Top 10 Road Attributes Every City Should Track in 2025

Discover the 10 most important road attributes cities must monitor in 2025—from lane width to crash risk.

As cities embrace data-driven planning in 2025, knowing the right road attributes to monitor is crucial. Urban planners, transportation officials, and GIS analysts need a comprehensive picture of their road networks – not just the basics, but the nuanced details that inform safety, maintenance, and mobility decisions. 

Below are the top 10 road attributes every city should be tracking (and why they matter), especially with modern tools like Urban SDK making it easier than ever to gather and use this data:

1. Functional Class (Road Classification)

What type of road is it? – Every city street is categorized (highway, arterial, collector, local, etc.), reflecting its role in the network. Functional class influences speed limits, design standards, and priority in maintenance. 

For example, high-volume arterials might get more funding attention, but they also tend to have higher crash risks for pedestrians. Tracking this attribute helps cities ensure the right design and policies for each road type (e.g. traffic calming in residential areas, or robust markings on arterials). It’s also essential for contextualizing other data – comparing apples to apples (you wouldn’t benchmark a quiet residential street against a major arterial without considering their class difference).

2. Traffic Volume (AADT and Peak Hour)

How many vehicles use the road? – Traffic volume is a core metric for congestion management, capacity planning, and environmental impact. Attributes like Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) and peak hour volumes tell you which roads carry the most cars. Cities should track volumes on all significant roads, not just freeways – especially now that connected vehicle data can estimate local road volumes without installing counters. 

Knowing volume helps identify over-burdened corridors (are certain roads operating at or above capacity?) and opportunities to redirect or manage flow. It’s also used in safety analysis (higher exposure often means higher crash counts, so volume is needed to calculate crash rates). 

In short, if you don’t know how busy a street is, you can’t effectively plan signal timings, transit service, or road expansions.

3. Speed Limit and Operating Speeds

How fast are vehicles supposed to go, and how fast are they actually going?– Speed is perhaps the most critical factor in road safety. The posted speed limit is a basic attribute every city already tracks, but in 2025 it’s equally important to track actual operating speeds (85th percentile speeds, average speeds, etc.) via telemetry data. The difference between intended and real speeds can flag issues: for instance, if drivers routinely exceed a 30 MPH limit by 10+ MPH, that road might need design changes or enforcement. High speeds dramatically increase crash fatality risk – a pedestrian hit at 50 MPH is far more likely to be killed than at 25 MPH. 

By tracking speed data citywide, agencies can pinpoint speeding hotspots and evaluate traffic calming measures. 

Urban SDK’s platform, for example, provides hourly speed analytics on every road, making it easy to spot where speed compliance is poor. In addition, tracking speed limit changes (e.g. cities implementing 20 MPH zones) and their effects on actual speeds can guide Vision Zero efforts.

4. Safety Metrics (Crash History and Risk Index)

Where are crashes happening and where are potential future crashes likely? – Every city should maintain a geocoded crash history database and/or a composite road safety score for segments. Knowing the locations with the most frequent or severe crashes is fundamental to prioritizing safety improvements. 

In 2025, many cities aim for Vision Zero, acknowledging over 40,000 traffic deaths occur annually in the U.S. Tracking crashes by road segment (and by mode, like pedestrian or cyclist-involved crashes) highlights your high-injury network. But don’t stop at historical data – a risk index (Urban SDK’s Collision Index) combines factors like traffic volume, speed, road design, and past crashes to flag roads with a high likelihood of future collisions. This proactive metric is an attribute worth tracking because it helps catch dangerous conditions before more tragedies occur. By monitoring a safety score annually, you can also measure progress as you make design changes. 

In sum: every road segment should have a safety profile attached, whether it’s “5 crashes in the last 3 years” or a model-predicted risk level – this guides enforcement and engineering resources to where they’re needed most.

