The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutOrdinance ~f1 DRIVEWAY ACCESS LOCATION AND DESIGN ORDINANCE ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 3, BUSINESS REGULATIONS, SECTION 5, BY AMENDING THE TITLE OF SUBSECTION J, BY ADDING A SUBSECTION J(l)(e},ANDBYAMENDING SUBSECT~ONSJ(2) THROUGH J{4} OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES .OFTHECITYOFCOLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, ~ RELATING TO DRIVEWAY ACCESS LOCATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, proper driveway access design and location are essential to the maintenance nfsafeandefficient traffic flow; WHEREAS,i,n order to prevent the proliferation of poorly spaced driveways, driveway access design policies, that can improve safety and maintain carrying capacity of public roadwaMq,should be promulgated to apply to all properties for which a land ,. use or property boundary change is "proposed; WHEREAS, the impact of driveways on traffic safety and roadway carrying capacity makes it apparent that it is in the best inter- est ofa community to have. a driveway access policy which limits the number of driveways to safely accommodate the traff~p:gener- atedby each property, provides adequate spacing betweeJ1liadjacent driveways or adjacent streets to reduce accident potentt~:l.. and ensure' proper geometric design to promote traffic safety: and en- hancethe capaci.ty of the roadway; WHEREAS, driveway location and design impacts traffic safety; WHEREAS, ri..ghtturns into. and. out of driveways, requirin9 ~:mly a speed change, a melrgeordemerge,anda turn which may cause an encroachment on an "adjacent . travel lane ,have the leastjimpacton traffic safety; WHEREAS, ...left .turns,. requiring asp$edchange, .merge. or..demerge, and the crossingofoppos ingtraffic, "cause more conflicts; WHEREAs,a~eq:uatedrivewayspacil1gprovideSenoughrOadVlay for motor vehiples to make turns at adjacent drives suchtha,t accel- eration - peceleration areas do not overlap; ...and I I WHEREAS, ..:t:ee:pot.eIltial. .fora.cciq~nts increases when driveway NOW,....... THEREI[FORE,BEIT9RDAINED BYTlIECITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE .......... S Tlf\.TION ,<TEXAS: Ordinance No. Page 2 I..... That the title of Chapter 3, section 5, SubsectionJ, of the Code of Ordinances of the city of College station, Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: "J. DRIVEWAY ACCESS LOCATION AND DESIGN POLICY". II. That Chapter 3, section 5, Subsections J(l){e) of the Code of Ordinances of the <city of College Station, ". Texas, is hereby amended to read as follows: "(1) General (e) Standard curb cut is six inches {6") in height, and any discontinuity.or break in this curb is a curb cut. A valley gutter shall'berequired through the length "of..the' curb. cut. II III. That Chapter 3 , sectionS, Subsections J(2) through J(4) of the Code of Ordinances of the city of College station, Texas, are hereby amended to ,read as follows: " (2) Location......of. Driveway Access (a) Apermitshallbe.required for the location of all driveways which provide for .access .....to.propertyf or any structure .'change, land use change, or property boundary change. Inma.kin.ga determination as to the location of driveway access, the City Engineer shall consider: The characteristics of the proposed use. ; Theexi.sting..........traffic......flow. conditions... .and the future traffic demand anticipated on the development and the adjacent street system; Ordinance No. Page 3 (vi) Th~numberofdrivewaysneededto accom- modateanticipated traffic; (vii) The number and location of driveways on existingadj acent prope,rties; (viii) The location and carrying capacity of intersections; (ix) The proper geometric design of drive- ways; (x), The spacing between opposite and adja- cent.. 'driveways. (xi) The internal circulation between drive- ways';. and, (xii) The speed of the adjacent roadway (c) Driveway access location shall <vary based upon street classification. Chapter 1 of the "Policy of Geometric Design of Highways and Streets"pub- lishedbytheAmerican Association of stateI-ligh- way and Transportation Officials, AASHTO, shall be utilized to determine functional street classification. The College station streets are classified as follows: (i) Urban Principal Arterials; (ii) Urban Minor Arterials; Urban Collectors; and, Urban Arteria.l and Collector streets in the City Of College station are 1 i..sted in APPENDIX..A.- Any street in the.city of Colleg.e~tat~on.....',not'...,included in 'any..of the... three urban street "functional"clas~ sificatic)nslisted~n APPENDIX A shall be .coIlsid(3reda LocalSt:reet - The City Engine~rr~s~rves the.' 'right to .recon- sider the classifications of' all road- ways. Driveway. acce.ss s:r>acing sha.ll be. measured from the center 'line,'.oftheproposed ,.dr ivewaypavementto Ordinance No. Page 4 the nearest edge of the roadway of the adjacent or opposite driveway or street as indicated below in Figure 1. Figure 1 Opposite Left (125') Q) OlQ) c~ :;:;(f) ~~G> W.2: s- o 0..' ........pPOS.....ite..... ................... .... ... '. 1...... . Ri' ht _.~-~--- . --- ~ - A~~~nt-.-l- - ~ , ..ct.....; '.' ....1 ' I .' ..., I I I I I I . I Proposed Drive <ii 0)4> cl:; :;:;(f) .~Q) W.2: tr.... Q Note:Theaoove . roadway is hypothetical and .cOUd represent an arteriaL cotlectoror .Ioca'. street centerline of the roadway pavement or street. If. the centerline ofanopposit.e.drive is lessthal1fifteen feet (15/) from the centerline. .()ftb.