walking and cycling facilities.
Move motor vehicle traffic efficiently from one part of the metropolitan area to another and provide
Parkway
access to major destinations.
Source： Urban Street Design Guideline, Charlotte City Council, 2007

3.2. The United Kingdom

“Manual for streets” was published in 2007 in UK, it aimed to assist in creating high-quality streets with focus on
the balance between place and movement function instead of assuming ‘place’ to be automatically subservient to
‘movement’. According to the two-dimensional hierarchy, the relative importance in terms of place and movement
could be defined for particular streets or roads, and the subsequent design choices are informed. For instance, the
function status of “motorway is high movement, low place; high street is medium movement, medium to high place,
while residential street is low-to-medium movement and low-to-medium place” (UK DOT, 2007).
In London, high-quality streetscape is addressed with respect to local surroundings and diversity of activities of the
streets, the variation of land use across the capital should be taken into account when designing the streetscape. To
help illustrate these variations and how design could respond appropriately, five types of streetscape character areas
were identified in “Streetscape Guidance”, including “urban civic, retail and commercial; urban residential; suburban
commercial and industrial; suburban residential; suburban and rural fringe”, as well as some special areas such as
“transport interchanges, town centre high streets and heritage areas and features, nature conservation sites, open
common and parkland” (TfL, 2009).
Technical guidance for the varying streetscape is also provided and each element of streetscape is considered in
more detail to improve the streetscape quality. And particular attention is paid to cyclists, pedestrians and people with
 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638 633
Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 7

visual or mobility impairments. For example, the streets within the urban civic areas where are dominated by
substantial government and commercial office buildings, there usually experience high volumes of pedestrians around
transport interchanges and public attractions, hence the street environment should be enhanced not only to cater of
pedestrian movement, but create places that people can use for relaxation and enjoyment (TfL, 2009).

3.3. The United Arab Emirates

In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Urban Street Design Manual acts as a tool for the transition of the city from a
vehicle based society to a multi-modal society. Drawing from current best practices in other countries, the Manual is
a significant departure from previous practices in the Emirate (AD UPC, 2010). It adopts a matrix-based fundamental
approach to balance the two influencing factors of street design, namely land use context and transport capacity.
The street typology of Abu Dhabi is also defined with the matrix of two name conventions. Context names are
defined by considering the land use and density of development along a street, and summarized six categories as “city,
town, commercial, residential, industrial and no active frontage”. Street family names are “boulevard, avenue, street
and access lane” according to the consideration on transport capacity and priority of different travel modes (AD UPC,
2010). The matrix classification system is very flexible with 24 potential combinations of standard street types, which
provide a relatively simple way to classify street types encountered in most urban scenarios.
In line with the goal of sustainability of the Emirate, the user priority order in street design has also changed with
pedestrian at the top, followed by transit, bicycle and motor vehicle. “Starting with pedestrians”, the concept of
pedestrian realm is introduced as an integral part of the overall street composition (AD UPC, 2010). In addition, a set
of standards for street design elements and typical cross sections are provided in the Manual, in order to deliver an
effective, multi-modal transport system that contribute to the quality of life and sustainability of the Emirate of Abu
Dhabi.

3.4. China

Some cities in China have begun to make improvement of road classification in order to give specific guidance to
current urban road planning and design, for the “Code TPUR” issued 20 years ago is no longer applicable in many
respects. In 2012, “Specification for Design of Urban Road Engineering” was released in Shanghai. It adopted the
two-dimensional road typology principle of “hierarchy in mobility capacity with function in context character” (Chen,
2004). Urban roads are still divided into four types in terms of “hierarchy”, including expressway, arterial road, sub-
arterial road and branch road in accordance with “Code TPUR”; while in terms of “function” which is defined by the
dominate land uses, roads can be summarized as eight categories such as “central business district, urban area, rural
area, independent development zone, scenic area, cultural heritage area, commercial area and transit corridor” (SH
URCTC, 2012). This two-dimensional road classification not only keeps consistent with the “Code TPUR”, but also
refines road function types and the arrangement of design elements in typical cross sections. It is conducive to ensuring
the multiple roles of roads with responding to both local conditions and travel demands in road planning and design.

