Freeway ramp metering systems are being used to alleviate urban freeway congestion. This report presents a methodology for determining the distance requirements for ramp metering for a wide range of traffic volume and freeway geometric conditions. The distance requirement for ramp metering consists of distance required queue storage and distance required for the freeway merging operation. A queue storage model has been developed to determine distance required for queue storage. The constant acceleration models of linear motion have been used to determine distance required for the freeway merging operation. A methodology for determining the optimal placement of the ramp meter signal has been presented. Guidelines for effecting a trade-off between queue storage an freeway merging distance requirements have also been presented. A sample problem demonstrates the use of the presented methodology.