Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads

TAC’s Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads has been a fundamental road design reference for decades. It has contributed to the development of regional, provincial and national road and highway systems by helping planners and designers meet the needs of road users with safety and consistency. The Guide addresses freeways, arterials, collectors and local roads in both urban and rural contexts, as well as special roads and facilities for walking and cycling.

Chronology

  • 2017 – A new edition of the Guide was released, with ten chapters and comprehensive updates.
  • 2019 – Technical revisions to Chapters 2, 5, 7, 9 and 10 were issued on August 19 (see link below for details), and are incorporated in new hard copy and e-book purchases.
  • 2020 – Chapter 11 was added and released in April.

Summary of 2019 Revisions

Overview and Order Information

DESCRIPTION, ITEM CODE AND PRICE
Package of all chapters (1 to 11)
PKG-GEODES17B-E (hard copy)
PKG-GEODES17B-E-EBK (e-book)
$575 member ~ $749 regular
$225 student (e-book only)
Chapter 1 - Design Philosophy offers an introduction to the goal of design, its evolving approach and the design domain concept utilized throughout the guide; and provides benefit cost analysis, value engineering and design exceptions guidance. 
PTM-GEODES1-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES1-E-EBK (e-book)
$59 member ~ $75 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 2 - Design Controls, Classification and Consistency discusses how design controls such as human factors, speed, design vehicles and sight lines influence geometric design; demonstrates how to classify links in a road network to provide a hierarchical and readily understood road system that appropriately serves different purposes; and outlines the principles of providing consistency in cross section, operating speed and driver workload.
PTM-GEODES2-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES2-E-EBK (e-book)
$65 member ~ $82 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 3 - Alignment and Lane Configurations focuses on design procedures and domains associated with horizontal and vertical alignment, the coordination of these two design elements and related issues including cross slopes, lane widening, lane balance, lane continuity and specialized traffic lanes such as truck climbing lanes, passing lanes and truck escape ramps.
PTM-GEODES3-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES3-E-EBK (e-book)
$69 member ~ $89 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 4 - Cross Section Elements offers guidance on design procedures and domains related to cross sections and related elements including special purpose lanes, shoulders, medians, outer separations and boulevards, curb and gutter and drainage; and presents considerations for bridges and utility placement, snow storage and future widening, as well as typical cross sections.  
PTM-GEODES4-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES4-E-EBK (e-book)
$65 member ~ $82 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 5 - Bicycle Integrated Design identifies examples on how to integrate the design of bicycle facilities holistically into the design of roadways to provide a balanced solution for all modes and road users; and provides guidance on bicycle and in-line skater design needs, types of bicycle facilities, a framework for the selection of an appropriate type of facility, and specific design elements.
PTM-GEODES5-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES5-E-EBK (e-book)
$65 member ~ $82 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 6 - Pedestrian Integrated Design highlights examples on how to integrate the design of pedestrian facilities holistically into the design of roadways to provide a balanced solution for all modes and road users; provides guidance on pedestrian and wheelchair design needs, use of a framework approach to design which subdivides the roadside into frontage, pedestrian through and furnishing zones and specific design elements; and addresses integration with other design elements including adjacent roadway lane widths, roundabouts and bridges and other travel modes.
PTM-GEODES6-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES6-E-EBK (e-book)
$59 member ~ $75 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 7 - Roadside Design introduces road safety concepts and the use of quantitative analysis to evaluate roadside safety design options; outlines the fundamental concept of the clear zone and its application through provision of appropriate cross section and drainage elements to allow for driver recovery; outlines mitigation and protection techniques to reduce the severity of fixed-object collisions with roadside furniture including signs, luminaires and traffic barriers; and discusses roadside design in urban environments and for low volume roads.
PTM-GEODES7-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES7-E-EBK (e-book)
$65 member ~ $82 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 8 - Access presents access management guidelines for the full range of road classifications; provides guidance for each classification of roadway, balancing its role in addressing traffic mobility and access to adjacent lands; and outlines design guidance for access location and geometrics and the use auxiliary lanes, two-way left-turn lanes and service roads to accommodate access in a safe manner.
PTM-GEODES8-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES8-E-EBK (e-book)
$65 member ~ $82 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 9 - Intersections offers design guidance on intersections including roundabouts, innovative intersections and at-grade railroad crossings; summarizes relevant human factor aspects; identifies an intersection planning and design process for relevant inputs and possible constraints; summarizes guidelines on intersection spacing, layout and alignment and sight distance needs; and outlines guidelines and design details for simple intersections, channelization, tapers, auxiliary and turning lanes.
PTM-GEODES9-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES9-E-EBK (e-book)
$69 member ~ $89 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 10 - Interchanges summarizes relevant human factor aspects and warrants for interchanges; and provides guidance on interchange location, spacing, coordination, interchange types and exits and entrance ramp design.
PTM-GEODES10-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES10-E-EBK (e-book)
$65 member ~ $82 regular
$39 student (e-book only)
Chapter 11 - Special Roads provides design guidance for special roads such as low-volume rural roads, resource roads, recreational roads, and winter roads.
PTM-GEODES11-E (hard copy)
PTM-GEODES11-E-EBK (e-book)
$59 member ~ $75 regular
$39 student (e-book only)

 

This recorded webinar gives an overview of new contents and key changes in the 2017 edition.

The Guide is complemented by the Canadian Roundabout Design Guide which provides information and guidance related to the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance and safety of roundabouts in Canada.

History

1963 – First edition of the Manual of Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads and Streets
1966 – Second printing of the Manual of Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads and Streets
1971, 1972 and 1973 – Revisions to the 1966 edition
1976 – Metric edition of the Manual of Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads and Streets
1986 – Second edition of the Manual of Geometric Design Standards for Canadian Roads
1994 – First edition of the Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads
1995 – Release of the Urban Supplement to the Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads
1999 – Second edition of the Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads
2017 – Third edition of the Geometric Design Guide for Canadian Roads

Read more about the evolution of geometric design in Canada and the development of the Guide.

 


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