Gta 303 Road Classification

Global Transport Atlas
GTA-303 Road Classification - some current examples
Series 3- Discussion Papers
This document looks at road classification and road hierarchy in these countries: Australia, England, India, Iraq, Montenegro, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Tanzania.
1. Introduction
Road classification is an approach which takes one or more features of a road, sorts them into a small number of groups or classes, and then assigns the roads in a network to one or more of these groups. For example the feature road surface could be sorted into the classes asphalt surface, gravel surface, unsurfaced. There are very many ways in which a road can be classed. One of them is in terms of road hierarchy (or more specifically, functional road hierarchy). Road classification and road hierarchy are essential steps in making sure that roads are designed and used properly. We should first look to see how countries deal with these before looking at road design standards and geometrics in detail. This document looks at road classification and road hierarchy in ten countries. It concludes with some comments on the current situation. April 2013 Page 1
Author: Robert Bartlett
GTA-303
GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples
Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers
2. Table of Contents
Cover page 1 2 3 Introduction Table of contents Existing situation: Ten Countries 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 4 Back page Australia England India Iraq Montenegro Nepal New Zealand Poland Portugal Tanzania
3. Existing situation: 10 Countries

I was interested in comparing highway design standards in different countries, but realised that road classification was an important approach first step in design. It seemed likely that most countries would use a similar road classification. However I decided to pick 10 countries at random and see how each deals with the topic. The results were posted in a tech blog during the first part of 2013, at: http://comparativegeometrics.wordpress.com/
The following country notes are compiled from the tech blog; only a few minor changes have been made to them.
Comment
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.1 Background

Australia has a population of over 22 million people, with five cities which have a population of over 1 million. The country is divided into six states and two major territories (which are similar to states). There are around 815,000 km of roads, of which about 80% are rural. We can look at road hierarchy in terms of the strategic road network, then at examples of classification at national, state and city level.
For related weblinks on Australia see here For the original tech blog post,(21.02.2013) see here
Road classification in Australia

which detailed a performance-based method of classifying roads for heavy vehicles. The classification is related to access for vehicles of larger and larger size: Level 1 access passenger cars to single articulated Level 2 access Level 3 access Level 4 access triple road train (type II) note: this vehicle type has a length of 53.4m
State road classifications

In 2008 the State of South Australia (population 1.6 million) produced guidelines on road classification (ref. 243) which would be based purely on whether the road is arterial or local. that is, the . intended focus is to determine if a road is the responsibility of state or local government. Any subsequent hierarchy (such as the functional classes or other categorisation) would be up to each road authority (eg council) to apply to their roads, to the extent they consider appropriate. The reference gives the following structure (next page) :
Strategic road network

This phrase could be used to refer to the road links in the National Land Transport Network. This is a single integrated network of land transport linkages of strategic national importance, which is funded by Federal, State and Territory Governments. The National Network is based on national and inter-regional transport corridors including connections through urban areas, links to ports and airports, rail, road and intermodal connections that together are of critical importance to national and regional economic growth development and connectivity (see link).
National road classifications

In 1989, Australias National Association of NAASRA (Austroads) classification 1989, 2001 Australian State Road Authorities Rural areas Urban areas (NAASRA now known as Austroads) arterial roads arterial roads introduced a road classification system. It - class 1 - class 6 had nine classes (see link). Rather than having a descriptive name such as main - class 2 - class 7 arterial the different classes were simply - class 3 numbered (see following table).
local roads - class 4 - class 5 local roads - class 8 - class 9
An ARRB research report published in 2001 (ref. 355) introduced a further set of sub-classes for low-volume rural roads, and suggested appropriate geometric design standards for each sub-class. In 2007 Australias National Transport Commission produced a report (ref. 335) gta-303
5A primary 5B secondary 5C minor 5D access 5E tracks
(own table) April 2013 Page 3

Rural roads Rural arterial road Rural local road Urban roads Urban arterial road Urban local road
City road classifications

Brisbane is the third largest city in Australia. Its metropolitan area covers a population of 2.15 million (wikipedia) which is about a tenth of the total population of the country. Brisbane currently (February 2013) has an online version of a draft new City Plan (link) . The plan is interesting for example because it clearly refers to networks, and to networks for different types of road traffic; and also because it is very detailed. The online documentation includes network plans (see example in fig. 1) and even typical design details and crosssections for various types of street element these alone are worth a visit. Chapter 2 of the eplan discusses movement networks, and specifically for: Road hierarchy Freight hierarchy Bicycle network Streetscape hierarchy A number of design parameters are specified for the various levels of the each hierarchy. For roads these include speed (posted speed limit), a minimum design vehicle and streetscape.
The State says it has started to use role and function maps in determining the hierarchy of its arterial roads. These maps appear to be network plans for different types of traffic and purpose, and include commuter routes, regional bus routes and cycle routes.
In the State of Western Australia (population 2.4 million), road classification (ref. 354) is: Highways Ordinary Ramps Rotaries (roundabouts) Main roads Secondary roads Unclassified roads
Western Australia identifies ramps and larger roundabouts as individual highways. For each classification, the document includes tables of values for features such as lane width. For example, for a kerb-side lane on a two-way undivided town road with a speed limit of 60 to 70 km/hr the minimum lane width is 3.2m (for class 1 access) and 3.6m (for class 4 access).
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include localised or regional significance which reduces the overall effectiveness of the hierarchy in a Statewide or national sense.
Comment
Fig.1 : Excerpt from part of Brisbanes draft bicycle network Some interesting points from a review of material on road hierarchy and classification in Australia: The country has several different road hierarchies. Few refer to all levels of the road system A number of documents sensibly refer to road networks for different users. Indeed, every road hierarchy should begin with a definition of a road network or even better, first with a definition of road users (each of which will then have a road network defined for it). There is sometimes an inconsistent use of terminology. The references relate very many parameters to road classification. In other words, once someone has selected a classification (or road hierarchy) for a road he has set many of the design features of the road. For example, George Gummarra in (ref. 355) relates his recommended classes for low volume roads to geometric design guidelines, and points out that design speed is one of the most important features in arriving at these. We can apply this generally to a road hierarchy / classification to suggest that: For a road classification for motorised transport there are fewer than 16 possible categories. These are strongly related to design speed so that once a category in a road hierarchy has been selected, parameters such as design speed, highway geometry, streetscape, cross-section and even place have also been selected.
A national road classification for Australia?

Australia does not yet appear to have a national road hierarchy or classification. Writing in 2012, Lauchlan McIntosh (ref. 360) quotes Wegman (ref. 361) and adds some comments of his own: Wegman suggests a Functional Road Classification and Hierarchy for South Australia which endorses a framework for establishing credible speed limits (.). Any such program should be national, just as vehicle safety assessment, education and enforcement. These programs should not be constrained by state borders. In another example, in 2006 the ICSM roads working group produced a report on assessing the feasibility of a national road classification (ref. 334). The document gives an explanation of the difference between a functional road hierarchy, an administrative road hierarchy and a structural road hierarchy (the latter is determined by highway geometrics). Its recommendations included for a cooperative approach between all levels of government (to agree) to implement a mutually acceptable national road classification system. And: The development of a road hierarchy must be scaleless, such that the same classification system applies irrespective of the scale at which the classification is being interrogated . Too often road hierarchies are modified to gta-303
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples Acknowledgements