Tab. 3 Road classification and typical cross sections in Shanghai

Types Expressway(A) Arterial(B) Sub-Arterial(C) Branch(D)
2 or 3 roadways for higher
Central Business Separate section of main roadway 1 roadway for special
volumes; single roadway for 1 roadway(Dz)
District(z) and side roadway(Az) uses(Bz1)
lower volumes(Cz)
Separate section of main roadway 4 or 3 roadways 2 or 3 roadways for higher 1 roadway(Dz)
Central Business and side roadway(Az)
2 roadways applicable for volumes; single roadway for
District(z)
lower NMV volumes (Bz2) lower volumes(Cz)

Separate section of main roadway 4 or 3 roadways 2 or 3 roadways for higher 1 roadway(Dz)

Urban Area(c) and side roadway(Ac) 2 roadways applicable for volumes; single roadway for
lower NMV volumes (Bc) lower volumes(Cc)
Integral section (4 or 2 roadways) 2 roadways with shared space 1 roadway(Dz)
Rural Area(j) 2 or 3 roadways(Bj)
(Aj) for pedestrian and NMV(Cj1)
634
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nameLiu et al. / Transportation
/ Transportation ResearchResearch Procedia
Procedia 25 000–000
00 (2017) (2017) 627–638

Separate section for riverside 1 roadway(Dz)

Integral section (4 or 2 roadways)
Rural Area(j) 2 or 3 roadways(Bj) road to isolate through
(Aj)
traffic(Cj2)
Independent 1 roadway with shared
2 roadways with shared space
Development 2 roadways(Bk) space for pedestrian
for pedestrian and NMV(Ck)
Zone(k) and NMV(Dk)
2 or 1 roadway with shared
Integral section (4 or 2 roadways)
Scenic Area(g) 4 or 2 roadways(Bg) space for pedestrian and 2 or 1 roadway(Dg)
(Ag)
NMV(Cg)
Not limited to a certain cross Not limited to a certain cross
Cultural Heritage Integral section(4 roadways) or
section subject to control section subject to control 1 roadway(Dz)
Area(w) separate section(tunnel) (Aw)
requirements(Bw) requirements(Cw)
Commercial
1 or 3 roadways(Bs) 1 or 2 roadways(Cs) 1 roadway(Dz)
Area(s)
Integral section(4 roadways) or
Bus-only lane recommended; 2
separate section(elevated) where Bus-only lane recommended;
Transit corridor(t) or 4 roadways with reserved 1 roadway(Dz)
bus lines gather or rail lines are 2 or 3 roadways(Ct)
BRT or rail right-of-way(Bt)
combined with road(At)
Source: Specification for Design of Urban Road Engineering, SH URCTC, 2012

4. Discussions on the Urban Road Reclassification System

4.1. Restructuring the basic relationship in the urban road classification system

Urban road classification system is the combined effect of existing policy, legal and technical framework (UK
DOT, 2007), and imposes a significant impact on urban spatial structure, socio-economic activities as well as living
environment. Concerning the prevalent philosophy of “people-oriented, low-carbon development”, the old
classification system rooted in auto society has held back the transformation towards sustainable growth; and to
reconstruct the system, three kinds of relationship as follows embodied in road network need to be revisited and fixed.

• Relationship between mobility and place

Road is not only a channel carrying a variety of traffic flows, but an organic part of the built environment. Any
particular street will tend to have “multiple personalities”, that is, have a variety of characteristics that are present
simultaneously (ICE, 1996). The character of frontage activities and traffic flows reflect the two different sides of
road function, which cannot substitute for each other. This means the place function should not be compromised in
the narrow classification of mobility function. On the contrary, with more consideration on surrounding land uses and
environment factors, it is critical to classify urban roads from the perspective of place function, in order to restore and
enhance the sense of place through better road design. The matrix-based approach of classification is beneficial to the
balance and mutually reinforcement of the two functions, which has been applied in Charlotte, London, Abu Dhabi
and Shanghai.

