Street width and markings

I did a short article on the road dimensions where I live, technically this is a village but this road is considered a state highway as this little road runs from the forks of Long Island all the way in to Queens. It opens up quite a bit in parts, but this part is definitely village-like!

Much of the details depends on the era. Generally speaking John has the details right for a modern road or street. After about 1965 there are published standards by NHSTA (National Highway Traffic Safety Admin.)so John you really didn't need to run out in the street. Prior to that time dimensions and road marking details were more local standards. I'd suggest searching for 1950s-1960s images of towns in the area you're modelling to get a feel.

10-12 foot lane width has been common for a long time. Shoulder width depends on the road usage. In a country area where one would typically not park on the road, the shoulders can be as narrow as 2 feet, just enough space to walk. So I think that 4cm roads would work well. Generally when the road is that narrow, there will be an additional unpaved shoulder leading to a drainage ditch.

Getting into a town, I would expect a 4-6 foot parking space for parallel parking in front of businesses. As a thought, I've seen towns build the parking strip out of concrete, built when they built the adjacent sidewalks, so you could use the 4cm road material.

Road marking can get complicated. First prior to about 1965 the use of yellow lines was rare except on the interstate highways. The most likely centerline would be a broken or solid white line. Use the solid line on curves and roadway sections where it would be unwise to pass. The shoulder line would be solid white. On a residential streets/roads some or all these lines could be missing.

On city streets the center line would be more common, but not required.

Hope this helps,

Mark

I'm not familiar with the Heki product, but the texture of similar products is a bit coarse for Z. What I find interesting to model for roads are the defects: the cracks, patches potholes, and for your era, the oil stain in the center of the lane and under parking places and various other stains. John's images shows some good examples.