Thanks to Harry Audus of Brisbane City Council for pointing out the Brisbane city website.
References
243 Government of South Australia and LGA of South Australia, Road classification guidelines in South Australia (2008) 334 ICSM, Assessing the feasibility of a national road classification (2006) 335 NTC, Performance-based standards scheme, network classification guidelines (2007) 354 State of Western Australia, Road Classification in Western Australia (current download) 355 ARRB, AR354 Road classifications, geometric designs and maintenance standards for low volume roads (2001) 360 Lauchlan McIntosh, Road safety management in Australia (from Roads Australia, published November 2012) 361 Professor Fred Wegman, Driving down the road toll by building a safe system (Government of South Australia 2012)
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.2 Road classification in England
The idea behind the (international European Road Network), more commonly known as Euroroutes or E-Roads, was to provide a network of international strategic routes across Europe, which would be promoted for Trans-European journeys particularly those made for business or freight purposes. And that Euroroutes are not signposted at all in the UK; the reason for this is believed to be principally due to the lack of cross-border routes and the small number of E-roads present.
For related weblinks on England see here For the original tech blog post,(17.02.2013) see here
Strategic Road Network (SRN)
Background
The classification of Britains roads dates back to the 1920s. Today England has several different road classifications. What is more, the responsibility for classifying most of the roads has been decentralised. As the UK Department for Transport (DfT) said in a 2012 publication (ref. 304), From April 2012, central government will be handing over greater responsibility to local highway authorities for the management of the roads classification system. Under the new approach, local authorities will manage all local classification and PRN decisions. And as the examples below show, it seems that the local authorities have different ideas on how to classify roads. We can begin by saying that there are nationally important road networks and road networks defined by local authorities.
The UK Department for Transport (ref. 304) says that the Strategic Road Network consists of 1. nationally significant roads used for the distribution of goods and services, and 2. a network for the travelling public, and 3. trunk roads. (own numbering) Reason (1) is ok, reason (2) seems vague and reason (3) is not a reason but an alternative term (the DfT document also says that any road on the SRN is known as a trunk road).
Primary Road Network (PRN) The DfT says these are roads used for transport on a regional or county level, or for feeding in to the SRN for longer journeys
Nationally important road networks

There are three types or networks: The Euroroute network The Strategic road network The Primary road network Euroroutes
National road classification The DfT document (ref. 304) has notes on terminology of the official road types. From these the following classification appears: 1. Class A roads highest class of classified road 2. Class B roads second tier in the classified road system 3. Classified un-numbered roads 4. Unclassified roads (again, own numbering)
The roads uk website (link) says:
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All the roads in classes (2 to 4) above are secondary roads. The terms Class C road and Class D road are no longer to be displayed. This gives the following general classification for roads in England: 2 secondary walking 3 link footways 4 local access
Table 1: England, general road classification

SRN Motorways A class PRN Motorways A class Secondary roads B class Classified, un-numbered roads Unclassified roads
Londons Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea has a document which describes its Transport and streetscape policies (ref. 307) which can be downloaded from the Royal Boroughs website. The document refers to three different road classifications (page 14) :
Local authority classifications

The DfT (ref. 304) says that greater authority for classification was to be handed over to local authorities in 2012. However Lancashire County Council (for example) set out its strategy for a functional road hierarchy as long ago as 2002 (ref. 306), in a document which seems to be still current and which can be downloaded from the County Council website. The document has an interesting reference to a hierarchy of different users (ref. 306 page 5): Pedestrians including mobility impaired Emergency vehicles Cyclists Public transport, including community transport and taxis Delivery vehicles Cars However not all these user categories appear in the County Councils Road hierarchy. Hampshire County Council has a road network hierarchy for highway maintenance, briefly and clearly described here (link). This County Council web page says that these maintenance designations are not directly matched to the existing network classifications such as A B C class roads basically because they are used for a different purpose. Hampshire County Council too has an interesting reference, this time to a footway classification which it says is based on the LAA code of good practice. Hampshire CCs footway classification is: 1a prestige 1 primary walking gta-303
Roads which are part of the Transport for London Road Network ((TLRN) and those which are not A classification into A roads, B roads, C roads and unclassified Its own two-level hierarchy of major and minor roads. Each level has two sub-levels
Other classifications
Hampshire County Councils website refers to these national road classifications: New roads and streetworks act reinstatement classification Highway maintenance network hierarchy based on LAA code of good practice Footway classification based on the LAA code of good practice The County Council also refers to a national classification which includes C class roads; from the DfT document (ref. 304) it seems this classification may no longer be valid.
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Table 2: England, some local authority classifications
Hampshire CC highway maintenance network hierarchy motorways strategic routes main distributors secondary distributors local roads / inter-connecting local access roads minor roads local distributor roads local roads K&C LB (2) borough road hierarchy major roads strategic roads London distributor roads Lancashire CC road hierarchy
1. long distance strategic route 2. strategic access route 3. other routes of regional significance 4. primary distributors 5. local distributors 6. access roads 7. shared access roads 8. quiet lanes 9. greenways, bridle ways 10. cycle routes 11. pedestrian streets 12. pedestrian routes (own numbering)
Comment
Each of the local authority documents referred to above has some interesting ideas. Lancashire County Councils user categories is at least an indirect appreciation that there are different networks for different users. Hampshire County Councils pedestrian route footway classification is an appreciation that different user networks have different levels / different classes of road (footway). The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea has a shallow road hierarchy, each with just two sublevels. What seems to be missing, at least from the documents referred to above, is that we should be looking at an areas roads in terms of The road system The road networks within a road system (pedestrian, car, HGV etc) Functional road classification within a road network Hampshire County Council sensibly explains that its maintenance designations are not directly matched to the existing network classifications because they are used for a different purpose. There is nothing essentially wrong with having many road hierarchies or classifications in a country, where each serves a different purpose although users would probably gta-303
need a spatial information system to see where the different hierarchies overlap on a particular link. However it is not so clear that different local authorities in the country should define different road hierarchies for the same purpose. Maybe Englands Local Government Association or the County Councils Network could have an open discussion on the topic.
References
304 Department for Transport, Guidance on Road Classification and Primary Route Network (January 2012) 306 Lancashire County Council, Functional road hierarchy strategy (October 2002, still currently downloadable from the Council website) 307 RB Kensington & Chelsea, Transport and streetscape policy (downloaded from the Borough website February 2012, date ?)
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.3 Road classification in India
The website of the national highways authority of India (NHAI) (link) gives the classes as 1. Expressways 2. National highways 3. State highways 4. Major district roads 5. Rural and other roads
Other road classes

For related weblinks on India see here For the original tech blog post,(05.02.2013) see here
Some of Indias roads can be classed as International Highways, as they are for example part of the developing Asian Highway Network (link) and of the planned Trilateral Highway which will link India with Myanmar and Thailand. Another road class might be border roads, which are roads that serve the border areas of India and which are the responsibility of the Border Roads Organisation (wiki link). Concerning rural road classes, in 2007 the government of India started the PMGSY scheme, a programme to provide all-weather road access to presently un-connected rural habitations. The scheme considers the minor rural roads as a core network which consists of through routes and link routes. According to the PMGSY programme guidelines (ref. 282) the programme defines a core network as that minimal network of roads (routes) that is essential to provide basic access to essential social and economic services to all eligible unconnected habitations in the selected areas through at least a single all-weather road connectivity. The document appears to define basic access (connectivity?) as (a place) being within 500m of a connected habitation or of an all-weather road. The document also refers to main rural links, which suggests there may also be a road class for minor rural links.
Background
In some ways it can be said that structured road networks have existed in India for almost 5,000 years. The Mohenjo-Daro urban settlement in the Indus valley (estimated population about 35,000) had a rectangular road grid and a system of major and lesser roads. More recently the Nagpur Plan of 1943 proposed four classes of roads (link) : National highways which would pass through states, and places having national importance for strategic, administrative and other purposes. State highways which would be the other main roads of a state. District roads which would take traffic from the main roads to the interior of the district. According to the importance, some are considered as major district roads and the remaining as other district roads. Village roads which would link the villages to the road system.
In 1990 and 1991 the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) (link) published two documents which described urban and rural road hierarchy (refs. India road classification based on IRC documents 93 and 293). The IRC documents relate road urban roads rural roads class and terrain to design speed, recommended non-urban roads roadway and carriageway widths expressways arterial other district roads
national highways state highways major district roads sub-arterials collector streets local streets village roads
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples Comment

