To reduce crashes and ease traffic congestion, traffic engineers and planners have traditionally pursued a wide range of solutions. In some cases, the most cost-effective solution requires a significant investment in public funds. In other cases, low cost traffic engineering improvements are available. This course is designed to serve as a primer, or basic introduction, to the subject of low cost traffic engineering improvements. The goal is to provide practicing traffic engineers and planners with information describing the types of low cost actions that have been implemented in a variety of locations in the U.S. Costs and benefits are included in the discussion. This course is based on the U.S. Federal Highway Administration Office of Transportation Management Office, “Low Cost Traffic Engineering Improvements: A Primer,” by F. E. Latham and J.W. Trombly, April, 2003.

Learning Objectives

• Types of low cost traffic engineering improvements
• Why low cost traffic engineering improvements are important
• Types of agencies using low cost improvements
• Innovative low cost strategies
• Low cost improvements for rural roads