• Relationship between multi-modes and multi-priorities

For a multi-modal road system, not only the needs of all road users should be considered comprehensively, but the
differences between various traffic flows should be fully understood. Despite the increasing attention to walking and
cycling for a whole city, the complexity of linkages determines the priority order in each road is not identical.
According to a land use context, the network of pedestrian, bicycles, buses and cars could be identified with both
mobility and place function considerations, which provides a basis for multi-modal priority order arrangement for all
roads. By the multi-prioritised mobility criteria with respect to multi-modes, the coordinated development of entire
road network can be expected. Correspondingly, the evaluation standards for road mobility function should be
changed, with more attention to transport capacity instead of vehicular capacity; to the service level for pedestrians,
non-motorized vehicles and buses instead of cars; and to the external effects of road system instead of mobility itself,
to create better roads catering for more green trips in their priority order (Fig.1).
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Fig.1 Transforming philosophy of road classification system

• Relationship between standardization and flexibility

Road classification is not a precise science(FHWA, 1997). The boundaries among various road categories are
relative obscure for the overlapping areas presented in mobility function (Fig.2). Furthermore, along with the changes
of road network, the movement and access function for a certain road does not always keep the same. Thus, the
hierarchy of a road represents a flexible range, and the classification standards cannot be applied mechanically in road
planning and design. Special factors in surrounding areas should rather be considered carefully, so as to make the
project meet the goals of local community development. For instance, in an area with high density network, the
mobility function of roads tends to be homogeneous, it may be appropriate to simplify the hierarchical structure of the
network; and in a newly developed area where traffic demand is still changing, it is applicable to adapted to this
variation by adjusting the right-of-way of the lanes instead of the road hierarchy.

Fig.2 Overlapping of road function classification (Source: FHWA, 1997)

4.2. Approach of three-dimensional road reclassification system

The current road classification system can be seen as the one of origins of car-oriented, dysfunctional problems.
To solve these problems, a three-dimensional HAM system is proposed in the view of integrity of “mobility hierarchy,
street activity and multi-modes” for a road (Fig.3). The three dimensions are namely “hierarchy” according to mobility
function, “activity” according to land use context, and “mode” according to multi-modes with priority order”
636 Bing Liu et al. / Transportation Research Procedia 25 (2017) 627–638
10 Author name / Transportation Research Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000

respectively. They are complementary and organically connected to each other, providing a more comprehensive
technical framework to guide and regulate road planning and design, to promote the priority of green transport and
street vitality.

Fig.3 three-dimensional HAM(Hierarchy/Frontage Activity/Mode) road classification system

• Dimension of mobility hierarchy

Taking into account the vastly different conditions across China, relatively broad classification in the “Code TPUR”
is logical and “giving some flexibility for actual use” (Xu, 1995). Four hierarchies in “Code TPUR” can be subdivided
for large cities or simplified for small and medium-sized cities in practice. By further development of road planning
and design standards of city-level, a certain degree of flexibility can be achieved under the premise of maintaining
coherence of the “Code”. In particular, public alleys and passages suitable for cycling and walking should be included
into urban roads to strengthen the “micro-circulation” network.

• Dimension of street activity

Subject to street activities’ impacts on the demands of road use, the conversion of movement and access function
for a certain hierarchy does not correspond to a curve, but to a “leaf” area (Fig.4), for there are some difference in
terms of movement and access function between roads with same hierarchy but different frontage activities. Generally,
the stronger of the commercial function is, the higher of its “access” demands are; and vice versa. Thus, proper road
classification according to frontage activities will conduce to well-tailored road design and better organization of
movement and access traffic. In this case, the efforts of place creation can be integrated into the engineering schemes
so as to balance traffic improvement and activity requirements of the road.

