Top Ten Ways to Manage Roadway Access in Your Community

Reducing the number of driveways and street intersections along arterial and collector roadways is proven to increase the capacity of the corridor and make it safer.  I ran across a nice document from the Center of Urban Transportation Research at the University of Florida that discusses ten ways for cities to improve their access management. 

Here's a summary of the Top Ten Ways to Manage Roadway Access in Your Community:

1. Incorporate access management into the city's comprehensive plan.
2. Restrict the number of driveways each lot can have.
3. Locate driveways away from intersections (at least 100 feet on local streets and 300 feet on collector streets – more on arterials).
4. Connect parking lots and consolidate driveways.
5. Provide residential access through local, neighborhood streets and alleys.
6. Increase the minimum lot frontage required along collectors and arterials so you develop larger lots.
7. Promote a connected street system.
8. Encourage internal access to outlots on commercial developments, instead of each outlot getting its own driveway.
9. Regulate the location, spacing, and design of driveways in your ordinances.
10. Coordinate early with county and state highway departments whenever a development is proposing access on one of their roadways.

Plus one of mine –

11. Require a traffic study if the development will generate more than 100 trips (entering + exiting cars) in the busiest hour to ensure the above principles are being applied and that safe ingress/egress will be provided.