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HomeMy Public PortalAboutResolution 16-06 Access Management Policy City of McCall CITY OF MCCALL RESOLUTION NO. 16-06 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF McCALL, VALLEY COUNTY, STATE OF IDAHO, ADOPTING AN ACCESS MANAGEMENT POLICY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE THEREFOR. WHEREAS, with increased development in order to facilitate better planning for access to public streets and to minimize traffic conflicts, it is necessary to adopt access management policies and guidelines; and WHEREAS, the City of McCall has developed a proposed Access Management Policy which promotes the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and visitors to McCall; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF McCALL, IDAHO,AS FOLLOWS: 1. That the City of McCall hereby adopts the attached CITY OF MCCALL ACCESS MANAGEMENT POLICY; and 2. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its adoption and approval. PASSED and approved by the City Council of the City of McCall this 24 day of March, 2016. Sign'/ .ckie J. .04'on, ayor ATTEST: I certify that the above Resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of McCall on March 24, 2016 by the following vote: Ayes: 3 Noes: 0 A oottonin q, Absent: 2 By A BessieJo Wa,."ts, ity C .r N.) seam 1.1 'Lob O * r' ',44t,�nD P'`%�p Page 1 of I Resolution 16-06 Access Management Policy March 24,2016 CITY OF MCCALL ACCESS MANAGEMENT POLICY Access management is the control of the location, spacing, design, and operation of driveways, median openings, and street connections to a street. Access management principles help guide decisions involving land use planning, corridor design,traffic operation, and land development. Purpose, Benefits, and Goals of Access Management The purpose of access management is to optimize the capacity, operations, and safety of a street through a cooperative plan. If management of access locations and design is not successful, the ability to provide acceptable long-term capacity, travel times, and safety will be diminished. Furthermore, the effectiveness of future street widening efforts will be compromised. Benefits of access management are not limited to individual motor vehicles, but extend to other modes using the corridor, such as transit, pedestrians, and bicycles. Using a combination of strategies derived from land use planning,transportation planning, traffic engineering, street design, and law,Access Management accomplishes the following: 1. Helps maintain travel mobility for the efficient movement of goods and services. 2. Helps preserve the public investment in the street system by maintaining the functional performance of existing streets as intended. 3. Promotes sustainable land use patterns while preserving the investment in commercial, residential, and other developments that depend on reliable transportation performance. 4. Improves safety and capacity by using turn lanes to enter and exit the highway thereby limiting vehicle speed differences, decreasing the likelihood of a crash and reducing delay for the through movement. 5. Increases safety by reducing the number of potential vehicle conflict points, and reducing motor vehicle crashes. Principles of Access Management 1. Provide a specialized street system. Different types of streets serve different functions. It is important to design and manage streets according to the primary functions that they are expected to serve. 2. Limit direct access to major streets (i.e. principal arterials, collectors). Streets that serve higher volumes of through traffic need more access control to preserve their traffic function and capacity. Frequent and direct property access is more with the function of local and collector streets. 3. Preserve the functional area of intersections. The functional area of an intersection or interchange is the area that is critical to its function. This is the area where motorists are responding to the intersection or interchange, decelerating, and maneuvering into the appropriate lane to stop or complete a turn. Access connections too close to intersections Page 1 of 5 Access Management Policy March 24,2016 or interchange ramps can cause serious traffic conflicts that impair the function of the affected facilities. 4. Limit the number of conflict points. Drivers make more mistakes and are more likely to have collisions when they are presented with the complex driving situations created by numerous conflicts. 5. Separate conflict areas. Drivers need sufficient time to address one potential set of conflicts before facing another. The necessary spacing between conflict areas increases as travel speed increases, to provide drivers adequate perception and reaction time. 6. Remove turning vehicles from through-traffic lanes. Turning lanes allow drivers to decelerate gradually out of the through lane and wait in a protected area to complete a turn, thereby reducing the severity and duration of conflict between turning vehicles and through traffic. They also improve the safety and efficiency of street intersections. Use non-traversable medians to manage left-turn movements. Medians channel turning movements on major streets to designated locations. Therefore, non-traversable medians and other techniques that minimize left turns or reduce conflicts can be especially effective in improving street safety. Full median openings, which allow left turns from either direction, are best provided at signalized intersections and unsignalized junctions of arterial and collector streets. Full median openings in other unsignalized locations can adversely affect safety and traffic flow, but may be appropriate in some areas where analysis indicates that traffic operations and safety would be improved. 7. Provide a supporting street and circulation system. Well planned communities provide a supporting network of local and collector street to accommodate development, as well as unified property access and circulation systems. Interconnected street and circulation systems provide alternative route for bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike. Alternatively, commercial strip development with separate driveways for each business forces even short trips onto arterial streets, thereby impeding safety and mobility. Connectivity can be maintained while advancing access management objectives for arterial streets by ensuring that local street connections to the arterial conform to the adopted connection spacing interval. Access Management Tools 1. Cross Access Easements/Shared Access - Cross access utilizes a single vehicular connection that serves two or more adjoining lots or parcels so that the driver does not need to re-enter the public street system. 2. Temporary Access - Access that is permitted for use until appropriate alternative access becomes available. Temporary access may be granted through a development agreement or similar method, and the developer shall be responsible for providing a financial guarantee for the future closure of the driveway. 