Perhaps it is time for India to review its road classification, allowing for additional detail at urban and rural levels. One possible updated India road classification
non-urban roads international highways expressways national highways state highways major district roads urban roads arterials sub-arterials collector streets local streets rural roads border roads other district roads core roads - through routes - link routes village roads
References
93 Indian Roads Congress Geometric design standards for urban roads in plains (1991)
282 - Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana India rural road programme, programme guidelines (2012) 293 - Indian Roads Congress Geometric design standards for rural (non-urban) highways (2000)
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.4 Road classification in Iraq
Nam, Singapore and Indonesia. Priority Route A-2 (about 7,600 miles) runs from the Iraq border to Singapore, through Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand and Malaysia, continuing into Indonesia where, after a ferry crossing from Singapore to Djakarta, it will run the whole length of the island to Java. (from this UN link)
National road classification

The Iraq Highway design manual of 1982 (ref. 408) grouped roads into a three-level hierarchy of primary, secondary and tertiary highways. There is a secondary classification which has roads grouped into one of 4 classes (A, B, C, D). The allocation of a road to a classification determines factors such as its design speed, total width of highway and design capacity etc. Fig. 1: Iraq road classification 1982 (from ref. 408 page II-4)
For the original tech blog post,(13.03.2013) see here
Background
Iraq has a population of 31.1 million and an area of 438,317 sq.km (wikipedia). The countrys history goes back at least 6,000 years, and its area was home to the earliest known civilisation, the Sumerian. Road classification usually looks at national (or regional) road networks, and more local networks. However there is a higher level road class, formed of international roads such as the Asian Highway Network. Such networks are not necessarily new; examples from history include the Roman road network and the network of Inca trails.
International roads
In history, the Persian Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) in the 5th century BC. The course of the road began in Asia Minor, travelled east through what is now the middle northern section of Turkey, and passed through to the old Assyrian capital Nineveh (present-day Mosul, Iraq), then turned south to Babylon (near present-day Baghdad, Iraq). From near Babylon, it is believed to have split into two routes (.) (from this wiki link). Today, the Asian Highway , a project initiated in 1958 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), aims at modernizing and linking up existing roads into a 34,000 miles network of highways that would span Asia from Turkey and Iraq to the Republic of VietThe letter symbol (e.g.) A6/40 indicates: A = secondary classification 6 = 6 number of traffic lanes 40 = total width of highway
In 2003, a UN/World Bank working paper on Iraq joint needs assessment (ref. 390) said that: Iraqs roads are classified in the following five categories: (i) expressways, with controlled access, grade separated six-lane divided carriageways; (ii) primary roads, which are mostly fourlane divided carriageways connecting the Governorates with Baghdad;
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(iii) secondary roads linking towns with the Governorates; (iv) village roads, which provide villages and towns with access to the secondary network; and (v) military/border roads that accommodate the movements of troops and facilitate the protection of borders.
References suggest that in reality Iraq does not have a well-functioning road hierarchy at either a national or a local level. At the national level the Iraq national development plan 2010 2014 (2012, ref. 392) has a vision for road and bridge activities which hopes that: Iraq will have a road network with a balanced hierarchy that integrates with the other transportation systems while ensuring reduced travel time and cost, greater security, and reduced negative environmental impacts. For the local networks, an idea is given by the UNHabitat report on the state of Arab cities (ref. 404) which says (referring to Baghdad, page 49) that: After 2003, the establishment of militarycontrolled zones and bases including the International Zone, road-blocks and checkpoints - interrupted movement along arterial roads linking the different areas of Baghdad. As a security measure to control movements in and out of neighbourhoods experiencing sectarian violence, lengthy runs of T-wall and road blocks prevent access for vehicles from the secondary roads onto the main roads. All these barriers and diversions have created widespread congestion and made regular journeys longer in time and distance. These measures must surely have damaged the citys theoretical road classification and hierarchy.
Today (2013), Iraqs State Corporation for Roads and Bridges advise that the national road classification is:
class expressway arterial roads rural roads secondary roads border roads
length (km) 1,084 11,000 10,000 15,200 11,000
Local roads
In Hammurabis time (1900 BC) the city of Babylon had a regular, grid-pattern of wide, straight streets which were paved with bricks and bitumen (see link). Today, so far no information is available yet about road classification in for example Baghdad, the capital city (but see the Comment section below). However there is a detailed discussion on the (sub)classification of commercial streets in Baghdad city by Akram J. Al-Akkam (ref. 387, 2011). The paper looked at the classification of commercial streets into types and the exploration of the active parameters of this classification within Baghdad. The author looked at the three variables of scale, spatial dimension and compound parameters and, under the heading active parameters contributing to the classification of commercial streets identified a number of classifiers, including: Hierarchy of street Width of street Degree of modernity Geometry of the street Length of the street Proportion of space in the street
On a more fundamental level, Akram J. Al-Akkam makes the important argument that: it is apparent that there is no single optimal means of classifying street types. Examples of different themes for classification include: ownership and management, traffic function (volume, composition), role in network (location and connectivity), physical form dimensions, alignment, etc., physical form in relation to buildings, enclosure etc., urban function, and peoples activities on the street.
Comment
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Many will agree that road classification cannot be a one-dimensional concept (such as class = function). Eppell and others (ref. 249), and Stephen Marshall April 2013 Page 13

and his colleagues (ref. 388) might suggest that there are ways round this problem. But one other (often forgotten) problem with classification is that, once you set the classification of a road you set many of its physical characteristics, as the notes from the 1982 Iraq highway design manual show.
Acknowledgements
Thanks for information are given to Ali Khudayer of the Iraq University of Technology, and to staff of Iraqs State Corporation for Roads and Bridges.
References
249 Eppell and others, A four level road hierarchy for network planning and management (Australia 2001) 387 Akram J. Al-Akkam , The classification of commercial streets in Baghdad city (Emirates Journal for Engineering Research, 2011) 388 Stephen Marshall, Artists - A First Theoretical Approach to Classification of Arterial Streets, (England, 2002) 390 Iraq, UN/World Bank working paper on joint needs assessment, transport and telecommunications (2003) 392 Iraq, Ministry of Planning, Iraq national developmentplan20102014(2012) 404 UN-Habitat, -The state of Arab cities (2012) 408 Iraq highway design manual (1982)
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.5 Road classification in Montenegro
outside it (the roads of neighbouring countries). State roads: highways, main and regional roads; 2) International road is a public road that is classified (by an international treaty) as a part of international routes; 3) the highway is a state road that is intended only for motor vehicles, it is an integral part of road connectivity with neighbouring countries, and has established through regional plans. Highway traffic is technically a public road specially designed and built for motor vehicles, which has been so designated by a traffic sign, which has two lanes of traffic in either direction physically separated (green belt, protective fence, etc..) Without intersections with cross roads and rail and tramways at the same level and that can be turned on or off only specific and specially constructed public roads to the correct lane highway; 4) main road is a state road that connects the cities or the main commercial area of the Republic. Integral parts of the main road were built and executed in width fittings road area;
For related weblinks on Montenegro see here For the original tech blog post,(24.03.2013) see here
Background
Montenegro has a population of about 625,000 and an area of 13,812 sq.km, making it one of the smallest countries in the world (161st). Montenegro is divided into twenty-one municipalities and two urban municipalities, subdivisions of Podgorica municipality. Each municipality can contain multiple cities and towns m (from wikipedia). The country is an official candidate for membership of the European Union.
Law on the classification of roads of 2004

