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10 <br />18. Continuous Raised Median <br />Continuous raised medians with well-designed median openings are among the most <br />important features for managing access to create a safe and efficient highway system. <br />19. Comparison Of Raised Median And Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes <br />Because raised medians are the most restrictive access management treatment, <br />building a raised median along an arterial is often very controversial among business <br />and property owners. Two-way left-turn lanes (TWLTL) are much less so. Business <br />persons and property owners feel that installation of raised medians will have a large, <br />negative impact on their customers, sales, and property values. Therefore, TWLTLs <br />are often suggested as a compromise solution. However, TWLTLs also represent a <br />safety compromise when compared to raised medians. They should. be used with <br />care. <br />20. Frontage And Backage Roads <br />Frontage and backage roads run parallel the mainline route and provide alternative <br />access to property. Property access is provided along the frontage or backage road, <br />which accesses the arterial via a cross road (with a traffic signal if necessary). This <br />reduces the number and density of conflict points associated with strip development. <br />These roads are generally applicable to commercial development. <br />A backage road provides access to the rear side of commercial properties <br />located between the backage road and the arterial. It also provides <br />access to properties located on the opposite side of the backage road <br />from the arterial, thus increasing land values and reducing infrastructure <br />costs to individual properties. <br />A frontage road provides access to the front side of commercial <br />properties located along the arterial. Care must be taken to ensure <br />adequate separation between the arterial and the intersection of the <br />frontage and cross roads. <br />Why are frontage and backage roads important? <br />Frontage and backage roads reduce conflict points between through traffic and turning <br />traffic associated with strip development and direct property access to the arterial. <br />Conflict points are associated with reduced levels of roadway safety and operations. <br />Studies have shown that when driveway access to arterial roadways is granted to too <br />many property owners without considering future traffic volumes and road <br />classifications, the additional driveways increase the rate of accidents and decrease <br />the efficiency of the roadway. <br />21. Dedicated Left And Right Turning Lanes <br />One of the major concerns of transportation engineers and planners in cities and <br />suburban areas is keeping through traffic moving at a smooth and even pace. When <br />traffic can't move at an even pace, delays and congestion are the result. This <br />frustrates motorists and creates opportunities for "fender-bender" crashes. One of the <br />simplest ways to accomplish smooth and even traffic is to remove the turning traffic <br />from the through traffic flow at road intersections and near busy driveways. Often, <br />dedicated turning lanes are provided to serve that purpose. Many times turning lanes <br />are used in conjunction with raised medians and medians at intersections to provide <br />additional safety by protecting turning traffic. <br />5 <br />