3. Frontage/Backage and Local Access Service Streets - A frontage/backage street is an access street that generally parallels a major public street between the public street and the front building setback line; or behind a building. A frontage/backage street provides direct lot access to private properties while separating them from the principal street. Page 2 of 5 Access Management Policy March 24,2016 Administration The City of McCall Access Management Policy shall be administered by the City of McCall Public Works Department in cooperation with the Community Development Department. This policy shall include the current Functional Street Classification Map. Access Permits shall be approved by the Public Works Director or his/her designee. I. PRINCIPAL ARTERIAL STREETS A. General Principal arterials serve the higher traffic volume corridors and longer trips while carrying a higher proportion of the total travel on a minimum of street mileage. Principal arterials carry the major portion of trips entering and leaving the urban area, as well as the majority of through movements. To preserve the long term functionality of such streets,they should have more access control than any other street. B. Traffic Considerations The efficiency of the arterial network is critical, and City policies outline the location, spacing, and control of access points to the arterial system. Local traffic circulation systems in land developments, including local streets and driveways, should not reduce the efficiency of nearby major streets. C. Access Considerations and Requirements All access points associated with development applications shall be determined in accordance with this policy. Approved access points may be relocated and/or restricted in the future if the land use intensifies, changes, or the property redevelops: 1. To accommodate the design and layout of an existing collector street system. 2. Within existing central business districts. 3. If there are no other reasonable site design, access or circulation alternatives; and 4. If there is a proven public necessity for the intersection; and traffic analysis reviewed and approved by the City verifies the need. a. Vehicle Access Direct lot access to principal arterial streets is normally prohibited. Lot access may be allowed at the discretion of the City based upon the criteria within this policy. b. Number of Driveways on Principal Arterials The intent of this policy is to limit the number of access points to those that are warranted or necessary to serve the development, while maintaining the function and performance of the arterial. The guidelines below shall be used when more than one Page 3 of 5 Access Management Policy March 24,2016 access point is being requested with a development. Additional driveways may be considered when the following conditions are met: i. A City approved traffic impact study and analysis determines that conditions warrant additional driveways. c. Driveway Spacing on Principal Arterials Direct lot or parcel access to a principal arterial is typically prohibited. If a property has frontage on more than one street, access shall be taken from the street having the lesser functional classification. i. Driveways located on arterials may be prohibited when the property has frontage on one or more other public streets. ii. For property with frontage on more than one street, access shall be provided from the street having the lower current and projected Average Daily Traffic Volume (ADT), and/or the lesser functionally classified street (i.e. frontage on arterial and collector, access shall be from collector). The City shall determine which street has the lower volume. iii. If it is necessary to take access to the higher classified street due to a lack of frontage, the allowable spacing shall be based on the distance from any other existing or approved driveway or street on either side of the street to minimize impacts to level of service and safety. d. Turn Lanes If right or left turn lanes are warranted per a submitted Traffic Impact Study, the storage and taper lengths shall be designed in accordance with the minimum AASHTO and MUTCD standards. The storage length shall be a minimum of 50-feet in length. e. Miscellaneous Access (Out-Parcels, Emergency Access, etc.) Where a property is being developed and there is a legal out-parcel (as determined by the City of McCall Community Development Department) that is not part of the development application, the City will require that the applicant provide adequate access (i.e. stub street, cross access easement, or other as appropriate) to that parcel for future development and/or re-development in order to ensure that the City's access management goals are achieved. II. MAJOR COLLECTOR STREETS A. General Major collectors interconnect with and augment the principal arterial system and provide service to trips of shorter length at a lower level of travel mobility than principal arterials. Page 4 of 5 Access Management Policy March 24,2016 Major collectors also distribute travel to geographic areas smaller than those identified with the higher systems. This classification places more emphasis on land access than principal arterials. Such streets should still have limited access with less access control than a principal arterial,but more than a minor collector. B. Traffic Considerations The efficiency of the major collector network is critical, and City policies outline the location, spacing, and control of access points to the major collector system. Local traffic circulation systems in land developments, including local streets and driveways, should not reduce the efficiency of nearby major streets. C. Access Considerations and Requirements a. Vehicle Access Direct lot access to major collector streets is normally controlled. Lot access may be allowed at the discretion of the City based upon the criteria within this policy. b. Number of Driveways The intent of this policy is to limit the number of access points to those that are warranted or necessary to serve the development, while maintaining the function and performance of the major collector. The guidelines below shall be used when more than one access point is being requested with a development. Additional driveways may be considered when the following conditions are met: i. A City approved traffic impact study and analysis determines that conditions warrant additional driveways. c. Driveway Spacing on Major Collectors(away from a signalized intersection) i. Direct lot or parcel access to a major collector is discouraged. If a property has frontage on more than one street, access shall be taken from the street having the lesser functional classification. ii. Driveways located on a major collector may be prohibited when the property has frontage on one or more other public streets. iii. For property with frontage on more than one street, access shall be provided from the street having the lower current or projected Average Daily Traffic Volume (ADT), and/or the lesser functionally classified street (i.e. frontage on arterial and collector, access shall be from collector). The City shall determine which street has the lower volume. iv. If it is necessary to take access to the higher classified street due to a lack of frontage, the minimum allowable spacing shall be based on the distance from any other existing or approved driveway or street on either side of the street to minimize impacts to level of service and safety. Page 5 of 5 Access Management Policy March 24,2016