Montenegros Law on roads of 2004 includes the following (from an unofficial translation): Road network consists of public and unclassified roads. Public roads (highways, motorways, regional, local, and streets in settlements) are state-owned property. Public roads are traffic areas of common interest to the public road traffic, which can be used in a manner and under conditions prescribed by the regulations on public roads, and traffic safety. Terms used herein shall have the following meanings: 1) state road a public road, intended for traffic linking regions and major resorts in the country and
5) regional road is a state road intended for the connection between important centres of local communities and linking with other public transport routes which are equal or more categories of the road system surrounding states. Regional roads provide functionality and rationality of public road network in the Republic and are of special interest for the Republic. Components of a regional road are the connections which are derived in the width of the road area; 6) municipal road is a public road connecting settlements intended for the community or in connection with settlements of neighbouring communities or connecting parts of settlements, natural and cultural attractions, or some buildings at the community level. Municipal roads are: local roads and streets in residential areas. 7) local road is a public road that connects the villages and settlements in the local community, or a continuation of the corresponding roads adjacent communities, and is important for the local traffic on the territory of the local community. Access roads connecting railway stations, sea ports, air ports,
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tourist sites, cultural and historical sites and similar facilities with other public roads are local roads, too. 8) street is the route within a city or town that was built with walkways or pedestrian and bicycle paths; 9) unclassified road surface is used for the transport of any kind and that is available to multiple users (rural, field and forest paths, roads, embankments for flood control, parks, and the like.) And: According to the importance for traffic and for linking function they have, public roads in the area are categorized into: State roads (highways, main and regional roads) and Municipal (local roads and streets in settlements). Motorways Expressways Highways Regional roads
This document also identifies a class of panoramic roads which should be treated as a means for tourism development.
The World Bank report on Improving the management of secondary and tertiary roads in the South East Europe Countries (ref. 400, 2008) includes statistics on Montenegros roads in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary roads which means that someone must have measured the length of roads in the country and then classified them. However the report also says that In almost all the Western Balkan countries, there is no accurate and maintainable road management database covering the secondary and tertiary roads. The report says that In Montenegro, the roads are classified into public roads (motorways, highways, regional and tertiary roads and streets in settlements) and uncategorized roads. It also includes an interesting classification of lifeline roads which it says are roads without which whole communities will either be cut off entirely, or where the next alternative route involves a considerable increase in time and cost.
Other classifications of roads for Montenegro

The Montenegro Statistical Offices note on the 2011 annual survey of the road network (ref. 396) summarises the road network development by road types which are Asphalt Gravel Earthen and other The document also provides the description of road types as: Public road surface is of general importance for the traffic that each is free to use under conditions prescribed by law and which was declared a public road. The public road can be asphalt, gravel, earthen and other roads. Earthen road was built without a lane. Unclassified road surface is used for the transportation of any kind and made available to multiple users (farm, field and forest roads, roads on embankments for flood protection, parks, etc.).
The Spatial Plan for Montenegro 2020 (ref. 427, published 2008) relates road network structure to a hierarchy of land use centres. It describes its road network development concept in terms of:
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Table 1: Road classifications for Montenegro
Law of 2004 World Bank report (2008) ref.400 Montenegro Statistical Office ref.396 other lifeline roads other roads asphalt gravel other
Spatial plan for Montenegro 2020 (2008) ref.427
statistical tables international road highway main road regional road municipal road local road street unclassified road primary secondary tertiary
descriptive text motorways highways regional roads tertiary roads streets in settlements uncategorized roads
motorways expressways highways regional roads
panoramic roads other roads
Summary of classifications for Montenegro
Comment
(1) Wikipedias page on transport in Montenegro says Current categorization of the roads has become obsolete in some cases, with upgrades of some road sections, and decay of the others. For example, road Kolain Mateevo Andrijevica road, labelled as Main road, is greatly inferior in quality to the Mojkovac abljak road, which is designated as a Regional road.
Categorization of roads in the Western Balkans region was the main topic regarding road infrastructure legislation development in last years as the application of a road hierarchy provides basis for road planning and designing as well as responsibilities for road operation, funding, maintenance and liability The document does not say what the classification (~ categorization) is, nor if the same classification is used in all its member countries although since the report refers to shared solutions it could be assumed that SEETO proposes a common road classification for all its member countries. The World Bank report covers much the same group of countries and describes a functional road classification which by implication could be introduced in common to all the countries it covers.
The World Bank report (ref. 400) similarly says In all the countries, classification problems are present with a contingent need for a reclassification exercise. Roads with little traffic and less significant functional importance ought to be classified to a lower level, or even declassified and the converse is also true i.e. roads needing re-classification to a higher category due to higher traffic levels or greater functional importance.
(2) SEETO, the South East Europe Transport Observatory is a regional transport organization established . for the development of the Core Regional Transport Network for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. SEETO is working on a comprehensive network development plan. Its December 2012 report (ref. 394) says that gta-303
(3) The literature quoted above (SEETO, Spatial development plan 2020 etc) emphasises the primary road network in the sense of roads which are international and longer-distance, higher-speed (and more expensive construction costs). But a road network consists of more than just these types of road, just as road network users consist of more than just long-distance motor traffic. For example, the Spatial development plan says Montenegro rural areas include a group of . hardly accessible rural areas in the hilly and mountainous areas, where forestry and extensive cattle breeding are typical activities. And it recommends Page 17
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Establishing pedestrian and bike lanes within settlements (particularly in urban centres) to allow a secure pedestrian and bike traffic within settlements. And Improving roads, such as panoramic roads which should be treated as means for tourism development.
Acknowledgements
Thanks again to Marija Jevric of the University of Montenegro for sourcing and translating the excerpt from the Law of 2004.
References
394 SEETO Comprehensive network development plan 2013, Five year multi annual plan 2013, common problems shared solutions (2012) 396 Montenegro Statistical office: Annual survey on road network 2011 (2012) 400 World Bank, Improving the Management of Secondary and Tertiary Roads in SEE countries (2012) 427 Montenegro Ministry of Economic Development, Spatial plan of Montenegro until2020(2008)
Perhaps the main points to be mentioned here are the following: A complete road classification would include classifications for different users such as cyclists (see for example Brisbane, Australia and its bicycle hierarchy) and pedestrians (see, Hampshire County Council (UK)s footway classification) and not just for motor vehicles. It is easy to conclude, from a hierarchy (or classification) of roads which begins with primary roads or International roads that these roads are the most important, and so must have priority when it comes to money. But this is never what a road hierarchy / classification says. Indeed, for Montenegro and its neighbouring countries the World Bank report makes a very clear argument in favour of the importance of secondary and tertiary roads, even though it agrees that tertiary roads are at the bottom of the hierarchy, have the lowest speed limits and usually carry the least amount of traffic. The report also includes an interesting classification of lifeline roads which are roads without which whole communities will either be cut off entirely, or where the next alternative route involves a considerable increase in time and cost . Surely this means that lifeline roads must be funded before primary roads and motorways. Design standards for primary roads are often based on the amount of money available to pay for them. For example a motorway does not have to be built for a speed of 120 km/hr. Polands technical class 1 road is related to speeds down to 80 km/hr, and see here.
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.6 Road classification in Nepal
Mountain region is the northernmost region of the country and accounts for 15% of the total land of Nepal. Its altitude ranges between 4,877 m. to 8,848 m. The northern 16 districts of Nepal are mostly within this region (source: see e.g. here).
Road classification
There are three road networks in Nepal, Strategic roads Urban roads Local roads
For related weblinks on Nepal see here For the original tech blog post,(24.04.2013) see here
Strategic roads The Strategic Road Network (SRN) has a total length of about 14,490 km and is made up of national and feeder roads (ref. 559). The SRN consists of 3 main east west corridors and several north south corridors. The east west corridors are: (i) East West Highway (EWH, 1,024 km), the main artery of SRN with heavy traffic located in the Terai region; (ii) postal roads running in parallel with EWH along the Indian border in the south; and (iii) Mid-Hill East-West corridor (MHC), a series of feeder roads that link mid hill districts and provide routes to the main enters in the hills, including Kathmandu and Pokhara.(ref. 556) says that Feeder roads are important roads of a more localised nature than National Highways. Feeder roads are classified into Feeder Roads (Major) and Feeder Roads (Minor).
Background
Nepal has a population of 26.5 million, making it more populous than (for example) Australia and Taiwan. Nepal has an area of 147,181 sq.km and covers three very different main geographical regions. These strongly affect the quality and quantity of the transport networks. More than one-third of Nepals people live at least a two hours walk from the nearest all-season road; 15 out of 75 district headquarters are not connected by road. In addition, some 60% of road network and most rural roads are not operable during the rainy season (from Wikipedia). The country is divided into 5 development regions, 14 zones and 75 districts. The districts are required to prepare district transport master plans.
Urban roads The Nepal urban road standards 2068 (draft) (ref. 472) says that: For the purpose of geometric design urban roads are classified into five categories considering function of the road and traffic level: 1. Expressways 2. Arterial 3. Sub-arterials 4. Collector streets 5. Local streets
Geography
Nepal can be divided into three belts: Terai, Hill and Mountain Regions. The Terai (plains) region covers 17% of the area of Nepal and is home to about 48% of Nepals population. It provides excellent farming land, has a reasonable road network, and is the region where most of the countrys manufacturing industries are based. Average elevation is 100 to 300 metres above sea-level. The Hills region contains 68% of the Nepalese land. The altitude ranges between 600m. to 4877 m. Altogether 39 of the 75 administrative districts are within this region. The gta-303
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Rural roads The DoLIDAR document Nepal rural roads standard(2055)- (ref. 508) says that the local road network (LRN) for rural roads has two classes of road District roads (the core road network). These are roads joining a VDC HQ office or nearest economic centre to the district headquarters via either a neighbouring district headquarters or via the Strategic Road Network. It is to consist of allweather roads. (Note: VDC stands for village development committees, which are the lowest administrative part of Nepals local development ministry. For more, see here). Village roads, including other agriculture roads. fair-weather road FWR all-weather road AWR
Annex II-2 of the Nepal rural road standard (2055) (ref. 460) says rural links are classified according to function of the linkage level of users traffic volume topography The document also says that rural transport linkages in Nepal are classified into 5 classes, road category rural road class A district road rural road class B village road trail category
Other road classifications in Nepal