5. Number of Lanes

How many travel lanes does the road have? – This simple attribute affects capacity, speed, and safety. A four-lane undivided road is a very different beast from a two-lane road, even if both are the same width. Multi-lane roads can handle more traffic, but they also encourage passing and higher speeds, and pose challenges for pedestrians crossing. Many urban safety issues arise on multi-lane arterials, where higher speeds and exposure lead to more severe crashes. Cities should track lane counts to identify such contexts. It’s also important for planning lane reductions or additions. 

For example, a city considering a road diet (reducing lanes to add a center turn lane or bike lanes) needs an accurate inventory of current lanes. With tools like satellite imagery, keeping an updated lane count for each road segment is feasible even as new lanes are added (e.g., adding a turning lane at an intersection). This attribute also feeds into traffic models – capacity analysis starts with the number of lanes. In short, always know if a road is 2, 3, 4, or 6 lanes, etc., and track changes over time (if you convert a lane to a bus-only lane, log it!).

6. Lane Width

How wide are those lanes? – Lane width might seem minute, but it has big implications for safety and traffic flow. Standard lane widths in the U.S. range from about 10 to 12 feet. Tracking this detail is important because research shows lane width can influence driving behavior: wider lanes often lead to higher speeds, which can increase crash risk. 

In fact, one study found 12-foot lanes had significantly higher crash rates than 10-foot lanes on urban streets. Cities should know where they have extra-wide lanes (perhaps legacy of old standards) and where lanes are unusually narrow. This can help target traffic calming (narrowing lanes via striping or separators) or identify locations of potential side-swipe crashes if lanes are very narrow on high-speed roads. 

With modern road imagery data, it’s possible to automatically measure lane width for every segment – Urban SDK’s data, for example, provides lane width and even separation width for bike/parking buffers. When evaluating roadway redesigns, having lane width data allows you to ask, Could we reallocate some of this width to other uses (like a bike lane or median)? or Are our widest lanes correlating with speeding problems? Don’t overlook this “small” attribute.

7. Medians or Centerline Separation

Is there a median or barrier, and of what type/width? – Whether a road is divided or undivided is a critical safety attribute. A painted centerline offers minimal protection compared to a physical median or barrier. Cities should track median presence and type for each road segment: no median (undivided), two-way left-turn lane, raised median, or concrete barrier, etc., along with the median width. Why? Roads with proper separation see far fewer head-on collisions – adding median barriers on highways, for instance, cut cross-median crashes by ~97% in studies. Even in urban settings, a refuge median can reduce pedestrian crashes by helping people cross in two stages. 

By tracking this attribute, a city can quickly filter for all undivided multi-lane roads (often high risk) and prioritize them for safety projects. It’s also useful for contextual traffic management: a divided road might handle left turns differently than an undivided road (protected turn pockets vs. not). If you have the width of medians logged, that can aid in planning (e.g., can the median be used for future turn lanes or transit stations?). Modern data collection can measure median width from imagery. 

In summary, know where your medians are – and where they aren’t – to push for appropriate road diets or barrier installations where needed for safety.

8. Sidewalks and Pedestrian Facilities

Are there sidewalks? How wide are they? – In the age of Vision Zero and walkability, every city must track its pedestrian infrastructure alongside roads. Sidewalk presence (yes/no) for each road segment is fundamental. Further, note which sides of the road have sidewalks and their approximate width or quality if possible. This matters because nearly 20% of traffic fatalities are people walking or cycling, and a lack of safe walkways is a major contributor. 

In fact, a recent analysis found 69% of pedestrian deaths occur where no sidewalk was present. By tracking sidewalk gaps, cities can identify dangerous corridors for pedestrians and plan improvements. 

Ideally, you’d also track crosswalks and crossing aids at intersections, but at a minimum, know where people have no choice but to walk in the street. Modern GIS inventories  include sidewalk detection – mapping out sidewalk networks across the city. Tracking sidewalk width is also important for ADA compliance: many guidelines call for at least 5 feet width. If your data shows an area with only 2-3 ft wide sidewalks (or none at all), that’s a red flag for accessibility. 

