Emergency Vehicles and Road Design

When you are in need of an emergency vehicle, you expect it to be able to get there. Plain and simple.

It is expert civil and municipal engineers that make sure roads are made the way they should be, streets are designed the way we need them to be, curbs are structured the way they have to be, and emergency vehicles are able to get to you when you are relying on them to.

While most of us equate roadways with driving, recent trends have shown an uptick in structuring roadways to engage and include a variety of goals that include a whole lot more. Some of these enhancements include designated spaces for bicyclists and pedestrians as well as traffic calming elements that impact traffic speeds. Typically these decisions stem from an interest in encouraging public space, economic activity, physical activity, and enhancing the safety of all road users.

The street designs that meet these ends often involve narrower travel lanes.

At the same time, emergency responders are focusing their efforts on reducing the time it takes to arrive at the scene of an emergency. And they are requiring physical space to utilize equipment.

These two priorities- well-rounded street design and first responder vehicular and equipment needs provide a tug that expert civil engineers balance in design phases.

Effective street design considers not only the efforts of complete streets that accommodate a variety of activity, but also the adequate width and turning radii for emergency vehicles.

In addition to considering lane widths, providing an adequate number of lanes to accommodate traffic is critical to reducing delays for emergency vehicles, as is providing emergency vehicle pre-emption devices on traffic signals so that emergency vehicles can gain the right of way quickly and safely through intersections.

Lastly, keeping the road pavement in good condition is another way municipal governments can help emergency vehicle response time.

All of these, combined together ensure that when you need an emergency vehicle- they get there.

#ProblemSolved: Our Civil Engineering team is here to help. Send an email to Mark Stabolepszy, PE, Director of Municipal Engineering and Planning at mark.stabolepszy@ssmgroup.com or give a call to 610-898-3023