The Nepal Investment Board says there are two broad classifications of roads in Nepal: Classification on the basis of strategic importance and on the basis of quality of roads. Roads on the basis of quality consist of: sealed road graveled roads unsealed roads
rural road class C main trail (defined as nonmotorable foot or mule trail) rural road class D village trail (defined as nonmotorable foot or mule trail) ropeway category rural road class E ropeway
The Lalitpur district transport master plan (ref. 473) has the following classification for its transport linkages: district roads village roads main trails bridges
The Master plan for the strategic road network 2002 2022 (ref. 451) gives the road classification as below and says this classification is based largely on functional and administrative requirements. National highways Feeder roads District roads Urban roads Village roads
A study to map the historically important trade routes in the Nepal region (ref. 507) refers to routes of trails (not roads) which can be classed as including routes with local function routes with regional function routes with over-regional function
The Rural road technical design manual (ref. 450) speaks of: trails fair weather track FWT all weather track AWT
Other notes Road classification and road networks are related to the types of vehicle which they are designed to carry. For Nepal these vehicle types include various types April 2013 Page 20
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Possible overall classification of roads in Nepal
Road network strategic roads main class national highways feeder roads feeder roads (major) feeder roads (minor) urban roads expressways arterials sub-arterials collector streets local streets rural roads road category district roads (core roads) village roads trail category main trail village trail ropeway category bridges ropeways agricultural roads sub-class (I) sub-class (ii)
of motor vehicle, and as many as ten types of nonmotorised transport (NMT). The NMT include rickshaws and tricycles carrying goods, pack animals, and porters.(see e.g. ref. 508, table of passenger car units). The road network in Nepal appears to be very much under-developed. For example (ref. 504) says that 10 million people live more than two hours walk from the nearest road and in the hills and mountains, more than 30% of the population live more than four hours walk from a road Maintenance is largely absent leading to half of rural roads being unusable The Government of Nepal has accessibility targets, namely to bring the entire hill population within a four hour walk to an all season road and the Terai population within two hours. Also, only 6.27% of Nepal households own a motorised vehicle (from World Bank website, Nepal transport sector).
Comment
There seems to be no overall road classification statement for Nepal. As with other countries, classification stops at the level of responsibility of the organisation which defines it. A top level of classification is missing from the above table a classification for international roads. In fact there are international trails (or walking routes) through Nepal just as there are international roads which pass through the country. For example the Great Himalaya Trail is one of the longest and highest walking trails in the world. Nepals GHT is divided into ten connecting treks with a duration of 2-3 weeks each on average (see link). For roads, Nepal is crossed by two links in the Asian Highway Network, Asian Highways 2 and 42, with a total length of 1324 km (ref. 562) Its not clear what the difference is between a foot trail and a mule trail (in terms of design at least), nor what the difference is between a trail and a track.
References
450 RAIDP, Rural road technical design manual 451 Nepal Ministry of Physical Planning and works, draft discussion paper Master Plan forStrategicRoadNetwork20022022 (2004) gta-303 April 2013 Page 21

460 DoLIDAR, Nepal rural road standard (2055) Annex II-2 472 Nepal urban road standards 2068 (draft) 504 DfID (UK), Nepal RAP project business case and intervention summary (2012) 507 Graafen and Seeber, Important trade routes in Nepal and their importance to the settlement process (1992) (source: link) 508 DoLIDAR, Nepal Rural Roads Standards (2055) 1st revision 556 Nepal Department of Roads, Design standards for feeder roads (3rd revision) (1997) 559 ADB, ADB Sasec road connectivity project (project data sheet) (2013) 562 unescap,Status paper on Asian Highway Nepal,2011articlebyHariomSrivastav,joint secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and works, Government of Nepal.
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.7 Road classification in New Zealand
not seem to be any clear agreement on how to define road hierarchy and road classification.
Local roads In 2001 a survey was carried out by the then Land Transport Safety New Zealand (LTSA) a government body which was absorbed into what is now the NZ Transport Agency. The survey (ref. 251) concerned the countrys 67 road controlling authorities and their road hierarchies. All the RCAs said they had a road hierarchy in one form or another. The survey results indicated that there were 29 distinct urban road hierarchies and 29 distinct rural road hierarchies, and that most authorities reported they ranked roading works by giving priority to the most important streets or roads in their roading hierarchy. The report argued that New Zealand needs an agreed functional road hierarchy for the entire road network (own emphasis). In 2010 the agency Standards New Zealand published a document NZS 4404 : 2010 Land development and subdivision infrastructure (referred to above). According to a paper by Keith Hall (ref. 252) it is not a mandatory standard. The paper says there is a change in this version compared with the old NZS 4404 : 2004, with the emphasis of road design no longer on moving vehicles. Mr. Hall also says that in the new standard road hierarchy is described as link context. The new standard also relates roads to land use and function and then to target operating speed, classification, traffic volume, lane width, cycling elements etc. It emphasises the ideas of connectivity and networks. The new document has its own system of road classification which Neil Johnstone describes in (ref. 253).
For related weblinks on New Zealand see here For the original tech blog post,(01.02.2013) see here
Background
New Zealand is one of the smallest countries by population, with 4.4 million inhabitants (122nd). The country has a total network of 83,000 km of local roads and 11,000 km of state highways (link). The local roads are managed by 68 road controlling authorities (RCAs) which largely appear to be the same as the countrys 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities. However the RCAs online forum at (link) says there are 73 territorial local authorities. Responsibility for the state highways now rests with the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) which was set up in 2008, following some years of changes in the responsible government agencies. Another, surprising participant in the management of NZs road network is the national standards agency, Standards New Zealand. Ist important 2010 publication NZS 4404 : 2010 is of international interest in the debate on land use planning, road classification and road networks.
State roads A 2007 paper by Andrew Macbeth (ref. 250) recommended the establishment of a national road hierarchy, saying that There are over 100 different road hierarchies in New Zealand and that a number of existing hierarchies distinguish between state highways and other arterials, but it is felt that this difference is not necessary (or helpful. Mr. Macbeth also argues that adding road classes
History of road classification in New Zealand