~,proposed . drive, .., the. drives formanintersectionand>theminimum spacing Ordinance 'No. Page 5 (ii) requirements shall apply for the closest drive. If the street terminates ata stop sign controlled intersection, the driveway spacing between the proposed driveway and, the stop sign control shall be based upon the opposite drive minimum spacing rather than the adjacent drive minimum spacing. (e) Application of the driveway access location policy requires identification of the functional classi- fication of the street on which access isirequired and then applying the appropriate spacing require- ments.. (f) Opposite DownstreqmDrivewaysshall be located according to the minimum requirements of Table 1. Table 1 o-pposite Riqht (Downstream) Drive Spacinq street.Classification Opposite "Arterial or Collector Opposite,Local street or Driveway Orban principal Arterial Orban Minor Arterial Orban Collector Local street 400 ft. 3'50 300 225 275 ft. 275 250 200 Aminimumofeighty-fivefeetf125')shall<be required for'Opposite, Left (Upstream) Drives for all street classifications. Adjacent.... drives requirements of be located according to the 2.. Page 6 , Ordinance Table 2 Ad;acent Drive spacing street Classification Minimum spacing street continuous (Feet) Urban principal Art,erial Urban Minor Arterial Urban Collector Local street 350 ft. 300 235 190 (i) (j) (k) No driveway access shall be permitted at a closer spacing than provided in Tables 1 or 2 unless a variance is granted by the Driveway access to arterial. streets shall be con- nectedto a driveway or parking area on private property that will permit turning a motor vehicle around so that no motor vehicle shall be backed 'out onto such..a' street ..The City Engineer shall determine on acase'by case basis if this require- mentis to be enforced for Urban Collector streets. Freeway Frontage Road Access ..andLocationRequire- ments: (i) Drivewaysshallnotbecloser.than.two hundred fifty feet '. (250') from an exit ramp .. aSTIleasured from.. the striped gore of..the<....exit.<rampto the..... 'centerline .of the' drive. Drivewayssball. not be. closer than one huI1dredfee.t(10Q'}.'.frc)m,,'an. . entrance rampasm~asll:r~d<fr()m tbe striped gore of the entrance ramp....to.the .centerl,ine of......the ,'driver. Driv$ways..shal~ be located in . accordance with tbe.toperation$.a.ndProcedures Man'"'" ual' publishedl:/y t:he Texas state De- partment ..of Highways and public. Trans- portation,,'.Sections .4-601"'and4-602. Ordinance No. Page? (iv). Permits shall be approved by the local districtofficeof,theState Department of Highways and Public Transpor.tation, prior to approval by the City Engineer. (v) These guidelines apply to existingcand planned interchanges. (vi) In addition to ramp spacing, driveways on frontage roads shall aLso meet the other requirements of this chapter as principal arterial streets. (1) No residential driveway approach, measured at the outside sidewalk line,. shall be constructed within thirty feet (30') of the corner of a street intersection. (k)No commercial driveway approach..... (3) GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF DRIVEWAY ACCESS fa) The curb return radii for driveways intersecting atrightnangles with the roadway and without a deceleration lane shall be not less than those designated in Table ,.,3 Table ,. STREET CLASSIFICATION CURB RETURN RADIUS (FEET) principal",Art~rial Minor Arterial Collector Local Street (b) The maximum w~dth of driveway approacn,measured fr6ttrthe outside sidewalk line ontb.eresidential driveway.. apprQach . shall · notexceede.ighteenfeet f18') in width. . For residential drive\tlayp .(single family<andduplex}.themaximumcurb cutshall be twenty__eightfeet(28')in>width. fc) MiI;lfIDl.1Ill.. d:tivewayopenings for. commercial.. two way drives shall be thirty feet (30'). A maximum Ordinance No. Page. 8 driveway opening ofthirty--sixfeet (36') may be approved by the city Engineer pursuant to the following crite;ria: (i) Adequate sight distance shall be provided fora passenger motor vehicle making a left or right turn exit.ing from the driveway. (Ii) ,Driveways not meeting the spacing guidelines in Tables 1 and 2 may be designed for limited access by tl:1.e, addition of a median or a channelization improvement to the. abutting street or by including channelization in thedri.veway designcons.istent with Diagram A shown in'APPENDIXA. (d) Driveway approaches shall be at right angle to street curb. (4) Variance (a) The may authorize on appeal a variance to the Driveway Access Location and Des.ign Ordinance when such variance wi II not be contrary to the public interest where., owing to unique and special conditions of the land not normally found in "like areas, a strict enforcement of the provisions of'theordinance by the city Engineer>would result in an unnecessary hardship,. and so.that the spirit of this ordinance shall..... be....observed...and........substantial justice" done. (b) An.. appeal. .roay . .be tak:enby any person aggrieved by the. decision of the. city Engineer. . Such appeal shall be made ydthinthirty (30) days of the date ofthenoti~icationofi:he decision of the City Engineer by filing with the zoning Official a notice....ofiappe<i1... sp~cifying . the grounds thereo:f · The City El'lgineersl1<3.11. forthwithtransmi tto the Board all tl1epapers/c()nstituting the r~cord upon which the < .action appealed from was taken. Ordinance No. Page,g IV. " This ordinance shall become effective fromand'after its passage in accordance with the City Charter of the City of College station. PASSED, ADOPTED and APPROVED this the _ day of , 1991. APPROVED: Mayor Larry Ringer ATTEST: city Secretary