Urban streets and rural roads
City streets are generally paved with asphalt or concrete. Urban streets also accommodate underground public-utility facilities, such as electrical cables, water pipelines, and sewage systems, and telecommunications lines. Rather than shoulders, urban streets usually have raised edges called curbs, which provide a barrier between the street and sidewalk.
Urban streets are generally two-way paved roads that intersect each other frequently, allowing a high degree of access but at slow speeds. Traffic lights and signs help regulate the movement of vehicles along these streets and control the access to some streets. Urban streets are usually classified as one of three types: local, collector, and arterial. These designations are based on the amount of traffic each type is designed to carry.
Most urban streets are residential, or local, streets that allow vehicles to access public and private property. These streets make up 70 percent of total urban-road mileage but handle only 14 percent of all urban traffic. Collector streets convey traffic from residential streets to larger roads called arterials. Arterials are used to get quickly from one point to another and can accommodate high volumes of traffic. Although arterials account for only 17 per cent of the urban-road mileage, they account for most of the traffic in cities.
Rural roads are found in areas of the country outside cities, towns, and suburbs. Rural roads are also classified as local, collector, or arterial roads. Because of the light traffic and extensive mileage on these roads, design standards are relatively low. Rural roads may or may not have shoulders.
In many areas, local rural roads may be unpaved gravel roads. Rural collector roads carry moderate traffic coming in from a number of local roads. Collector roads have more and faster traffic than local roads and are constructed to a higher standard of quality.
Rural arterial roads provide a high-speed network for heavier traffic between major towns in rural areas. They range from two-lane roadways to multiple-lane highways. Rural arterial roads often have shoulders. They make up 8 percent of total rural-road mileage.
City Street in Durban, South Africa
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City streets are generally paved with asphalt or concrete and are bordered on either side by raised curbs. Buildings, sidewalks, and residences border city streets. This busy multilane street passes through downtown Durban, South Africa.
Task 5
Restore the sentences. Consult the text above.
1. Urban roads are paved with .…
2. …. have raised edges called curbs.
3. Curbs provide a barrier between.…
4. Urban streets also accommodate.…
5. Traffic lights and signs control….
6. .… classified into local, collector, and arterial.
7. .…convey traffic from residential streets to arterials.
8. Arterials can accommodate….
9. Local streets make up about 70 percent of.…
10. Arterials account for 17 per cent of.…
11. .… account for most of the traffic in cities.
12. Rural roads are built in….
13. Rural roads carry less traffic than….
Task 6
Answer the following questions using the information from the text above.
What construction materials are urban and rural roads generally paved with?
What is the barrier between the driving lane and sidewalk called?
What types are urban and rural roads usually classified into?
What are the functions of traffic lights and signs?
What is the basic function of collector roads?
What is the main function of arterial roads?
What percentage of total urban-road mileage do residential and arterial roads make up?
Which type of urban roads accounts for most of the city traffic?
What public-utility facilities do city roads usually accommodate?
Task 7
Fill in prepositions where necessary. Consult the text above.
1. Collector streets convey traffic .…local streets …. arterials.
2. Traffic lights and signs help regulate the movement .… cars and buses .… streets and control the access .… some streets.
3. City streets are paved ….. asphalt or concrete.
4. Arterials are often similar …. highways …. construction.
5. Residential streets make up 70 percent …. total urban-road mileage.
Task 8
Put the adjectives in brackets in an appropriate comparative form according to the model. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian (Russian).
Model
Rural roads carry (little) traffic than urban roads. = Rural roads carry less traffic than urban roads do.
Urban streets allow traffic at (slow) speeds than highways do.
2. Collector roads have (fast) traffic than local roads.
Arterials are (large) than collector streets.
Arterials can accommodate (high) volumes of traffic than the other types of urban roads.
Design standards for rural roads are (low) than they are for urban roads.
Local roads make up (much) mileage than arterials do.
Task 9
Translate into English.
1. Рух, інтенсивний рух, пішохідний рух, тротуари для пішохідного руху, рух на дорогах, багаторядний рух, напрямок руху, швидкість руху.
2. Сільська дорога, міська дорога, вантажонапруженість дороги, пішохідна доріжка, дорожня розмітка, уздовж дороги, біля дороги, будувати дороги, будувати сільські дороги, технічні стандарти будування доріг, мостити дорогу бетоном.
3. Лінія електропередач, прокладати лінії електропередач.
4. Каналізація, проводити каналізацію.
5. Водопровід, проведення водопроводу під землею.
6. Комунальне спорудження, розміщувати комунальні спорудження під землею біля доріг.
7. Під’їзд, під’їзд до будинків, під’їзд до приватних будинків, під’їзд до громадських будинків, забезпечити під’їзд до приватних і громадських будинків.
8. Відстань, відстань у милях.
Task 10
Translate the sentences into English using the active vocabulary and the text above.
1. Більшість місьих вулиць мають тротуари для пішохідного руху.
2. Лінії електропередач прокладаються уздовж доріг.
3. Міська каналізація і водопровід розміщуються під землею біля доріг.
4. Головна функція житлових вулиць – забезпечити під’їзд до приватних і громадських будинків.
5. Швидкість руху на міських магістралях значно вища, ниж на житлових вулицях.
6. Технічні стандарти, за якими будуються сільські дороги, нижче, ніж ті, за якими будуються міські дороги, оскільки рух на них менш інтенсивний.
Task 11
Discuss types and functions of urban streets using the information in the text above.