New Zealand has been thinking over its road classification and road hierarchy for some years now. Even now the country does not have a single road hierarchy or road classification, and there does
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just to cover ownership is counter-productive to the principle of self-explaining roads. The NZTA invited comments on a draft for a state highway classification system around 2010. Amongst those responding, IPENZ and Roading New Zealand said in 2011 (ref. 254) that The state highway classification system needs to be seen as part of a national roading classification system. In 2011 NZTA published a consultation draft State Highway Classification (ref. 267). It relates classes (categories) of road to function, function to level of service and level of service to design. The document suggests seven criteria for classification. These include traffic flow (annual average daily traffic). The suggested classification has four classes (categories) and relates each of these to the seven criteria.
Comment
Much good work has been done (and is being done) in New Zealand on road classification. However there still seem to be weaknesses in the national debate on the topic. NZS 4404 : 2010 seems to be well worth reading for its very detailed work relating connected networks, land use, highway geometrics and road classification.
1. Terminology In New Zealands debate on road hierarchy and classification the use of these technical terms is unclear and inconsistent. For example the 2011 draft State Highway Classification refers both to classification (i.e. classes) and to categories. In fact it can be argued that road hierarchy(s) are functional road classifications, and are sub-sets of a broader road classification system. Such a system could have classes defined by measures such as traffic flows ownership speed limit (in fact speed limit or design speed is probably the determining factor in highway geometrics) hierarchy based on long-distance car trips
Current road classification in New Zealand

For urban and rural roads NZS 4404 : 2010 appears to propose lanes local roads connector / collector road
2. Completeness For state roads the draft State Highway Classification has four classes National strategic (with a high volume subset) Regional strategic Regional connector Regional distributor The separation between state roads and other roads is administrative. All these roads should actually form part of an integrated network. The NZS 4404 : 2010 emphasis on connectivity and networking could also be applied to New Zealands state roads as well as to its urban and rural roads. IPENZ and Roadings submission on the state highway classification (ref. 254) asks why the NZ Transport Agency is developing a classification system that does not cover local roads and says we note there does not seem to be any alignment (with) the roadingclassificationsinNZS4404:2010.
However the NZTA website dated August 2012 still says that We use the following road hierarchy to help plan the state highway network: motorways expressways primary arterials secondary arterials
3. Scaleability As you zoom into a road network, looking at it in more detail, the same concepts should apply (functional classification, networking, connectivity) as at the larger scales.
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4. Comprehensive Everyone involved in the debate in New Zealand would probably agree that work does not stop once a road classification system has been agreed on; the classification should be developed to relate to aspects such as highway geometrics, design speed, traffic volume, road cross-section, cycling facilities and so on. Indeed both NZS 4404:2010 and the draft state highway classification both try to do this, although to different extents and levels of detail.
5. International applications Andrew Macbeths 2007 paper argued for a national road hierarchy. His arguments could also be applied in favour of a single, international road classification system. This would help clear away the fog of terminology which makes it difficult to compare road solutions from different countries. Further, the NZS documents idea of measures of urban and rural connectivity could be applied to other countries as well, although the values applied would likely vary. What is a reasonable value for rural connectivity in NZ may not be achievable in Tanzania or Nepal.
References
250 - A national road hierarchy are we ready?, Andrew Macbeth, IPENT Transportation Conference 2007 251 - RSS 16 Road Hierarchies, Land Transport Safety Authority, 2001 252 - A paper on the NZS 4404 : 2010 by Keith Hall, publication available on the Internet although year and source of publication not clear 253 - NZS 4404 a roading perspective, a paper on the 2010 edition by Neil Johnstone for the NZ Road Controlling Authorities Forum 254 - IPENZ and Roading New Zealand, submission to the NZ Transport Agency on the state highway classification, March 2011 267 - State Highway Classification, Consultation Draft, published by the NZ Transport Agency, February 2011.
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.8 Road classification in Poland
national strategic road network, the document also says that The key target is to construct a backbone network of fast traffic roads (motorways and/or expressways) by 2030, ensuring connectivity between major cities. In this context the document says that main roads () were divided into three basic categories: Class A Core backbone network of grade separated roads, constructed to a motorway standard Class S Auxiliary grade separated roads, constructed to an expressway standard
For related weblinks on Poland see here For the original tech blog post,(01.03.2013) see here
Other national roads
National level Background

Poland has a population of 38.5 million and an area of 312,685 sq.km (wikipedia). The country is a member of the European Union, but not a member of the Euro zone. The country has several road classifications, which relate to an international, a national or a local level. We can identify different national road classifications in Poland (the numbering of these in the following paragraphs is my own). First, the Polish Central Statistical Office (CSO) classifies roads in three ways (ref. 379):
national classification 1 (CSO) Urban (roads within administration borders of cities) and
International level
Some of Polands roads form part of the following international networks TERN trans-European road network (e.g. project25,motorwayaxisGdask Brno/Bratislava-Vienna) The pan-European corridors The international E-road network
Non-urban (roads outside administrative borders of cities)
national classification 2 (CSO)
Here the CSO classifies roads in accordance with an Act of March 1985 (and later amendments) as:
And, for cyclists Some of the EuroVelo routes (link)
National roads motorways, expressways etc. Regional roads defined as roads other than those presented above, which are links between cities, have a great significance for the voivodship, and roads with a military significance not included among state roads District roads defined as roads other than those mentioned above, which link powiat capital cities with gmina capital cities and gmina capital cities with other such cities. Communal roads Page 26
At least one of these imposes minimum geometric design standards for roads which are part of its system. There is a national policy towards a strengthened network of functional connections between Polish metropolises and cities in (neighbouring) countries (ref. 381). In what might be described as a proposed gta-303
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national classification 3 (CSO)
Local level road classification in the city of Warsaw

Two documents of interest on this topic are The spatial policy of Warsaw (ref. 365, 2007) and The transportation system of Warsaw, sustainable development strategy (ref. 364, 2010). Both documents refer to road classification for the city, but there does not seem to be a lot of consistency (see table). This may partly be due to questions of translation. Ref. 364 includes a figure which shows a bicycle route network for Warsaw (which looks rather disjointed). However there is no reference to a bicycle route hierarchy. This reference is refreshingly open, where it says that there is Insufficient hierarchization of the existing road network, with many roads simultaneously acting as local, suburban, and longdistance traffic roads. The document proposes that actions taken will strive to establish a functionally correct hierarchy of roads within the road system.
Hard surfaced roads Unsurfaced roads
national classification 4 The Poish road design guidelines published by the General Directorate for Public Roads (ref. 375) refer to seven technical classes of road (the English terms are approximate translations): I highways (A) II expressways (S) III speeded up roads (GP) IV main roads (G) V collector roads (Z) VI local roads (L) VII access roads (D) The source document indicates a range of design speeds and design parameters for the different road classes.
Warsaw, examples of road classification

Ref.365 page 28 1. superhighways 2. expressways 3. high speed main roads 4. downtown bypass route 5. municipal bypass route 6. express bypass route Ref- 365 page 29 expressways (S) high speed traffic routes (GP) main roads (S) collector roads local streets Ref. 364 page 14 trunk roads main roads service roads local and access roads
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples Comment