In short: sidewalks are as critical an attribute as lanes in today’s planning – they deserve equal tracking rigor.

9. Bicycle Lanes and Facilities

Is there a bike lane or bike-friendly feature on the road? – With the surge in cycling and micromobility, cities need to know where bike infrastructure exists (and where it doesn’t). Track bike lane presence on each road segment, including type if possible (painted lane, buffered lane, protected cycle track, shared lane markings, etc.). 

Also track bike lane width or buffer width if applicable. This attribute helps identify the continuity (or lack) of your bike network. 

For instance, if a bike lane suddenly disappears on a busy road, that’s a gap to fix. It also ties into safety: roads without bike lanes but with significant bike traffic could be hotspots for bike-vehicle conflicts. On the flip side, roads with well-designed protected lanes likely see fewer such conflicts. 

Planners should use this attribute to conduct “bike gap analyses” – find areas where cyclists have no dedicated space and maybe high crash rates. Given that more than half of trips under 3 miles are made by walking or biking in the US, having a connected bike network is key, and you can’t improve what you don’t measure. Today’s data tools can detect bike lanes from imagery and even identify things like presence of bike lane separation (posts, parking-protected, etc.). Keep an inventory of all these features to guide your cycling infrastructure investments.

10. Pavement Surface and Condition

What is the road made of, and what shape is it in? – Finally, an often overlooked but important attribute: road surface type and condition. Surface type (asphalt, concrete, gravel, etc.) is useful for maintenance planning and understanding the context (e.g., unpaved roads might indicate rural areas or lower service levels). More crucial is pavement condition – typically measured by indices like PCI (Pavement Condition Index) or simple ratings (good/fair/poor). 

While this may require separate assessment (e.g., camera or sensor data), it’s an attribute every city should track because it relates to safety and operations. Poor pavement can contribute to crashes (skidding on potholes, etc.) and definitely impacts vehicle wear and bicyclist safety. Tracking condition ensures you can prioritize repaving where it’s most needed (often high-traffic or bus routes, etc.). 

Additionally, knowing the last resurfacing date or construction year for each road (a related attribute) helps predict when rehabilitation is due. Modern platforms sometimes incorporate crowd-sourced or sensor data for pavement roughness, but even a periodically updated city survey of road conditions tied into your inventory is fine. The key is to have it mapped: a citywide map of road conditions lets you target repairs and justify funding (showing, for example, that 30% of our arterials are in poor condition is a compelling metric).

Tracking these ten attributes in 2025 is very achievable, especially with geospatial technology and AI. Urban SDK’s geospatial data platform automatically provides many of these attributes – from lane counts and widths to sidewalk/bike lane presence and even continuous traffic and safety metrics – all in one place. By maintaining a rich, GIS-based road inventory with these data points, cities equip themselves to make informed, proactive decisions.

Why does it matter? Because you manage what you measure. A city that knows exactly which roads lack sidewalks or have excessive speeds or deteriorating pavement can act before problems worsen. It can target investments to the right place (be it a crosswalk installation, a resurfacing project, or a speed management program) with confidence backed by data.

In 2025, the technology and data needed to track these road attributes are more accessible than ever. With Urban SDK, cities can replace guesswork and outdated information with current, comprehensive data on every roadway—enabling smarter planning and safer streets.

If your city isn’t yet tracking some of these key attributes, now is the time to start. Each one reveals an essential part of your transportation network, and together they provide the holistic insight needed to build the cities of tomorrow.

Ready to upgrade your road data tracking? Urban SDK helps you monitor all these attributes—and more—in real time. By combining physical infrastructure data with live traffic and safety insights, our platform empowers decision-makers to plan and respond with clarity and confidence. Don’t let critical road information fall through the cracks—use it to create safer, more efficient streets for your community.

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