Context Sensitive Solutions in Road Design – Case of Vietri Sul Mare Intersection

Abstract

Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) is an approach to transportation decision-making and design that takes into consideration the needs of the community as well as the sensitivity of the area for which the infrastructure proposal has been planned. Successful CSS is the result of a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to transportation planning and project development. A model is presented in order to support the CSS planning approach, it is a hierarchy model that aims to improve the plan performance by means of a series of evaluation criteria and attributes classified under 2 categories: technical and environmental macro-criteria. The model was applied to a case study developed regarding the improvement of an intersection situated in the South of Italy. The alternatives developed by planners with the support of stakeholders were assessed according to the synthetic index performance and subsequently it was processed through the proposed model. The application of the model allowed the selection of the best solution for a sensitive area and the results confirm the suitability of both the model developed and the procedure performed. It is a useful tool to support CSS and by means of which to overcome the operational difficulties that emerge from the interaction carried out between the planning and evaluation activities.