As recently as 2003 it could be said that, nationally the existing sections of motorways and expressways do not form a coherent network which would take the burden of traffic off the existing roads (ref. 373). In 2010 it seems that Polands capital city did not yet have a functionally correct hierarchy of roads .Important documents such as the National spatial development concept for 2030 (published in 2012, ref. 381) refer to the national importance of certain international routes but these do not seem to have been acknowledged in any comprehensive road hierarchy.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Marek Motylewicz of Bialystok Technical University for pointing out the reference document (ref. 375)
References
364 Capital City of Warsaw, The transportation system of Warsaw, sustainable development strategy (2010) 365 Capital City of Warsaw, The spatial policy of Warsaw (2007) 373 Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport situation and emerging development trends 2003 375 Generalna Dyrekcja Drg Publicznych, WytyczneprojektowaniadrgWPD1 (Warszaw 1995) 379 Central Statistical Office, CSO Statistics, roadtransport20052009(2011) 381 Ministry of Regional Development, NSDC nationalspatialdevelopmentconcept2030 (2012)
It is interesting to note that some road classifications involve just two possible answers (such as yes/no choices). For example Is the road link part of a TERN international road corridor? Is the road hard surfaced or unsurfaced? Of course, this type of simple classification can be found in other countries as well.
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.9 Road classification in Portugal
Estradas de Portugal
This company was established in 2004 and deals with the administration of highways in Portugal. It is owned entirely by the Portuguese State. Its mission is to provide financing, maintenance, operation, improvement and widening of roads that make up the National Road Network and secondly, the conception, design, construction, financing, maintenance, operation, improvement and widening of roads that make up the Future National Road Network.
For related weblinks on Portugal see here For the original tech blog post,(11.04.2013) see here
Commissions for coordination and development (CCDR) The CCDR are the decentralised arms of the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Regional Development, and serve as a managerial regional level as there is no elected regional government in mainland Portugal. The responsibilities of the CCDR are complex and demanding, including regional spatial planning, environmental issues, regional development and support to local governments. Their task is the implementation of measures for the development of their area ( from OECD territorial reviews, Portugal 2008). The CCDR were established in 2003; presently there are five of them.
Background
Portugal has a population of some 10.5 million persons and an area of 92,212 sq.km. Mainland Portugal is divided into 18 districts while the archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are as autonomous regions. There are 308 municipalities, subdivided into 4260 civil parishes. (wikipedia)
Local organisations
There are several organisations which are involved in the development of roads in Portugal. At the national level there are InIR, the Institute of Road Infrastructure, and Estradas de Portugal; at the regional level there are the CCDR (commissions for coordination and development); and at the local level there are the municipalities, such as the municipality of Leiria. Several of them provide notes on road classification, so some more details about them would be appropriate.
CCDR-N This is the CCDR for the North region of Portugal. The North region has 3.7 million inhabitants and a density of population that is 1.5 times above the average for mainland Portugal and the European Union. The dimension of the Greater Porto area, in what concerns population, economic and communication infrastructures, is noteworthy given that it encompasses a potential market of more than three million people living less than one hour in travel time from the area.
InIR, Institute of Road Infrastructure The Institute of Road Infrastructure, IP is a public institute integrated indirect administration of the State, endowed with administrative autonomy. Its main mission is to supervise and oversee the management and operation of the road network and ensure the realization of the National Road Plan.
Municipality of Leiria Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 130,000 (wikipedia).
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Road classification
Wikipedia has a good page on roads in Portugal (see here). It explains that the country has a National Roadway Plan, which is split into a fundamental network and a complementary network. Motorways in Portugal form a motorway network ; the motorway links are part of either the fundamental or the complementary network. The classes of roads and road networks in Portugal are shown in the following table. The information is based on the 2000 National Roadway Plan from the Wikipedia page has been extended with classes quoted by the the CCDR-N (ref. 516) and the Municipality of Leira (ref. 515). Leiria includes municipal ways (Caminhos Municipais) and neighbourhood ways (Caminhos Vicinais) in its classification.
The CCDR-N and the Municipality of Leiria also describe a functional classification for roads, and they too suggest appropriate speeds for each class: Table 3: Portugal, functional classification
functional class collector/arterial principal distributor local distributor local access speed (km/hr) > 80 50 - 80 30 - 40 20 - 30 speed (km/hr) > 80 50 - 90 30 - 40 20 - 30
source: Leiria (ref. 515), CCDR-N (ref. 516)
Other classifications
International routes Portugal is crossed by some Euro Routes (wikipedia) for motorised Table 1: Portugal, road networks and classification (1) traffic and by one proposed European cycle route (EV 1, the Atlantic Coast network road class Portuguese code Route, see here and here). For fundamental network principal routes IP pedestrians there are also international complementary network complementary routes IC and regional paths (trails?) such as the national roads EN E9 from Portugal to Estonia (see here) regional network regional roads ER and the regional, Algarve Way (see here). municipal network municipal roads EM
municipal ways neighbourhood ways motorway network sources: Wikipedia, ref. 51, ref. 516; CM CV
Suggestions from the CCDR-N The text of the CCDR-N document refers to classifying roads in various terms (see e.g. pages 6, 8, 21) such as: circulation function
InIR (ref. 523)gives details of Portugals motorway network, and splits motorways into a number of sub-classes. It suggests appropriate speeds for each class: Table 2: Portugal, motorway classification & speed
motorway type inter-urban motorway inter-urban motorway in difficult terrain suburban motorway urban motorway speed = Velocidade Base source: INIR (ref. 523) speed (km/hr) 140, 120 80 100 80
access function urban, rural split administrative Geometric types of user (e.g. residents, emergency services) The CCDR-N also suggest that the number of classes for an urban road network should depend on the complexity and size of the urban space.
Street classifications In his 2012 paper on street classification, Paolo Ribeiro of the University of Minho (ref. 446) asks Should issues associated with urban life activities that take place in the
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surrounding space to the carriageway be included in a street classification? The paper goes on to discuss streets characterized (classified?) considering the following variables (which include): Place function: height of buildings; width of streets, ratio between the width of the street and height of buildings (etc) and Link Function: volume of daily traffic, travel speed (V85); and, the ratio between the movement of people and motorized traffic.
Acknowledgements
Thanks for the tips, to Leonor Martins (via LinkedIn) and Goncalo Costa (via ResearchGate)
References
446 Paolo Ribeiro, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, A new perspective on street classification towards sustainability (Recent researches in environment, energy systems and sustainability, WSEAS 2012) 515 Leiria, Organizao da rede viria no concelho de Leiria (2004) 516 CCDR-N, PRINCPIOS BSICOS DE ORGANIZAO DE REDES VIRIAS (2008) 523 InIR, Auto-Estradas, Caractersticas Tcnicas, (2008)
Comment
Roads are transport infrastructure for land-based transport. Land-based transport covers not only motor vehicles but pedestrians and bicycles as well, so arguably A national road classification should include terms (classes) for pedestrian and cycle routes. Other countries have seen some steps made towards this. Examples include authorities in Australia, England and Nepal. A national road hierarchy should include separate hierarchies for motor vehicles, pedestrian routes and cycle routes A national road hierarchy should cover all road levels, from international routes down to municipal ways.
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.10 Road classification in Tanzania
the public road network into national roads and district roads, with the further classification (summarised) as follows:
National road a) Trunk road i) National route that links two or more regional HQ ii) An international through route . b) Regional road i) Connects a trunk road and a regional or district HQ ii) Connects a regional and a district HQ District road a) A collector road i) Linking a district HQ and a division centre ii) Linking division centres iii) Linking a division centre and a ward centre
For related weblinks on Tanzania see here For the original tech blog post,(09.02.2013) see here
Before 1989
The Tanzanian manual on the Geometric design of roads published in 1989 refers to an existing road classification. It says the existing classification takes into account and is in accordance with administrative considerations and functional role of the roads. The classification is 1. Trunk roads 2. Local main roads 3. Regional roads 4. District roads 5. Unclassified roads
iv) An urban through road. b) A feeder road i) Road within an urban area linking a collector and other minor road . ii) Village access road linking wards to other ward centre c) Community road within a village / or which links villages
2011 classification
A new Tanzanian road geometric design manual was prepared by Tanroads, the MPW, and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Experts from these organisations formed a Working Group, which acknowledged the use of valuable information from corresponding manuals in the neighbouring countries. Particularly the Geometric Design Manual of Uganda was of great value in developing this Manual. The 2011 road geometric design manual refers to two types of road classification Administrative and functional classification Road design classification
1989 classification
The 1989 manual goes on to propose, for design purposes, six categories of road: Trunk roads Regional roads (inter-regional) Regional roads (inter-district) District roads Major feeder roads Minor feeder roads
2007 classification
The Tanzania Road Act of 2007 in part III, section 12 introduces a new classification of roads. This groups gta-303
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national roads class A - trunk roads national route linking regional HQ international through route linking. district roads class C - collector roads I. link between division HQ and division centre ii. link between division centre and other centre iii. link between division centre and ward centre class B - regional road connects trunk roads and a district or regional HQ connects regional and district HQ class D - feeder roads
iv. road within an urban area carrying through traffic .
I. road within an urban area carrying through traffic. ii. village access road .
class E - community roads road within a village or a road which links villages
re-numbered, and with the same five main classes (see above table).
Comment
It is not clear that the accepted road classification covers all roads. The Road Act 2007 says its classification is for public roads, and there seems to be little reference to village streets or to the local urban road network. The 2011 road geometric design manual has some loose terminology: for example there are references to a road hierarchy and a functional road hierarchy but no definitions for them. There is a definition for a network hierarchy, but this then refers to a classification of roads (with only two classes, national and district roads) The 2011 manual has a clear layout and structure, making it easy to read and understand (manuals from some other countries could usefully adopt a similar structure) The manual also seems to suggest that Tanzania (population 45 million) can live with a road network which has only 8 different road types. New Zealands NZS 4404 : 2010 has more than this just for urban and rural roads. (I wonder if Norway (population 5 million) has just 8 different road types?).
Road design classes The 2011 road geometric design manual defines a set of road design classes. These are related to the administrative / functional classes in terms of design year AADT (ref. 294 table 2.2). The document says Any new road to be designed shall be selected from these design classes. There are specified crosssection widths and surface types for each design class. The design classes are also related to (for example): Administrative classification Design year AADT Level of access control Design speed Terrain Carriageway width
References
294 Tanzania, Road Geometric Design Manual (2011 ed.) 298 Tanzania Geometric design of roads, Manual 1989 303 Tanzania Roads Act 2007
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 4 Comment