Fig.4 Differences of movement and access function conversion according to frontage activities
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With land use character of surrounding areas, four basic types of roads are proposed, including commercial/civic,
residential, scenic and general. Activity-dimensional types can be extended judging by location, community policy
and other factors, to fit specific conditions of different areas or cities.

Tab. 4 Basic types of activity-dimensional classification

Types Context Characteristics
Dominated by business and civic buildings, with high pedestrian volumes. Mostly located in commercial
Commercial/Civic
centers of various levels.
Mainly residential areas mixed with office buildings, cultural and educational facilities, with high level of
Residential
pedestrian and non-motorized traffic.
Scenic Streets have beautiful landscape and special values of nature, leisure, culture, history and others.
A variety of land use types along streets with scatted large public facilities, also with lower level of
General
pedestrian activities.

• Dimension of travel mode

To establish a road network suitable for multi-modal transport, car and other modes must be considered equal to
each other. Although the spatial range of travel activities is different, each mode has demands of movement and access.
On the basis of their own hierarchical networks as well as the overlying all-modes network, priority order could be
defined for each road, providing evidence for right-of-way arrangement. Thus, a road system to match the multi-modal
transport organization could be established, to implement the priority of pedestrian, transit and non-motorized traffic.
The travel range of NMVs is close to the service area of collector roads; by virtue of good connectivity, collectors
are act as “arterial” road for NMVs with higher priority. Usually, the priority of NMVs is gradually reduced from
collector, local, arterial to expressway for “general” type of roads (Fig. 5). As to buses with further travel distance,
arterial roads can be considered as “arterial” for them if giving higher priority; and the priority level reduces from
commercial, residential to general due to different frontage activities (Fig. 6). Exclusive roads have the highest priority
for a particular mode, equivalent to expressway in conventional classification system for autos.

Fig. 5 Priority of non-motorized vehicles in classification Fig. 6 Priority of transit in classification system
system

According to the three-dimensional classification system, each road can be defined as an integrated category
considering its status of “hierarchy, frontage activity, and mode priority”. There will be rich typology with three
dimensional combinations, for example, “arterial-scenic-bus priority” road, “local-scenic-NMV& pedestrian priority”
road, “arterial-commercial-bus priority” road and “local-residential- NMV& pedestrian priority” road, etc. In the
process of road planning and design, the activity character and hierarchical network layout of each mode should be
clear first, then the priority order of multi-modes is informed; finally, the three-dimensional category of road will be
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identified. This approach of road reclassification is explicit to guide the detailed road design with better coordination
of multi-modal traffic organization, to achieve the mutual benefit of mobility and place function.

5. Conclusion

In the period of urban growth transformation, transport development has shifted from car-oriented to people-
oriented paradigm. It is urgent to timely revising and updating urban road classification system, which has been
performed for 20 years in China. This paper aims to find a reclassification approach which could balance the different
requirements of mobility, street activity and green transport priority, and provide a better basis for urban road planning
and design.
In the paper, the relationship between mobility and place, multi-modes and priority order, standardization and
flexibility concerning road classification is reviewed; and the three-dimensional reclassification system referred as
HAM is proposed, integrating “mobility hierarchy, street activity, mode priority” as a whole.
The reclassification system pays attention to the coordination of multi-modal transport, the priority of green
transport and the creation of street place, which can effectively avoid the defects of car-dominated classification
system. It is a feasible approach to improve road planning and design, which based on the hierarchy dimension of
current “Code TPURS”, with more respect to surrounding context and “people-oriented” requirements. The HAM
system provides a more balanced and flexible framework that many factors in road planning and design, such as street
activities, context character, environment requirements and travel patterns could be considered comprehensively. It
will help to give clear guidance on how to achieve well-designed roads and spaces to provide safe, convenient and
comfortable conditions for road users of multi-modes and for a variety of street activities.

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