Montenegro
Wikipedias page on transport in Montenegro says Current categorization of the roads has become obsolete in some cases, with upgrades of some road sections, and decay of the others.
New Zealand A 2007 paper by Andrew Macbeth (ref. 250) recommended the establishment of a national road hierarchy, saying that There are over 100 different road hierarchies in New Zealand.
Summary of 10 country review

Generally speaking all countries have an incomplete and uncertain understanding of road classification and road hierarchy. Few if any countries have a national road hierarchy and classification. For example,
Australia Australia does not yet appear to have a national road hierarchy or classification. In 2006 the ICSM roads working group produced a report on assessing the feasibility of a national road classification (ref. 334). The documents recommendations included for a cooperative approach between all levels of government (to agree) to implement a mutually acceptable national road classification system.
For local roads, In 2001 a survey was carried out by the then Land Transport Safety New Zealand (LTSA). The survey (ref. 251) concerned the countrys 67 road controlling authorities and their road hierarchies. The survey results indicated that there were 29 distinct urban road hierarchies and 29 distinct rural road hierarchies. The report argued that New Zealand needs an agreed functional road hierarchy for the entire road network
And see also
Netherlands Atze Dijkstra wrote: "The importance of road classification for road safety purposes seems to be underestimated. In the Netherlands, the methods for classifying roads could be improved substantially". (ref. 527, 2011) USA Eric Foster wrote that Studies published by State DOTs is another review area that supports my view the functional classification system is an ambiguous one and in need of more definition (ref. 92, 2008)
England The DfT (ref. 304) says that greater authority for classification was to be handed over to local authorities in 2012.This suggests that eventually a multitude of organisations will become independently responsible for defining and assigning road classification.
Iraq References suggest that in reality Iraq does not have a well-functioning road hierarchy at either a national or a local level.
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GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples Other notes

Roads are transport infrastructure for land-based transport. The infrastructure (roads) and the equipment (transport) are generally the same in every country in the world. It should be possible to devise a road classification which could be applied to each country in the world.
Also, 1. There is an agreed, direct link between road classification, road hierarchy, speed and geometric highway design. This link should be specifically stated in a road classification. 2. Land-based transport covers not only motor vehicles but pedestrians and bicycles as well, so arguably a national road classification should include terms (classes) for pedestrian and cycle routes. Other countries have seen some steps made towards this. Examples include authorities in Australia, England and Nepal. 3. A national road hierarchy should include separate hierarchies for motor vehicles, pedestrian routes and cycle routes 4. A national road hierarchy should cover all road levels, from international routes down to municipal ways. This is not the place to describe how to create a road classification and a road hierarchy (it will be the subject of a separate document). However in every case they should be: Scalable Robust Updatable Understandable Multimodal Unbiased Related to land use
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Cover notes and Disclaimer
This is a research document. The best efforts have been made to make sure the figures are correct. However no liability can be taken for any of the details, information or analysis in this document. The layout, look and feel of this document is copyright. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
History and Change log

gta-303.01 first draft.
GTA documents series Global Transport Atlas is a project with two aims. One is
to encourage people around the world to share examples of how they actually use transport in their daily lives. The other is to compare and improve the design of transport infrastructure. There are the following GTA document series: Series 1 - global transport notes A collection of papers on transport infrastructure and vehicles from various countries, prepared by various authors and contributors. Typical size 2 to 3 pages. Series 3 - discussion papers Papers with arguments and ideas on different aspects of modern transport and transport infrastructure. Series 4 - comparative geometrics Working papers which look at different aspects of highway infrastructure design and compare values from different countries. Series 7 - Dimensions of vehicles Transport infrastructure has to be defined with an idea of the size and types of vehicle which will use it. This series looks into the dimensions of different types of vehicle at different periods of time. Papers include technical discussion notes and example dimensions. Typical size 20 pages and more.
About the author

Robert Bartlett, Germany - is an experienced transportation and urban development studies engineer with over 25 years of professional experience. Current engineering work: includes technical research in highway design standards and applications in areas such as urban planning and highway engineering. Interests include applied GIS.
Contact
Comments on this paper are welcomed. Email: global.transport.atlas@gmail.com Web: http://globaltransportatlas.weebly.com/index.html
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Global Transport Atlas

GTA-303 Road Classification - some current examples

Series 3- Discussion Papers

Author: Robert Bartlett

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

3. Existing situation: 10 Countries

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples 3.1 Background

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Road classification in Australia

State road classifications

Strategic road network

National road classifications

5A primary 5B secondary 5C minor 5D access 5E tracks

(own table) April 2013 Page 3

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

City road classifications

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

A national road classification for Australia?

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples Acknowledgements

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Strategic Road Network (SRN)

Nationally important road networks

The roads uk website (link) says:

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Table 1: England, general road classification

Local authority classifications

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Other road classes

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples Comment

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

National road classification

For the original tech blog post,(13.03.2013) see here

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

length (km) 1,084 11,000 10,000 15,200 11,000

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Law on the classification of roads of 2004

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Other classifications of roads for Montenegro

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Spatial plan for Montenegro 2020 (2008) ref.427

motorways expressways highways regional roads

panoramic roads other roads

Summary of classifications for Montenegro

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers

Other road classifications in Nepal

GTA-303 - Road Classification - some current examples

Global Transport Atlas Series 3 - Discussion Papers